March 21, 2025
- The 搁别补濒迟辞谤.肠辞尘庐 economics team update gives you the relevant economic and real estate information you need to know each week every Friday to navigate the housing market as a homebuyer, home seller, or industry professional.
- For the week ending March 21, 搁别补濒迟辞谤.肠辞尘庐 Chief Economist Danielle Hale discusses the latest Fed meeting and what it means for mortgage rates, as well as existing home sales, weekly housing data, rental trends, and construction data.
- The Fed鈥檚 Open Market Committee left its policy rate unchanged as it updated economic projections. Danielle discusses what changed since December.
- Mortgage rates edged up 2 basis points but have remained in their recent range.
- Steadier mortgage rates helped push existing home sales up in February. Danielle discusses key takeaways for buyers and sellers from this data.
- Realtor.com weekly housing trends report highlights the latest housing data which suggests some advantages for buyers.听
- Meanwhile, households who aren鈥檛 yet ready to buy will find some relief in the rental market. Rents fell for a 19th straight month according to Realtor.com data.听
- Danielle discusses how both national construction data and local permitting data play into expectations about what鈥檚 ahead for rents and where there could be upward pressure.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
- 滨鈥檓 Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com庐. With March Madness in full swing, 滨鈥檓 going to discuss the latest Fed meeting and what it means for mortgage rates, existing home sales, weekly housing data, rental trends, construction data, and most importantly, what it means for you.
- The Fed鈥檚 Open Market Committee this week made no change to its policy rate, but will unwind some parts of its balance sheet more slowly. In addition, the Fed released a summary of its members鈥� economic projections. While the expected policy path is unchanged, members anticipate somewhat higher inflation and weaker economic and employment conditions than they did in December.
- Mortgage rates, which were largely gathered before this news, edged up 2 basis points, but have remained in the 6.6% to 6.7% range for the last three weeks. They are also down from a year ago and from their January high just over 7%.听
- While mortgage rates are not low, they are lower than they have been, a factor that likely helped push existing home sales up in February. Despite rising month to month, February鈥檚 sales pace lagged behind last year鈥檚 fairly high bar, snapping a 4 month streak of yearly gains.听
- The Realtor.com forecast expects modestly higher home sales from the low 2024 bar as inventory recovery gives home shoppers more options and more market power. The fact that mortgage rates are steady this year at a time when they surged last year, will likely be an added benefit for spring shoppers and should encourage sellers aiming for the Best Time to Sell less than a month away.
- Realtor.com weekly housing data showed that listing prices flattened even as new listings and active inventory growth continued. The data suggest that March home shoppers will have more options and a bit more time to evaluate those options this year versus last.
- Households who aren鈥檛 yet ready to buy will find some relief in the rental market. Rents fell for a 19th straight month, though the decline was less than 1%. A steady supply of new rentals helped drive the slow-down in rent, but that trend is shifting.听
- Construction data shows that multi-family starts and permits were lower in February nationwide as builders have pulled back in the face of lower rents and policy uncertainty.听
- When we dug into the data locally, though, we found construction pull-backs even in some markets where rents are rising. For example, in New York City, multi-family permits were down nearly 10% from their previous 5 year average even as rents climbed 6.8% from a year ago according to the latest Realtor.com data. This could mean extra rent pressure ahead in New York and the 8 other markets in a similar position.
- You can find all the details, including full reports and our housing data for download, at Big gaming/research.听 You can also follow us on (formerly ) for real time updates. And for graphics.
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