The Mortgage Bankers Association has its annual meeting this time every year. The content is so stodgy that that they have to host the conference in some place like San Diego just so people will attend. For anyone who stayed awake during the proceedings however, there was some good news: the MBA expects a 10% increase in home purchases next year. By contrast, the National Association of Realtors forecasts a 3.5% uptick in purchase transactions over the next 12 months. Perhaps the MBA’s statistic might have been inflated just to see if anyone was paying attention? Last year, NAR showed a 7.0% increase in purchase transactions from 2014 to 2015. Personally, I have seen a decent pickup in the number of homebuyers this year and welcome a little boost from 2015, especially considering the anticipated 33% decrease in refinance transactions coming next year as a result of increasing interest rates (another MBA forecast).
Newly issued Building Permits decreased by 5% and Housing Starts increased by 6.5% over last month according to the National Association of Home Builders this morning. So-so news which pales by comparison to the 17% increase in the construction of multi-unit dwellings. Anyone who has driven down the length of Orem’s State Street this year would refute that 17% is a low number.
