As a benefit to the homeowners and homebuyers using our platform, I share a regular summary of housing market news and data driving our decision-making here at Bluebid Homes. We call it the Bluebid Buzz.
Disclaimer: Views expressed here are my own and not the views of my coworkers or anyone else. I am not a financial advisor, investment advisor, or housing expert. I’m just a guy who cares deeply about saving the American Dream of homeownership.
Here's the buzz for the week of November 10, 2022…
Today’s CPI report shows shelter costs continuing to drive inflation higher while segments such as apparel, automobiles, and energy services correct in a more timely fashion.
Are you a buyer who lost out on a deal this past summer? It’s possible you dodged a bullet, as CNBC reports homeowners have lost $1.5 trillion in equity since May.
Yahoo shares that Goldman Sachs forecasts the housing market won’t bottom until March 2024, while Moody’s says prices should bottom out even later – in late 2025.
Axios reports Redfin is shutting down its home-flipping business and laying off 13% of its staff.
According to Fannie Mae and CNBC, consumer confidence in the housing market is the lowest it has been since the former began its monthly survey in 2011.
Following recent editions of the Buzz, I’ve heard from friends in the brokerage community that we’re being too critical of current market design. Prices are softening after all, they tell me. Respectfully, some people are missing the point. While prices are softening on a month-over-month basis, it’s because home prices have risen over 40% since the onset of the pandemic (let’s not ignore this data), and mortgage rates are the highest they’ve been in two decades. Prices have softened because Americans have been completely priced out. The market is fashioned more as a pressure cooker for driving unit prices – and resulting brokerage commissions – higher than as an actual marketplace concerned with the wants and needs of buyers and sellers. A basic hallmark of efficient markets is pricing which reflects available information. While home prices spike fast and furiously, they correct more slowly. This point is amplified in today’s inflation report, where housing lags the efficiency of the used car market (seriously). The housing market is wildly inefficient by design, and it’s why extended periods of inactivity are a prerequisite to prices moving lower. With all of this in mind, our team will be expediting marketplace features in the coming weeks at Bluebid. Our direct approach, which connects buyers and sellers while removing gatekeepers from early stages of negotiation, will be the foundation of a national listing service built to benefit its customers.
Have a great week.