Today's Market News:

Strong Focus on Ramping Up Black Homeownership in New Plan Endorsed by MBA

The MBA recently endorsed a 7-point plan from the Black Homeownership Collaborative (BHC) to greatly increase the number of Black Americans purchasing homes. The BHC is comprised of organizations committed to addressing affordable housing challenges that face Black communities. With the goal of increasing Black homeownership by 3 million net new households by 2030, the plan consists of the following components: homeownership counseling, down payment assistance, housing production, credit and lending, civil and consumer rights, homeownership sustainability, and marketing and outreach.¹

Artificial Intelligence Paving Way to Increase Real Estate Sales

New artificial intelligence-based tools are being rolled out at various real estate firms in an effort to simplify and automate processes and aid agents in closing deals more quickly. Information technology executives are pushing these tools out at a time when the housing market has seen record prices and tight inventory. These tools proved quite useful during the pandemic, a time when technology was more important than ever to improve efficiencies for real estate agents. However, even with these tools in place, buying and selling homes will remain an agent-driven business.²

The Profound Effect the Pandemic Had on Women in the Real Estate Industry

The COVID-19 crisis has had a lasting impact on women in the workforce, specifically in real estate. Although the majority of new hires in the industry were women in 2020, the pandemic drove many American women out of the workforce, with 1.8 million fewer women in May than there were prior to the pandemic, according to Bloomberg. Finding childcare played a factor, with many women exiting the workplace to provide care and schooling for their children.³

Many Homeowners Avoiding Foreclosure Thanks to Soaring Housing Prices

While foreclosures were up to their highest levels in over a decade, loss mitigation, forbearance and greater equity are allowing many homeowners to leave their homes without having to go through a foreclosure. Due in part to rising housing prices, borrowers are gaining more equity in their homes which is giving them a fighting chance to sell back into the market and avoid foreclosure.⁴

Home Prices Play Role in Market Inflation

The economic group at Fannie Mae believe an upsurge in home prices has been a factor in the housing market's inflation problem. The housing research group thinks the rapid increase in prices may cause inflation through the end of the year or even into 2022 due to price pressures in all sectors -- not just housing.⁵

Sources: ¹mba.org, ²wsj.com, ³commercialobserver.com, ⁴housingwire.com, ⁵housingwire.com