Housing, rates, and job growth

January 08, 2020

The housing market in 2020 has been upgraded in forecasts for single-family housing starts, new home sales and mortgage originations. Fannie reports that its Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) capped off a strong year in December with the index just below the survey high at 91.7. Three of the six HPSI components increased month over month, including the percentage of Americans who believe that home prices will go up over the next 12 months. Annually, the HPSI is up 8.2 points, driven primarily by consumers’ favorable mortgage rate expectations and a growing share reporting it’s a good time to buy a home.

Mortgage rates edged lower in the latest week and remain just above all-time lows. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell by four basis points to 3.91% with 0.33 in points. Mike Fratantoni, MBA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist said, “We expect that the strong job market will continue to support purchase activity this year, and the uptick in housing construction towards the end of last year should provide more inventory for prospective buyers.”

Private job growth surged in December as the labor market continues to be a big source of strength for the U.S. economy. ADP reports that private payrolls rose by 202,000 last month, well above the 155,000 expected. The November number of 67,000 jobs created was revised higher to 124,000. Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute said, “The service providers posted the largest gain since April, driven mainly by professional and business services. Job creation was strong across companies of all sizes, led predominantly by midsized companies.”

Read More