The Mecklenburg Times May 10, 2022

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Your inside source for real estate, development and construction information serving the counties of Mecklenburg, Union & Iredell VOLUME 106 NUMBER 19 ■ MECKTIMES.COM

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TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2022 ■ $2.00

Americans Say Yards Are One of the Most Important Parts of Their Homes Page 2

U.S. foreclosure activity in February 2022 continues to increase steadily Page 3

Case study on employee retention Page 4

ENNICO: Do You Really Need a Business Plan? Page 5

NOVAK: What is enough to make a business worth it?

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Markets cheer after Powell downplays even larger rate hikes Page 7

More consumers expect mortgage rates and home prices to rise even further The Fannie Mae (OTCQB: FNMA) Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased by 3.5 points to 75.3 in February, but affordability constraints continue to drive consumers’ perception of the housing market. Overall, five of the index’s six components increased month over month, including the components measuring consumers’ perceptions of homebuying and home-selling conditions. However, on net, the ‘Good Time to Buy” component remains near its recently established record low, as survey respon-

dents continue to cite high home prices as the primary impediment to purchasing. Consumers did report a substantially improved sense of job security, but a much greater share indicated that they expect mortgage rates to move even higher. Year over year, the full index is down 1.2 points. “A survey-record share of consumers – particularly homeowners and higher-income individuals – expect mortgage rates to increase in the next 12 months, likely owing to signals that the Fed will raise rates to slow the pace of inflation,”

said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “High home prices continue to be the most commonly cited reason by consumers for their belief that it’s a good time to sell (and a bad time to buy) a home; notably, the ‘good time to buy’ sentiment among renters dropped to a new survey low. This suggests that homeowners and higher-income groups may recognize the importance of getting ahead of the rising

PLEASE SEE MORTGAGE RATES ON PAGE 6

“Turnover is widely considered a negative performance indicator. It is costly and disruptive” John Tabb, Questis

Story, page 4


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The Mecklenburg Times May 10, 2022 by SC Biz News - Issuu