The Real Estate News Brief - SCOTUS Eviction Ban Ruling, Lumber Price Turnaround, and a Credit Card that Helps You Buy a Home

Real Estate News: Real Estate Investing Podcast

Transcript:

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending on the 4th of July, 2021... what the U.S. Supreme Court decided about the CDC eviction moratorium, the surprising drop in price for lumber, and a new credit card that helps you get money for the down payment.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors.

Economic News

We begin with economic news from this past week. The latest unemployment report shows that fewer people are applying for benefits, probably because the COVID-era benefits are being phased out. The Labor Department says that 364,000 people applied for benefits. That’s 50,000 less than the week before. Initial claims are now below the half million mark. The total number of people collecting benefits from all eight state and federal programs is 14.7 million, which is another pandemic low. (1)

There are plenty of job openings for people looking for work. Companies pumped 850,000 new positions into the market in June. That’s the biggest hiring increase in 10 months, according to MarketWatch, but economists say employment levels are still a long way from pre-pandemic levels. Most of these new positions are for jobs that correspond to the reopening, like those for restaurants, hotels, and stores. (2)

The official unemployment rate is at 5.9%. Economists say the true rate is probably two or three percentage points higher than that. The percentage of people over 16 who are able to work is 61.6%. That’s known as the labor participation rate. It’s the same now as it was in October.

Home prices are rising at an eye-popping rate. The S&P Case-Schiller nationwide index rose from 13.3% year-over-year in May to 14.6% in April. The 10-city index shows a bigger jump, from 12.9% to 14.4%. The cities with the biggest gains were Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle. A representative for the Index says the gain for the nationwide index is the highest reading in more than 30 years. (3)

Homebuyers were busy in May. The National Association of Realtors reported an unexpected 8% increase in pending home sales, compared to April. CNBC says that economists expected a 1% decline, but instead, contract signings rose to levels we haven’t seen since 2005. (4) NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said in a statement: “May’s strong increase in transactions -- following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability -- was indeed a surprise.” (5)

Construction spending was lower in May, overall, due to non-residential projects, but spending was higher among home builders. The Commerce Department says that spending for residential construction was up .2%, and is up a total of 28.2% year-over-year. Not surprisingly, spending for office construction is down substantially. The government says it’s down 23.3% for the past year. (6)

Consumer confidence is flying high. The Conference Board says it jumped up from 120 in May to 127.3 in June. That’s the highest level of confidence since the COVID-19 ravaged the country. (7) Economists say it’s because the pandemic is dying down, government stimulus, and a recovering job market. But they say, many consumers are still worried about the risk of inflation.

Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates dipped back down this last week. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped 4 basis points to 2.98%. It had risen above the 3% level previously. The 15-year also dropped 8 basis points to 2.26%. (8)

In other news making headlines...

SCOTUS Upholds Eviction Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a request to block the CDC’s eviction ban. In a 5 to 4 decision, Chief Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with their liberal counterparts to keep the moratorium in place. Kavanaugh wrote in the decision: “Because the CDC plans to end the moratorium in only a few weeks, on July 31st, and because those few weeks will allow for additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance funds, I vote at this time to deny the application to vacate the District Court’s stay of its order.” (9)

The decision was a disappointment to real estate agents in Georgia and Alabama, who were the plaintiffs, and the National Association of Realtors who reportedly funded their legal challenge. The plaintiffs had argued that the CDC moratorium “shifted the pandemic’s financial burdens from the nation’s 30 to 40 million renters to its 10 to 11 million landlords. NAR says that landlords have been losing more than $13 billion a month during the moratorium.

Lumber Prices Continue to Fall

Lumber prices are coming down quickly after a frightening peak in early May. They had risen as high as a jaw-dropping $1,700 for a thousand board feet, but have been coming down since then.

The latest report shows that lumber futures tumbled 40% in June. That’s the biggest monthly drop on record. And that prices are now down to about $700 for a thousand board feet. That’s still more than double what they were a year ago, but the big drop in price is great news for builders, homebuyers and investors. (10) (11)

Credit Card with Down Payment Reward Points

First-time buyers have a new way to save up for a down payment. A real estate start-up called Bilt Technologies is offering a credit card with reward points that can be used to pay bills like the rent, or a down payment on a home.

If property owners accept credit cards for rent payments, then the money paid for rent would go toward those points. The Wall Street Journal says a $1,500 a month rent payment for 10 years would give you enough points for a $6,000 down payment. (12)

That’s it for today. Check the show notes for links at NewsForInvestors.com.

I'm Kathy Fettke and thanks for listening to Real Estate News for Investors. If you like what you hear, please be sure you are a subscriber. And don’t forget to give us a thumbs up or a stellar review on whatever platform you are using.

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Links:

1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-unemployment-claims-sink-51-000-to-new-pandemic-low-of-364-000-11625143912?mod=economy-politics

2 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-gains-850-000-new-jobs-in-june-in-sign-of-strength-for-the-economy-11625230019?mod=economic-report

3 - https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/29/home-price-gains-in-april-truly-extraordinary-sp-case-shiller-says.html

4 - https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/30/may-home-sales-rebound-to-highest-level-since-2005.html?__source=realestate%7Cnews%7C&par=realestate

5 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-surge-higher-but-economists-warn-that-the-housing-market-could-soon-hit-bottom-11625062462?mod=economic-report

6 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/construction-spending-falters-in-may-as-nonresidential-sector-remains-weak-11625149059?mod=economic-report

7 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-confidence-leaps-in-june-to-pandemic-high-as-coronavirus-fades-away-11624976332?mod=economy-politics

8 - http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/

9 - https://www.housingwire.com/articles/supreme-court-upholds-cdc-eviction-ban/

10 - https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/30/lumber-prices-dive-more-than-40percent-in-june-biggest-monthly-drop-on-record.html

11 - https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2021/06/update-framing-lumber-prices-down.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+CalculatedRisk+(Calculated+Risk)

12 - https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/06/29/startup-launches-credit-card-to-save-for-down-payment