Welcome to the Center for Housing and Tax Research
As of April 11th, 2024, actions by the Federal Reserve to slow the economy have pushed the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate up to 6.88%. At the end of Aug-21 it was 2.84%. This is an increase of 404 bps. The Case-Shiller 20 city home price index increased by 6.6% YOY for Jan-24. Zillow.com reported that home value gains (MOM) in Feb-24 were negative in Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA. The remain 18 CBSAs which we track had positive gains. Thus higher mortgage rates have arrested the purchase market, but not killed it. And higher interest rates have not dampened rent appreciation of single family homes.
Single Family Rental Market
CBSA Rental Update:
Recent Research:
Rent Inflation:
Do Higher Mortgage Rates Cause Rent Inflation?
In Sep-21 mortgage rates began increasing due to an increased demand to buy a home. Then in response to rising inflation, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 25 bps on March 17, 2022. This took the benchmark rate from 25 bps to 50 bps. The federal funds rate currently is 5.50%. In June 2022, it began reducing its balance sheet gradually (known as quantitative tightening, or QT) by not reinvesting all the proceeds of maturing securities. Increased demand for homes and these actions have led to higher mortgage rates. Have higher mortgage rates slowed rent inflation or exacerbated it?
The Impact Of A 1% Increase In State Income Tax Rates On Net-outmigration Of High-Income Taxpayers In The Initial Year:
TCJA is a national law which does not change a state’s stated marginal tax rate. The impact, however, is to raise taxpayer’s income tax burdens in high SALT states. This negative financial change could motivate some high-income taxpayers to leave the state. We look at the experience of three states which raised their marginal income tax rate during some point in the years 2012 – 2018 to guage the impact of a 1% tax rate increase on net-outmigration.
Rental Markets:
Will Slowing Rent Appreciation Filter Into CPI in 2023?
Section 1: Introduction
Renters generally enter a contract with a landlord for one year. In this sense, it is only when the tenant leaves the property, or when 12 months after a contract has been signed, the landlord is able to raise (or lower) the rent. It is widely perceived in 2023 that the U.S. has a housing shortage and that rental vacancies are at historic lows. Renters have very little pricing power when vacancies are low (they either pay what the landlord asks, or they try to leave and find other forms of shelter).
The Impact Of Interest Rate Changes On the Rent/Income Ratio of a City
Since Dec-18, the Federal Reserve initiated a series of interest rate changes to bolster economic activity. In response, the 30-year mortgage rate fell from 4.87% on Nov-18 to 2.87% on Jul-21. This 200 bps decline in mortgage rates made homebuying cheaper, and caused home prices to rise. All of these rate declines kept businesses strong which had a positive impact on income. Rents also increased in many cities over this time. Did the interest rate changes cause incomes to increase more than rents? In other words, are renters better off in 2022 than they were in 2018?