This week, mortgage interest rates trended downward slightly but still continue to be above 7%, starting the week at 7.13% and at 7.08% as of today. Although still lower than the rates observed in the fall of 2023, this development dampens enthusiasm among buyers looking to enter the spring market. It is noteworthy that this housing market is distinctive, with 32% of buyers opting for all-cash purchases, possibly influenced by substantial gains in housing equity.   If this trend continues, it may create disadvantages for first-time buyers, who are typically more sensitive to prices, as the increase in mortgage rates could potentially price them out of the market. Existing-home sales in January 2024 bounced back to reach 4 million The National Association of Realtors (NAR) published a report on existing-home sales data, revealing that housing market activity in January surged by 3.1% compared to December 2023. January's existing-home sales achieved a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million, marking a 1.7% decline from January 2023.   By the end of January, unsold listings increased by 2.0% from the previous month, totaling 1,010,000 homes for sale. Inventory levels were up by 3.1% compared to January 2023, with it taking approximately 3 months to clear the current inventory at the current sales pace. Homes took around 36 days to go from listing to contract in the current market, slightly longer than the 33 days it took a year ago.   All-cash buyers has reached its highest level since 2014, accounting for 32% of all buyer While mortgage interest rates have increased from their historic lows in recent years, the number of all-cash home buyers has notably increased in recent months. Since October 2022, buyers who purchased their homes without financing, have accounted for over a quarter of the real estate market. As of January 2024, all-cash buyers now represent 32% of home sales, marking the highest level since June 2014. These home buyers primarily consist of vacation buyers and investors based on data from the REALTORS® Confidence Index over the last six months. However, primary residence buyers are also actively engaging in all-cash purchases.    For primary residence buyers, all-cash transactions or larger than 20% down payments have seen a rise over the past two years. These buyers typically sold their previous homes and used the proceeds to purchase their next property without a mortgage or borrowing a smaller amount. This ability to make cash purchases is often attributed to the substantial housing equity they have accumulated as property values have surged in recent years. In 2003, only 10% of repeat primary residence buyers could afford an all-cash purchase, compared to 26% in 2023. This trend is less common among first-time buyers, although there was a slight increase from 4% in 2003 to 6% in 2023.    Apart from housing equity, another factor enabling primary residence buyers to make all-cash purchases is their tendency to relocate over long distances. All-cash primary residence buyers typically move a median distance of 60 miles, with nearly a third relocating 500 miles or more. In contrast, among those who financed their home purchases, only 16% moved over 500 miles, with a median distance of just 18 miles. Long-distance moves have remained prevalent, especially among retirees and individuals with remote work flexibility. With home prices projected to continue rising in 2024 due to limited inventory and high demand, all-cash buyers are expected to remain prominent in the market as homeowners accumulate more housing equity.    In January, the average home received 2.7 offers, indicating a competitive market where all-cash buyers may have an advantage in bidding wars over those relying on financing. Weekly Highlights: New listings have increased for the fourth consecutive week.  The week ending on February 25, there was a rise of 6.9% in new listings compared to the same period last year.    The median time to contract interrupts the declining pattern. This marks the fourth week in a row where new listings have surpassed the previous year's numbers, indicating a positive trend in inventory growth.The decline in the median time to contract has been interrupted. Homes are now taking one day longer to sell compared to the previous week, breaking a six-week downward trend.  The median list price in falls. Despite this change, the current median time to contract is still two days quicker than it was at the same time last year. In comparison to the previous year, there was a 2.5% decrease in the median list price from the preceding week. Nonetheless, the median list price remains higher than last year, with a 5.3% increase observed across the region.

American studio Steven Holl Architects has completed Rubenstein Commons, a building composed of "bulbous space curves", for the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Rubenstein Commons was designed to be a meeting place and office complex for visiting scholars to the institute, where scientist Albert Einstein once held a faculty position.The studio created an interconnected series of asymmetrical volumes, punctuated by expansive planes of prismatic glass, to give the building a layout that would encourage interaction.Steven Holl Architects designed the building for the Institute of Advanced Study in New Jersey"The idea of a commons is a place of unpredictable interaction," Steven Holl Architects founder Steven Holl told Dezeen. "And that's why the building is so fluid.""You can enter our building from either the north or the south so it doesn't have one front door. It's like a passage," Holl continued.Rubenstein Commons has three levels – spread unevenly – so that different parts of the building have one-, two- and three storeys, with the total floor space totalling 17,175 square feet  (1,596 metres).The structure is made with pre-cast concreteWith a roughly L-shaped footprint, the structure's envelope was constructed with precast concrete panels.At certain positions within the design, the concrete wall panels were clad with black slate to form functional blackboards for interior use.Holl – who was in dialogue with many researchers at the institute when developing the design – said that the blackboards were an important inclusion for many of the scholars involved with the institute.Prismatic glass was used to accentuate the exteriors"I think it's a reassessment of what physical experience is," he said. "And that's also what this building is about, by the way."Many of the buildings on the campus have copper roofing, and that element was retained for Rubenstein Commons. The roof panels extend over the precast-concrete walls with a variety of shapes and inclines, punctuated by three sections of green roofing. Read: Steven Holl shapes Winter Visual Arts Building around 200-year-old trees The asymmetric shapes and elevations of the roofing allow for the interior spaces to feel lofty. The ceilings and the walls of the structure have been curved in a way that represents the "thought bubbles" of the scholars who will work there, according to Holl.The architect described the ceilings as "bulbous space curves."The curving forms also take advantage of the large prismatic glass windows, which frame the exterior landscape, optimised via a selection of greenery to represent the different times of the year, adding to the fluidity of the structure."The institute is about the intertwining of all the arts and sciences and also the phenomena of nature," said Holl. The building has double-height gathering roomsInside, wood and terrazzo flooring were used for a series of double-height cafe areas, galleries and meeting rooms, which are punctuated by smaller office and administrative spaces.In the double-height spaces, cut-outs in the roof and walls open up the structure internally, bringing in light and creating apertures from the hallways on the upper levels.The domed ceilings were meant to represent the "thought bubbles" of the scholarsAccording to Holl, these material concerns were of the utmost importance to the execution of the project."I always say that there can be ideas that drive the design, but the important thing is the experience," he told Dezeen."You need to feel the experience in the space, but if you care to look for them, there are deeper ideas that drive the designs, and I do that with all my work."The building is heated by 20 geothermal wells on the site which regulate the temperature of the structure, while operable windows help keep it cool.Other buildings on academic campuses in the US include Diller Scofidio + Renfro's layered structure for Columbia in Manhattan and SOM's renovation of a building for Wellesley,The photography is by Paul Warchol.The post Steven Holl Architects designs asymmetric Princeton institute building with curved ceilings appeared first on Dezeen.

A red-hot economy tends to push interest rates upward, so any signs of cooling in the labor market could suggest a plateauing of mortgage rates for the current week, followed by more sustained declines throughout the rest of the year. In April, the economy saw an addition of 175,000 net new payroll jobs, marking one of the slower monthly job gains since the economy's reopening after the COVID-induced lockdown. Concurrently, the unemployment rate edged up to 3.9%. While the Federal Reserve is exercising caution regarding inflation and delaying rate adjustments, it's likely that 6 to 8 rounds of rate cuts by the end of 2025 could bring interest rates down to levels reminiscent of those pre-COVID. However, significant declines in mortgage rates shouldn't be anticipated due to the substantial federal budget deficit and heavy government borrowing will reduce the funds available for mortgage lending. Despite home sales hovering near 30-year lows last year and maintaining a similar pace in the first quarter of this year, the current population includes 40 million more jobs and 70 million more residents compared to previous years. This implies a substantial pent-up demand from buyers for housing entering the market in the years ahead. High Rates Don't Seem to Have an Impact on Lowering Home Prices Home price increases saw a continued acceleration since February, even as interest rates climbed. Both the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices and the Housing Market Index (HMI) by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) revealed annual price growth in the 7% range. The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, encompassing all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a non-seasonally adjusted 6.4% annual gain in February, up from a 6.0% rise in the previous month.  The FHFA HMI mirrored this movement, rising 1.2% in February, following a 1.0% increase in January, with an annual gain of 7.0%.  Dr. Anju Vajja, Deputy Director for FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics, noted, “U.S. house prices rebounded with an increase in February," observing double-digit growth in some areas. The Case-Shiller Indices track matched price pairs for thousands of individual houses, with each index, benchmarked in January 2000 at 100. The current values stand at 312.18 for the National Index and 336.00 and 319.95 for the 10- and 20-City Composites, respectively. FHFA’s HPI, based on home sales financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, was benchmarked at 100 in January 1991 and currently stands at 423.0 Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) Loans Increasing as Buyers Seek Affordability Increasing interest rates continue to limit mortgage borrowing, as indicated by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Their Market Composite Index, which measures loan application volume, decreased by 2.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the previous week.  Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and Chief Economist, commented on the situation, stating, “Inflation remains persistently high, leading markets to anticipate prolonged higher rates, including mortgage rates. This presents a challenge for the housing and mortgage markets, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate reaching 7.29% last week, the highest level since November 2023. Both purchase and refinance application volumes declined over the week and continue to fall below last year's pace. Notably, the ARM share has reached its highest level for the year at 7.8%. Prospective homebuyers are seeking ways to enhance affordability, and opting for an ARM is one method, given that ARM rates are in the mid-6 percent range for loans with an initial fixed period of 5 years." Weekly Highlights: Listing prices hit a new record high.  Listing prices are maintaining a steady climb above last year's figures. The median listed price marked a 7.3% increase compared to the corresponding week last year.    The number of sellers adjusting their asking prices if they don't receive prompt offers increases. For the fourth consecutive week, the percentage of active listings with price reductions has exceeded last year's levels. In the week ending April 28, 8.0% of active listings experienced a price decrease, marking an increase of 0.8 percentage points compared to last year.   New contracts below 2023 numbers. Apart from the Easter week, the new weekly contract activity in 2024 has consistently fallen behind 2023. In the week ending April 28, there was a 1.9% decrease in new pending contracts compared to the corresponding week last year. High list prices and elevated mortgage rates could be deterring buyers from engaging actively in the market.     Daily Rate Index