DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1491912
5 Journal Compiled by the DS News Staff TA K E A L O O K I N S I D E T H E N U M B E R S DATA BITS Source: Redfin, "Rental Market Tracker: Rent Growth Slowed for Seventh Straight Month in December" I N S I D E T H E J O U R N A L | I N F O S T R E A M | G O O D R E A D S | M O V E R S & S H A K E R S According to a new report from RE/MAX, new listings recorded 2022's largest month-to-month decline of 25.2% and finished 15.1% lower than a year ago, as homes sold in December were on the market for an average of 47 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types increased in December according to the National Association of Realtors, as sales sagged 34.0% year over year, down from 6.09 million in December 2021. 1. SALT LAKE CITY, UT (29.8%) 2. RALEIGH, NC (24.0%) 3. INDIANAPOLIS, IN (16.3%) 4. CLEVELAND, OH (14.6%) 5. NASHVILLE, TN (11. 7%) 6. CHARLOTTE, NC (10.6%) 7. BUFFALO, NY (9.6%) 8. KANSAS CITY, MO (9.4%) 9. COLUMBUS, OH (7. 7%) 10. ST. LOUIS, MO (7.4%) WHERE RENTS DECLINED THE LEAST IN 14 MAJOR METROS 1. MINNEAPOLIS, MN (-8.5%) 2. OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (-6.4%) 3. PHOENIX, AZ (-5.0%) 4. HOUSTON, TX (-4.6%) 5. MILWAUKEE, WI (-4.1%) 6. CHICAGO, IL (-3.6%) 7. BALTIMORE, MD (-2.1%) 8. AUSTIN, TX (-2.0%) 9. BIRMINGHAM, AL (-1.8%) 10. LOS ANGELES, CA (-1.5%) WHERE RENTS DECLINED THE MOST IN 14 MAJOR METROS CITY RANK CITY RANK INFLATION SLOWS IN GENERAL, YET HOTSPOTS REMAIN Inflation in 2023 continues to sting but in some cases has shown signs of slowing in recent numbers likely due to factors mitigated by the Federal Reserve rate hikes. As reported by WalletHub, inflation was still a "whopping" 6.5% in December 2022, to close out the year. In addition, they said high inflation is driven by a variety of factors, including the ever-present COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and ongoing labor shortages. "e government is hoping to continue to rein in inflation with additional aggressive in- terest rate hikes this year," said Adam McCann, a WalletHub Financial Writer. "But exactly how much of an effect that will have remains to be seen." e top-5 cities where inflation was rising the most were Miami, 9.9%; Tampa, Florida, 9.6%; Dallas/Fort Worth, 8.4%; River- side, California, 7.5%; and Seattle, 8.4%. When asked specifically about inflation, Robert Wyllie, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Ashland University said, "What now looks like peak inflation, the 9.1% CPI we saw in June, was initially driven by higher prices in the goods sector, for example, the jump in prices of new and used cars. Demand rotated away from services and into commod- ities during the pandemic lockdowns, which is why so many economists one year ago thought higher goods prices represented transitory inflation, which would disappear once services reopened and supply-chain bottlenecks cleared." Wyllie continued: "Now, however, the service sector is also contributing to still-high and clearly persistent inflation. Excess savings, probably ex- acerbated by the third-round stimulus checks from the end of 2021, contributes to this, as well as other factors like higher energy costs." When asked about what can be done to slow the rap- idly increasing price gains, he said, "ere is no single cause of inflation and no single solution. In October, the Fed estimated that American households still had $1.7 trillion in excess savings. Consumer demand ought to fall as this excess savings is spent, and with it, the inflation rate should fall as well. e Fed has signaled another round or two of interest rate hikes, after mid-December's 0.50% increase, which is probably around the corner in the new year." "The government is hoping to continue to rein in inflation with additional aggressive interest rate hikes this year." —Adam McCann, Financial Writer, WalletHub