May 06, 2016
Southern California Real Estate Market Update
Posted in Market News and Southern California Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
Southern California continues to add jobs but the rate of increase has started to taper. Through the end of the first quarter of 2016, the counties that make up this report added 71,100 new jobs, and year-over-year, employment is up by 196,100 total jobs for a growth rate of 2.1%. Regional unemployment remains steady or is dropping modestly, and most counties are at or approaching full employment.
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May 04, 2016
Oregon and South West Washington Real Estate Market Update
Posted in Market News and Oregon and Southwest Washington Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
Growth in the Oregon economy is impressive and unlikely to slow down in the foreseeable future. This bodes well for the housing market.
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April 25, 2016
An Incoming Tide Raises All Ships: How the Growth in Homeowner Equity Continues to Stabilize the U.S. Housing Market
Posted in Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
With home prices rising and consumers not taking on additional mortgage debt, equity levels have grown substantially. The country went through a very painful period of negative equity during the housing recession, but the growth started returning in 2012, and we moved back into a period of positive equity again by the summer of 2013. In 2015, equity levels increased by an impressive 10.2 percent
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April 21, 2016
Western Washington Real Estate Market Update
Posted in Market News and Western Washington Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
Washington State has seen very robust growth over the past 12 months with the addition of 102,600 new jobs, which is 224,000 more jobs than seen at the previous peak in 2008. With this robust growth, it is unsurprising to see the unemployment rate trend down to 5.8%—well below the long-term average of 6.4%. As pleasing as it is to see the unemployment rate drop, it is equally pleasing to see...
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April 11, 2016
What’s the Deal with Condos?
Posted in Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
The Greater-Seattle region continues to grow its population base but not its land base. As such, density needs to be embraced. Condominiums play an important part of the equation, but until this segment of the market regains its footing, there will be further pressure on housing of all types to accommodate the region’s growth, and this will continue to put upward pressure on prices.
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February 10, 2016
Oregon and Southwest Washington Real Estate Market Update
Posted in Market News and Oregon and Southwest Washington Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
The Oregon economy continues to expand and I do not see this changing in the foreseeable future. However, similar to many West Coast markets, Oregon’s inventory constraints are becoming problematic. I believe we will see more listings come online in 2016 as home equity levels continue to expand, but unfortunately it will not be enough to meet demand...
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February 02, 2016
Western Washington Real Estate Market Update
Posted in Market News and Western Washington Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
The Washington State economy has added almost 370,000 jobs since the lowest point of the recession at the start of 2010. Additionally, total employment is 176,000 jobs higher than seen at the 2008 peak. With a vast majority of our metropolitan areas having fully recovered from the job losses seen during the recession, I expect to see somewhat more modest job growth in the coming year.
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January 11, 2016
2016 Economic & Housing Forecast
Posted in Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
It appears that 2016 will be a year of few surprises as it pertains to the housing market. Because it’s an election year, we shouldn’t expect to see any significant governmental moves that would have a major impact on the U.S. economy or housing market. Read about this and more in Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner’s 2016 forecast.
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December 16, 2015
There’s No Need To Panic About Rising Interest Rates
Posted in Inman News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
After seven years of some of the lowest interest rates in recorded history, the Federal Reserve has decided to raise the key Fed Funds Rate by 0.25 percent, which is causing some to be concerned that it will lead to a jump in mortgage rates and negatively impact the US housing market. So, the question everyone wants to know is, do we need to worry about interest rates leaping?
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December 01, 2015
No national bubble in sight, but there are some frothy markets
Posted in Inman News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate
For the past few years, home values have been rising at rates well above that of incomes, but thanks to low-interest rates, this hasn’t yet created a significant barrier for buyers. However, mortgage rates are set to rise, and this could leave some markets with homes that are too expensive for buyers earning that area’s median income.
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