The Housing Market Faces Down Its First Trump Era Headwind

On January 9, 2017, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced a cut in the premium homebuyers pay for mortgage insurance. This policy change has the distinction of being one of the first, if not THE first, reversals of the post-Obama era (the L.A. Times reported … Read more

Housing Market Review – Fed Fallout Overshadows Strong Data (December, 2016)

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in November for October, 2016. At that time, the iShares US Home Construction (ITB) was experiencing its first post-election pullback. I stayed focused on the strong housing data and treated the episode as a buying opportunity. Over a month later, the market is still ignoring the strong … Read more

Housing Market Review – Same Strong Data, Different Market Sentiment (November, 2016)

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in September for August, 2016. At that time, iShares US Home Construction (ITB) was at the tail-end of an extended sell-off. I noted the irony of the acceleration of selling in the wake of a new home sales number that was the second-highest of this post-recession period. … Read more

Housing Market Review – Strong Housing Data Fail to Alleviate Doubts on Home Builders (October, 2016)

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in September for August, 2016. At that time, iShares US Home Construction (ITB) started a notable divergence from the performance of the S&P 500 (SPY). That divergence widened in October with the S&P 500 losing 1.9% month-to-date and ITB tumbling 6.8%. The selling in ITB has been … Read more

Bay Area Housing In Focus: San Francisco Versus Brisbane

SF is happy to build housing on Brisbane Baylands- 684 acres of vacant land. We all need to do our share for working families + environment. https://t.co/X1se1UuLwN — Jane Kim (@JaneKim) September 27, 2016 This was a tweet that launched a potential “housing war” on the Peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area. I like … Read more