Office of the Chief Economist

Blog

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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February 21, 2022

Serious Delinquency Rate for All Mortgage Loan Types Down from Last...

The nation’s overall mortgage delinquency rates have improved significantly over the last year, according to the latest CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report.

February 15, 2022

Single-Family Annual Rent Growth Finishes 2021 at a New Record

U.S. Single-Family Rents Up 12% Year Over Year in December Annual rent growth hit record highs for all price tiers. Rent growth in Miami was up 35.7% from a year earlier. Overall Single-Family Rent Growth U.S. single-family rent growth increased 12% in December 2021, the fastest year-over-year in...

February 8, 2022

National Delinquency Rates Dropped Below March 2020 Level in November

3.6% of home mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure)[1], which was a 2.3-percentage point decrease from November 2020 according to the latest CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report.

February 7, 2022

Forbearance Rate Rises With Loan Credit Risk

CoreLogic data shows that the forbearance rates were increased for higher-priced loans.

January 31, 2022

Jumbo Mortgages Reach Highest Dollar Volume Since 2005

In terms of both dollars and market share, jumbo mortgage originations grew significantly in 2021 relative to the prior year.

January 26, 2022

iBuyer Activity in 2021 Doubled from Pre-Coronavirus Levels

In addition to elevated demand for owner-occupied and second homes since the onset of the pandemic, there has also been an increase in investor home purchases across the U.S. housing markets.

January 21, 2022

Which Increased More: New or Existing Home Prices?

New home prices up less in 2021, but more over the last decade

January 13, 2022

Borrower Cost of Jumbo Loans Declines Compared to Last Year

Historically, large-balance mortgage loans, known as ‘jumbo’ loans, have had a higher interest rate than conforming loans.[1] However, since mid-2013, the interest rate for a jumbo loan was lower than a conforming loan until June 2020.

December 23, 2021

Single-Family Investor Activity Remained High in the Third Quarter

Much like the record appreciation recorded in the CoreLogic Home Price Index, investor activity hit peaks previously unseen in CoreLogic data in the second quarter of 2021.

December 13, 2021

The Long-View of Housing Appreciation

Is 2021 the hottest real estate market ever? According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (HPI), annual U.S. appreciation rates from April to September have been at their highest since the inception of the index. CoreLogic’s public records data shows 2021 is easily on pace to be ...

December 8, 2021

Conventional Mortgage Lending in Underserved Areas Dropped During t...

Conventional Mortgage Lending in Underserved Areas Dropped During the Early Months of Pandemic

December 6, 2021

Appraisal Gap Falls as Fast as it Had Previously Risen

The housing market’s recovery in summer 2020 from the outbreak of the pandemic was largely unexpected: by July, despite a high unemployment rate with more than 16.3 million people out of work, home sales rebounded strongly to climb back to pre-pandemic levels and surpassed the same-period sales f...