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Office of the Chief Economist

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CoreLogic’s Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) employs some of the brightest minds and most often quoted professionals in the housing ecosystem, including Molly Boesel, Selma Hepp and other experts who know how to best interpret data trends and tell you what they mean. The OCE authors CoreLogic’s regular monthly economic reports: The Home Price Index (HPI), the Loan Performance Index (LPI), the Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI) and the S&P Case-Shiller Index (CSI). Our economists also routinely weigh in on other key housing topics on our blog, podcasts and videos. Read previous blog posts from CoreLogic's economists.
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March 17, 2021

Home Sales Reveal New Insights into Current Recession

Historically, when it comes to recessions, home prices don’t always dovetail with economic instability. In fact, home sales numbers have a much tighter relationship with recessions. The current recession is unique, however, and that uniqueness can be seen in the behavior of the national housing m...

February 12, 2021

More than 80% of Forbearances Are in the Second Phase and Approachi...

Accumulating Missed Payments Pose Challenges to Affordable Post-Forbearance Resolutions As the pandemic wears on, the nation’s unemployment rate remains at elevated levels. With unemployment rate at 6.7% at the end of 2020, millions of people have likely been out of work for as long as nine month...

February 10, 2021

Top 20 Counties to Watch: Millennial Homebuyers Are Settling Down

First-Time Home Buyers Account for Greater Share of Mortgage Applicants in 2020 First-time home buyers have been a growing share of the home buying population, a trend that accelerated in 2020. According to CoreLogic Fraud Consortium Loan Application data, the share of first-time buyers surged to...

January 21, 2021

Serious Delinquency Rates for FHA and VA Highest Since Great Recession

Serious Delinquency Rate for all Mortgage Loan Types Up from a Year Ago As the COVID-19 global pandemic has created havoc in the global economy, millions of American homeowners are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments. As a result, the mortgage delinquency rate has soared. The ...

December 29, 2020

Affordability Challenges Ahead: Large Demographic Tailwind Has Arri...

While pandemic-induced housing demand has ensured 2020 home purchase activity has reached the highest level since 2006, demographic trends suggest strong home buying demand is likely to continue. Between 2018 and 2028, the number of households are forecasted to grow by as much as 12 million[1]&nb...

December 21, 2020

U.S. For-Sale Home Supply Tightened during Pandemic, Pushing Up Hom...

National Supply of Homes for Sale Fell to 2.2 Months in October 2020 After the pandemic took hold in the U.S. in early 2020, stay-at-home orders and uncertainty in the economy delayed listings from going live on the market. The typical spring home buying season was pushed into summer in 2020 and ...

December 18, 2020

Forbearance Rates Higher for Higher-Priced Loans

Higher-Priced Mortgage Loans Are at More Risk when COVID-19 Forbearance Ends As the COVID-19 global pandemic has created a havoc in the global economy, millions of American homeowners are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments. As of December 1, MBA data showed about 2.8 mil...

November 9, 2020

Behind the Paradox of Rising Mortgage Delinquencies amid Rising Hom...

Loans in Forbearance Account for Majority of Delinquent Loans Since Pandemic Began Recent loan performance data from CoreLogic shows that the nation’s overall mortgage delinquency rate – the proportion of mortgage loans falling 30 or more days behind scheduled payment, including loans in foreclos...

November 5, 2020

Homeowner Equity Gains Key in Protecting California’s Housing Markets

Unlike the Great Recession, the speedy intervention provided by the CARES Act ensured mortgage forbearance options for homeowners who were financially harmed by the pandemic recession and had a federally backed loan. And while forbearance options will help some homeowners keep their homes, the pa...

November 4, 2020

Jumbo-Conforming Mortgage Rate Spread Widened During the Pandemic

Spread highest in last 7 years after adjusting for risk, location, and loan-size The COVID-19 pandemic has had a big effect on the mortgage market.  Along with a drop in mortgage rates to a record low, the jumbo-conforming mortgage rate spread has also been affected. Before 2013 mortgage rat...

October 12, 2020

Achieving Affordability: Comparing the Housing Market During the Bo...

A look to the past could likely give the industry an idea on how to achieve an affordable housing concept. Since the Great Recession of 2008*, the real estate market has rebounded nicely to say the least. In fact, as home prices continue to climb, it has become increasingly difficult for the aver...

October 8, 2020

Where Are Home Prices Above Their Long-Term Fundamental Values?

32% of metropolitan areas are considered overvalued, according to June CoreLogic Market Indicator While seemingly defying the odds, home price growth has persisted throughout the pandemic and showed little sign of slowing down even though the nation is facing a potentially bigger contra...