{"id":4237,"date":"2023-06-06T18:13:34","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T18:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frankbuysphilly.com\/residential-real-estate-activity-picks-up-despite-low-inventory\/"},"modified":"2023-06-06T18:13:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T18:13:34","slug":"residential-real-estate-activity-picks-up-despite-low-inventory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frankbuysphilly.com\/residential-real-estate-activity-picks-up-despite-low-inventory\/","title":{"rendered":"Residential real estate activity picks up despite low inventory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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All 12 Federal Reserve<\/a><\/strong> districts have seen issues with a lack of housing inventory<\/a>, which is largely due to existing homeowners holding back on listing their homes after previously locking in low mortgage rates<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Demand from the buyer side has remained steady or increased, however, and new home builders have responded to inventory shortages by increasing speculative inventory production, according to the Federal Reserve Beige Book, released Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Beige Book is a compilation of data and interviews with bank and branch directors, community organizations and economists from on or before May 22.<\/p>\n \u201cResidential real estate<\/a> activity picked up in most Districts despite continued low inventories of homes for sale,\u201d the report states.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Beige Book also notes that \u201chome prices and rents rose slightly on balance in most Districts, after little growth in the prior period.\u201d<\/p>\n In return, the lack of inventory of homes for sale pushed demand for rental properties in some areas \u2014 including New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City Federal Reserve districts.<\/p>\n Following are excerpts of statements on housing conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts.\u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n Boston \u2013<\/strong> Contacts around the District attribute the still-low sales numbers to low inventories more than to weak demand, as slightly lower mortgage rates have helped bring more buyers to the market. <\/p>\n House price appreciation has slowed on average but remains slightly positive, with the exception that home prices in Massachusetts (not including Boston) have experienced modest declines from a year earlier. The modest price growth in the Boston area marks a trend reversal from the preceding few months.\u00a0<\/p>\n Contacts anticipate that, despite healthy buyer demand, home sales are likely to experience only a modest seasonal increase moving forward, owing to extremely low inventory levels.<\/p>\n New York \u2013<\/strong> The residential sales market has been strong across the District. A New York City-area contact reports that the sales market in and around New York City has picked up strongly in recent weeks after a brief pause in early April, which was due to uncertainty in the banking sector.<\/p>\n After a slow start to the year, housing markets in upstate New York have also started to pick up, with bidding wars and multiple offers becoming more common. Inventory remains exceptionally low and is restraining sales activity in much of the District. A key factor suppressing new listings is the prevalence of homeowners with historically low interest rates on their existing mortgages, reducing the incentive to sell and move.<\/p>\n A strong economy and relatively high mortgage rates have pushed some movers to the rental market, boosting demand.<\/p>\n