Financial Markets- Stocks
The markets held their breath as Fed Chairman Powell spoke about their stance on inflation, and while he warned of possible rate hikes should inflation show any signs of sprouting back up, he also stated that there is an element of danger in raising rates too much. These comments were somewhat welcome by markets, which have remained flat. It certainly could have been worse. Powell stated that “inflation remains too high” yet also acknowledged some humility in his role as chairman stating “we are navigating by the stars under cloudy skies”…
Financial Markets- Bonds (Mortgage Rates)
It has been a rough month in the bond market, with mortgage backed securities continuing to slide in price, driving the actual rate higher, with the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage approaching nearly 7.3%, and insult to injury is the average points paid nearly 1%. The 10 year US Treasury is up 3/10ths of a percent in the last month and nearly 1% since the lows of April 2023. This marks the highest rates have been since 2001.
https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms
Below is a screen shot of all the different predictions on where rates will be over the next 24 months, with the consensus being that rates should drop to the low 6’s by the end of this year.
Southern Nevada Real Estate
July sales for Southern Nevada continued to show signs of grid lock, with just 3,356 homes exchanging hands. This brings the year to date total number of sales to 22,249 further mapping the trajectory for less than 38,000 sales for all of 2023. The average sales price was $569,614, up 6.5% from last month and up 4.6% from the same month last year. Plenty of stats courtesy of Lawyer’s Title in the link below.
https://www.lawyerstitlenv.com/Market-Updates
The solution to free up gridlock appears to be building our way out of it. In a recent article published in the RJ Journal, an announced deal between The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the state will allow Southern Nevada government to buy land for as low as $100 per acre. Local agencies can then turn around and sell the land to developers at a cheaper price so developers can build units at an affordable price. The article goes on to state that Clark County would need as much as 85,000 more homes to support the current population.
Message me for free access to the following Realtor Tools! Take a look at Homebot! We can add your database to our Homebot account at no cost to you. Think of it like a 401k statement but for their home and it has over 80% open rate.