New-home sales rise to highest level since May 2023

😴 The inevitable: Monday is here. Today’s newsletter is 582 words, a 2-minute read.

1. Justice Department sues RealPage, alleging it enabled price-fixing on rents

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it is suing the real estate company RealPage, saying it engaged in a price-fixing scheme to drive up rents.

The attorneys general of eight states — North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington — have joined the Justice Department’s antitrust suit filed in federal court in North Carolina.

The Justice Department alleges that RealPage’s algorithmic pricing lets landlords of multifamily dwellings effectively collude and set rents above market rate, which "deprives renters of the benefits of competition on apartment leasing terms and harms millions of Americans.”

2. Fed’s Powell says ‘time has come’ for rate cuts

“The time has come for policy to adjust,” Powell said in a Friday speech from Jackson Hole, Wyo. that looked back over the monetary response to the pandemic.

“The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks,” Powell said.

A majority of interest rate traders expect a quarter percentage point rate cut when the Fed meets again in mid-September, according to the CME Fed Watch tool, although around one-third think it could be as much as a half percentage point.

📣 Attention: Reporting and Data Warehousing for Loan Officers

You've been begging your CRM for this, and we have been listening. Designed specifically for Loan Officers, you can now access the numbers you’ve always wanted!

Aidium’s Reporting Suite offers:

• Pre-Built Reports: Ready-made reports that provide essential data-driven insights.

• Custom Reports: Tailored to meet your specific needs.

• Data Warehousing: Consolidate all your data from various tools in one convenient location.

Stop waiting for your CRM to catch up—discover how you can hit the ground running with Aidium’s Reporting Suite today!

3. More Nuggets

🏘️ Homebuyers reveal how low mortgage rates must go before they buy a house. (Realtor)

😬 Redfin's latest layoff round hits brokerage services biz. (GeekWire)

🤖 In AI-based lending, is there an accuracy vs. fairness tradeoff? (American Banker)

🎯 FHFA proposes new three-year housing goals for Fannie, Freddie. (FHFA)

4. New-home sales rise to highest level since May 2023

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose to their highest level in more than a year in July as a drop in mortgage rates boosted demand, offering more evidence that the housing market is recovering.

• A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed, or a deposit is accepted. The home can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction, or completed.

New home sales jumped 10.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000 units last month, the highest level since May 2023, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Friday. It was also the sharpest increase in sales since August 2022.

5. Charted: Zillow forecast for metro-level home price change between July 2024 and July 2025

Click here for an interactive of the map above

☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Wednesday!

🚀 Wanna help our newsletter grow? Forward it to a friend or colleague.

Would you like to receive a ready-to-send weekly marketing email for your realtors and/or clients? Start your 30-day free trial here.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

Interested in advertising to 40k+ loan officers? Get in touch.