U.S. housing data revealed permits and home completions rose in August, while housing starts dropped month-over-month and year-over-year. Jessica Lautz, National Association of REALTORS Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research, provides insights into homebuilder and consumer sentiment, between supply conditions in the housing market and mortgage rates above 7%.
"At least we're not looking at last year's really strong demand, that frenetic activity that was going on in the real estate market where we had actually had 5.5 offers for every... [listing]," Lautz states. "If you're a consumer you have an opportunity to tour a home. — you are buying it at a higher interest rate, you may have the opportunity to refinance that in the future. So that could be the silver lining."
