Dr. Lisa Sturtevant

At the end of last year, forecasters were bullish on the 2024 housing market. The Fed was going to cut interest rates and mortgage rates were going to fall fast. Buyers who had been waiting on the sidelines were going to be out in full force. The housing market would bounce back from 2023 when…

Conventional wisdom has held that the housing market slows in the months leading up to a presidential election. However, data over the past three decades show that there’s no notable impact on the housing market in election years.  Could this year be different? So far, the 2024 presidential election cycle has been unusual by many…

In the current uncertain environment, it is more important than ever that we as an industry communicate the critical role housing plays in the U.S. economy. I am probably biased, since I am a researcher, but I believe there needs to be more data-backed, evidence-based analysis to help cut through some of the misconceptions and…

2023’s housing market ended with a whimper. There were just over four million existing home sales nationwide last year, the fewest since 1995. Elevated mortgage rates and high home prices forced some prospective buyers to exit the market. However, a lack of inventory continues to be the biggest constraint on the market. Existing homeowners have…

In August, mortgage rates surpassed 7%, hitting a more than two-decade high. At the beginning of 2023, most housing-market watchers expected rates to drop steadily throughout the year, perhaps even falling back down to 6% by year’s end. But rates are remaining persistently high in the face of economic uncertainty. And consumers are starting to…

The COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns and shut-ins, but it also created opportunities for movers. Whether households made a long-distance move for lifestyle, family or financial reasons, some states were a draw for pandemic movers. According to IRS data, between 2020 and 2021, the biggest gainer was Florida, with 128,710 more households moving in than…

The large millennial population is in prime first-time home-buying age, driving demand and competing for the ongoing scarcity of homes for sale. While there are some divergences in how millennials approach home buying and selling, it’s still an open question about how radically this generation will change the housing market. Millennials are different from prior…

The headlines can sometimes be alarming: “Home sales activity at a decade low.” “Prices are collapsing.” “The market is set to crash.” The attention-grabbing headlines can be disorientating to consumers who are reading that the market is in crisis, but who are finding very competitive conditions when they are actually out looking for a home.…

Summer is typically when the housing market heats up. In a normal year, there are more homes sold in the summer, and homes tend to sell faster. Prices peak during the summer months and new listings increase. Over the last few years, however, the housing market has been anything but typical, so what will summer…

“Institutional investors are the main culprit behind rising rents and home prices, shutting would-be homebuyers out of the market.” This is a common refrain, and while the share of investors in the housing market has increased in recent years, their impact may not be as significant as some claim. Directing so much attention to them…