Latest news with #DianaOlick
CNBC
39 minutes ago
- Business
- CNBC
June existing home sales unchanged year-over-year
CNBC's Diana Olick joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the data economic data to cross the tape.
CNBC
39 minutes ago
- Business
- CNBC
June home sales drop as prices hit a record high
Sales of previously owned homes in June dropped 2.7% from May to 3.93 million units on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. Analysts had expected a drop of just 0.7%. Sales were unchanged from June 2024. This report is based on closings, so contracts that were likely signed in April and May, when the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage jumped above 7% a few times and never went below 6.8%, according to Mortgage News Daily. "High mortgage rates are causing home sales to remain stuck at cyclical lows," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR, in a release. "If the average mortgage rates were to decline to 6%, our scenario analysis suggests an additional 160,000 renters becoming first-time homeowners and elevated sales activity from existing homeowners." Mortgage rates have not moved markedly in the last several months, remaining stubbornly high amid concerns over the broader economy. The average rate now is 6.77%. CNBC's Property Play with Diana Olick covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe here to get access today. Supply continues to gain, with 1.53 million units for sale at the end of June. That is an increase of 15.9% year over year and represents a 4.7-month supply at the current sales pace. A 6-month supply is considered balanced between buyer and seller, so the market is still lean. The median price of a home sold in June was $435,300, up 2% year over year and another record high for the month of June. That is the 24th consecutive month of annual increases. "Multiple years of undersupply are driving the record high home price. Home construction continues to lag population growth. This is holding back first-time home buyers from entering the market," said Yun, noting also that the average homeowner's wealth increased by $140,900 over the past five years. Sales continue to outperform on the higher end of the market. Homes priced below $100,000 dropped 5% annually. Homes priced between $100,000 and $250,000 rose 5%. And homes priced above $1 million jumped 14%. Houses are spending longer on the market, at an average of 27 days compared with 22 days last June. Higher-end homes are selling faster than those priced below $500,000. First-time buyers represented 30% of sales. Historically that demographic makes up 40% of all buyers. The share of all-cash deals remained elevated at 29% of sales. Pre-Covid, cash sales accounted for roughly 20% of the market. Homes listed received an average of 2.4 offers, down slightly from 2.5 last month and from 2.9 a year earlier.
CNBC
a day ago
- Business
- CNBC
How companies are using body heat sensors to make offices more efficient and hospitable
Butlr heat sensing tech provides insights into office space utilization. A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. As more and more employees return to the office, by choice or by force, large companies are more interested than ever in understanding how they use the space. The pandemic fundamentally changed how and where people work, and even in the return-to-office dynamic, there is a greater focus on how to best utilize and monetize office space, as well as make it more energy-efficient. To that end, some companies are using body heat. Butlr, a 6-year-old, San Francisco-based startup that was a spinoff of MIT Media Lab, leverages body temperature technology to understand how humans act and interact in the office without using cameras. In other words, it's anonymous. Sensors placed around the office space record the heat and then incorporate AI to look at every aspect of physical interactions. That includes occupancy, foot traffic, frequency and location of meetings, areas that are unoccupied or crowded and the impact on heating and cooling systems. But it goes beyond that. "By understanding how colleagues act and interact in the office while ensuring privacy, you can make it a place that is more productive, collaborative and aligned with the corporate culture – one where they look forward to being there," said Honghao Deng, CEO and co-founder of Butlr. "This can impact retention and performance, and you may even see attitudes shift from negative to positive." Companies use the data to make decisions about layout and design, retrofits, hybrid work schedules, maintenance, cleaning schedules and lease negotiations. CNBC's Property Play with Diana Olick covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe here to get access today. The costs of so-called office fit-outs, or upgrades to spaces, are on the rise, according to a new report from JLL. "Increased focus on in-office attendance, employee experience and sustainability performance is leading focus on investing in high quality workspaces, with increased spend on materials and finishes and shifting cost profiles on many projects," according to the report. JLL also noted that those rising costs, as well as economic uncertainty, are contributing to hesitancy in CRE investment decisions. That has the potential to have long-term impacts on the overall workplace. Both raw material price increases and labor shortages are increasing overall construction costs across all regions. Still, more and more companies are pushing workers back to the office and solidifying flexible work arrangements into the culture. That flexible work paradigm, according to Deng, has more employers seeking data and insights into actual office usage. "You can think about this from both a cultural and a financial perspective," he said. In April, Butlr announced the completion of its latest investment round for a total of $75 million in funding to date. The company's clients span office, higher education and senior care and include names like Verizon, CBRE, Carrier and Compass Group. The company serves customers in North America, Europe and Asia.
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Business inventories unchanged for second consecutive month
Rick Santelli and Diana Olick join 'Squawk on the Street' with the latest economic data to cross the tape.
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Homebuilders are slashing prices at the highest rate in 3 years
The nation's homebuilders continue to see weakening demand from potential buyers concerned about the broader economy. As a result, they are cutting prices at the highest rate in three years, according to the monthly builder confidence survey from the National Association of Home Builders. Builder confidence in July rose 1 point to 33 on the NAHB index, a slight improvement. Still, anything below 50 is considered negative sentiment. The index stood at 41 last July, and it has been in negative territory now for 15 straight months. The slight boost this month came from the recently passed budget act, which provided some tax relief for households, home builders and small businesses. Mortgage rates, however, have been hovering in the same narrow, elevated level for several months. "While this new law should provide economic momentum after a disappointing spring, the housing sector has weakened in 2025 due to poor affordability conditions, particularly from elevated interest rates," said Buddy Hughes, NAHB chairman and a builder from Lexington, North Carolina. That's why 38% of builders said they cut prices in July, the highest share since NAHB began tracking the metric in 2022. Just 29% were cutting back in April. The average price reduction was 5% in July, where it has been every month since November. CNBC's Property Play with Diana Olick covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe here to get access today. Builders have been buying down mortgage rates to help get buyers in the door, which has cut into their margins some, but not as much as price cuts. "Should the public builders supplement mortgage rate buydowns with more outright price reductions they would likely experience a larger negative gross margin and EPS drag as they would be unlikely able to offset the margin drag with increased volumes and SG&A leverage," said Jonathan Woloshin, real estate and lodging analyst with UBS. Of the index's three components, current sales conditions rose 1 point to 36, sales expectations in the next six months increased 3 points to 43. Buyer traffic saw a 1 point drop to 20, which is the lowest reading since the end of 2022. "Single-family housing starts will post a decline in 2025 due to ongoing housing affordability challenges," said Robert Dietz, NAHB's chief economist. "Single-family permits are down 6% on a year-to-date basis and builder traffic in the HMI is at a more than two-year low." Regionally, builder sentiment was strongest in the Northeast where it rose 1 point, flat in the Midwest and dropped further in the South and West, where it was weakest.
