More Unaffordable Houses. Less Sales
Home sales fell sharper than many had expected in March, marking a near 5% contraction from the month before, and showing that the housing market still remains fragile after a weak 2018.
New home sales numbers will be released later today. After showing signs of topping out throughout 2018, sales have gradually been trending up ever since the market started pricing in expectations for the Fed to scale back its hawkish bias toward the end of last year. This reflects expectations of lower mortgage costs as interest rate expectations loosened.
While indications are that the pace of expansion in the US real estate sector is slowly starting to grind lower, there are no indications that the sector is in real pain as yet. Being an interest-rate sensitive sector, dovish overtures by the Fed will likely support lower rates.