The Week Ahead: The Beginning of the End?

The talk of the town in the mortgage finance industry has been one of two things: inventory, or lack thereof, and rising home prices, two seemingly inseparable pieces of data. One affects the other, and vis versa.

MReport has frequently followed the trend that many Baby Boomer homeowners are unwilling to sell their home because they are afraid they won’t be able to find a replacement home. And with new millennial homebuyers commanding more of the market share, it seems like the cycle will never end.

Next Wednesday, August 16, the Housing Starts report for the month of July will be released and, hopefully, give an indication whether or not the inventory draught could be coming to an end. Marketwatch’s Economic Forecast predicts the figure to come in at around 1.230 million starts. In June, total housing starts were measured at 1.215 million, which was an increase from May’s figure of 1.092 million.

The Housing Starts Report will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Other Events in the Week Ahead:  

Housing Market Index, Monday 10 a.m. EDT

Live Interview with new NAR CEO, Tuesday, 3 p.m. EDT

Home Builders’ Index, Tuesday, 10 a.m. EDT

FOMC Minutes, Wednesday, 2 p.m. EDT

Leading Economic Indicators, Thursday, 10 a.m. EDT