U.S. economy adds 216,000 jobs in December

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1. U.S. economy adds 216,000 jobs in December

The U.S. labor market ended 2023 with a bang, gaining more jobs than experts had expected and boosting hopes that the economy can settle into a solid, sustainable level of growth instead of falling into a recession.

Employers added 216,000 jobs in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent.

Although hiring has slowed in recent months, layoffs remain near record lows. The durability of both hiring and wage gains is all the more remarkable in light of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive series of interest rate hikes.

2. NAR reports first membership dip since 2012

A difficult housing market, leadership upheaval, and a wave of antitrust suits made up a tumultuous year for the National Association of Realtors — and its first membership dip in more than a decade.

Full-year membership in NAR declined by 1.7 percent in 2023, Inman reported. The drop by more than 26,000 members marked the first decrease in NAR’s ranks since 2012 and brought the group to 1.55 million members at the end of the year.

A slowed housing market was expected to bring a hit to NAR membership, as fewer home sales means fewer commissions available to agents, sidelining some from transactions.

3. Catch up quick

📉 49% of agents sold either 1 home or none at all in the past year. (CFA)

⚖️ G-Rate sues NAF over poaching, alleges violation of LO comp rule. (Yahoo)

✉️ UWM sends cease-and-desist to Facebook group for brokers. (NMN)

📝 Buying home insurance used to be routine. It’s becoming a nightmare. (WSJ)

4. Ex-NASA employee charged with mortgage fraud

Noreen Khan, a former NASA employee, and her husband Christopher Mayberry have been indicted for running a mortgage fraud scheme. Starting in 2016, while Khan was still employed at NASA, the couple allegedly took out substantial personal loans to finance their luxury home and then defaulted on these loans.

In an attempt to evade their debts, Khan is accused of filing a false police report and a fraudulent report with the Federal Trade Commission. She also reportedly sent notifications to credit bureaus to have the loans removed from her credit record.

The couple now faces charges of conspiracy to make false statements to mortgage loan businesses. If found guilty, they could receive up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. Additionally, they might have to forfeit their luxury home as part of the legal consequences.

5. Mortgage rates pause their decline

Mortgage rates paused their decline after falling for nine straight weeks.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.62% this week, up from 6.61% a week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The rate is down sharply from its peak of 7.79% in late October, but remains far above its record lows a few years ago.

One notable factor in the mortgage rate's recent drop is that rates have been falling faster than the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield they typically track. That has helped narrow the spread between the two, which has been abnormally wide since the Federal Reserve started lifting rates in 2022.

6. Charted: Fewer affordable homes

In 2023, less than 16 percent of homes for sale were affordable to local median earners, the lowest percentage since Redfin started tracking this metric in 2013 when 50 percent were affordable.

Affordability was defined as housing costs not exceeding 30 percent of income, assuming a 5 percent down payment and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, including insurance costs.

However, the outlook for 2024 is more positive, with improved housing affordability expected due to lower mortgage rates and a larger inventory of homes.

The study also included a chart showing where the largest and smallest share of homes were affordable to median earners in 2023.

👋 See you on Wednesday! And please ask your friends and colleagues to sign up.

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