by Calculated Risk on 10/17/2014 01:01:00 PM

From Joe Light at the WSJ: Fannie, Freddie Near Deal That Promises to Boost Mortgage Lending

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , their regulator and lenders are close to an agreement that could greatly expand mortgage credit while helping lenders protect themselves from charges of making bad loans, according to people familiar with the matter.
...
The new agreement would clarify what mistakes should constitute fraud, giving greater confidence to lenders that they won’t be penalized many years after a loan is made.
...
Separately, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHFA are considering new programs that would allow them to guarantee some mortgages with down payments of as little as 3%.

CR Note: There are two parts: 1) less risk to lenders of being forced to buyback faulty loans, and 2) a lower downpayment in certain circumstances. According to the article the agreement could be announced next week.

by Calculated Risk on 10/17/2014 11:45:00 AM

There were 761 thousand total housing starts during the first nine months of 2014 (not seasonally adjusted, NSA), up 9.5% from the 695 thousand during the same period of 2013.  Single family starts are up 4%, and multifamily starts up 23%.  The key weakness has been in single family starts.

The following table shows the annual housing starts since 2005, and the percent change from the previous year (estimates for 2014). The housing recovery has slowed in 2014, especially for single family starts.  I expect to further growth in starts over the next several years.

Housing Starts (000s) and Annual Change
	Total	Total % Change	Single	Single % Change
2005	2,068.3	5.8%	1,715.8	6.5%
2006	1,800.9	-12.9%	1,465.4	-14.6%
2007	1,355.0	-24.8%	1,046.0	-28.6%
2008	905.5	-33.2%	622.0	-40.5%
2009	554.0	-38.8%	445.1	-28.4%
2010	586.9	5.9%	471.2	5.9%
2011	608.8	3.7%	430.6	-8.6%
2012	780.6	28.2%	535.3	24.3%
2013	924.9	18.5%	617.6	15.4%
20141	990.0	7.0%	630.0	2.0%
1Estimate for 2014

This graph shows the month to month comparison between 2013 (blue) and 2014 (red).  Starts in 2014 have been above the same month in 2013 for six consecutive months.

Click on graph for larger image.

Starts in Q1 2014 averaged 925 thousand SAAR, and starts in Q2 averaged 985 thousand SAAR, up 7% from Q1.

Starts in Q3 averaged 1.024 million SAAR, up 4% from Q2 (and up 16% from Q3 2013).

This year, I expect starts to mostly increase throughout the year (Q1 will probably be the weakest quarter, and Q2 the second weakest).

However the year-over-year growth will slow in Q4 because the comparisons will be more difficult.

Below is an update to the graph comparing multi-family starts and completions. Since it usually takes over a year on average to complete a multi-family project, there is a lag between multi-family starts and completions. Completions are important because that is new supply added to the market, and starts are important because that is future new supply (units under construction is also important for employment).

These graphs use a 12 month rolling total for NSA starts and completions.

The blue line is for multifamily starts and the red line is for multifamily completions.

The rolling 12 month total for starts (blue line) has been increasing steadily, and completions (red line) are lagging behind - but completions will continue to follow starts up (completions lag starts by about 12 months).

For the second consecutive month, there were more multifamily completions than multifamily starts.

The second graph shows single family starts and completions. It usually only takes about 6 months between starting a single family home and completion - so the lines are much closer. The blue line is for single family starts and the red line is for single family completions.

Single family starts had been moving up, but recently starts have only increased slowly on a rolling 12 months basis. 

Note the exceptionally low level of single family starts and completions.  The "wide bottom" was what I was forecasting several years ago, and now I expect several years of increasing single family starts and completions.

by Calculated Risk on 10/17/2014 09:55:00 AM

Click on graph for larger image.

The preliminary Reuters / University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for October was at 86.4, up from 84.6 in September.

This was above the consensus forecast of 84.2. Sentiment has been improving following the recession - with plenty of ups and downs - and a big spike down when Congress threatened to "not pay the bills" in 2011.

by Calculated Risk on 10/17/2014 08:30:00 AM

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,017,000. This is 6.3 percent above the revised August estimate of 957,000 and is 17.8 percent above the September 2013 rate of 863,000.

Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 646,000; this is 1.1 percent above the revised August figure of 639,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 353,000.
emphasis added

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,018,000. This is 1.5 percent above the revised August rate of 1,003,000 and is 2.5 percent above the September 2013 estimate of 993,000.

Single-family authorizations in September were at a rate of 624,000; this is 0.5 percent below the revised August figure of 627,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 369,000 in September.

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.

Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) increased in September (Multi-family is volatile month-to-month).

Single-family starts (blue) also increased slightly in September.

The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.

 The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and that housing starts have been increasing after moving sideways for about two years and a half years.

This was at expectations of 1.010 million starts in September.

This was an OK report; close to expectations.  I'll have more later ...

by Calculated Risk on 10/16/2014 07:35:00 PM

From Jann Swanson at Mortgage News Daily: Relaxed QRM Rules Expected Next Week(ht Soylent Green is People)

Federal regulators may finally produce the long anticipated market standards for Qualified Residential Mortgages (QRM), perhaps even as early as next week. The new rules are designed to ensure the quality of mortgages that are pooled and packaged into securities for sale to investors on the secondary market. Insiders expect that the final regulations will be more relaxed than those originally proposed, largely in response to demands by real estate and mortgage industry groups.

Friday:
• At 8:30 AM, Housing Starts for September. Total housing starts were at 956 thousand (SAAR) in August. Single family starts were at 643 thousand SAAR in August. The consensus is for total housing starts to increase to 1.010 million (SAAR) in September.

• Also at 8:30 AM, Speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, Economic Opportunity, At the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Economic Conference: Inequality of Economic Opportunity, Boston, Massachusetts

• At 9:55 AM, the Reuter's/University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (preliminary for October). The consensus is for a reading of 84.2, down from 84.6 in September.