Housing Data and Real Estate Research by Rick Palacios Jr.
D.R. Horton lot costs increased 5% year over year, Rick Palacios Jr. notes
Rick Palacios Jr. points out that land prices are often difficult to track due to a lack of transparent data. He refers to earnings commentary from D.R. Horton indicating that lot costs rose 5% ...
Rick Palacios Jr.: $1 million-plus homes outperform as stock market boosts luxury housing
Rick Palacios Jr. observes that homes priced at $1 million or more are outperforming other segments of the housing market. He attributes this trend partly to general house price inflation in ...
Austin single-family rent growth is still negative but improving, Rick Palacios Jr. notes
Rick Palacios Jr. observes that single-family rent growth in Austin continues to be negative on a year-over-year basis, but the trend is steadily improving. He notes that, although rents have ...
Rick Palacios Jr.: Methodology for analyzing housing market overpricing and underpricing
Rick Palacios Jr. details the methodology behind the Burns Under/Overpriced Market Index. The index measures the gap between a housing market’s current housing-cost-to-income ratio and its ...
Warsh leads Fed during rare soft landing, Rick Palacios Jr. notes
Rick Palacios Jr. observes that Warsh is taking charge of the Federal Reserve while the economy is experiencing a soft landing. He highlights that such an outcome is unusual following periods of ...
Rick Palacios Jr.: Public homebuilders slow land purchases as single-family starts drop
Rick Palacios Jr. reports that public homebuilders have recently reduced their activity in the land market. According to Palacios Jr., this trend is typically a directional indicator for ...
National housing affordability rising slowly, Rick Palacios Jr. notes
Rick Palacios Jr. notes that housing affordability has improved across the U.S. despite persistent high interest rates. This gradual improvement is attributed to increasing incomes and relatively ...
Rick Palacios Jr.: Homebuilders reduce single-family starts growth outlook for 2026
Rick Palacios Jr. reports that homebuilders surveyed at the start of 2026 anticipated 7 percent growth in single-family housing starts for the year. However, after being re-surveyed in May, their ...
Housing summit to explore Fed, rates and AI, Rick Palacios Jr. notes
Rick Palacios Jr. highlights that the upcoming Housing Summit next week will feature a macro conversation with Neil from RenMacLLC. Key topics to be discussed include potential changes at the ...
Rick Palacios Jr.: Institutional investors contribute to housing supply with home sales
Rick Palacios Jr., industry influencer, shares that institutional investors play a role in increasing housing supply. Citing comments from Dallas Tanner, CEO of Invitation Homes, Palacios Jr. ...
Century Communities sees ARMs jump to 30 percent of mortgage volume in 1Q26, Rick Palacios Jr. notes
Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) accounted for approximately 30 percent of mortgage volume at Century Communities, the ninth-largest builder in the U.S., during 1Q26. Rick Palacios Jr. ...
Rick Palacios Jr.: Software sector exposure affecting some D.R. Horton housing markets
Concerns about the software sector are appearing in earnings commentary from D.R. Horton, according to Rick Palacios Jr. He highlights that certain housing markets with historically strong ties to ...
All San Francisco resale agents report price increases, Rick Palacios Jr. notes
San Francisco stands out in the U.S. housing market, according to Rick Palacios Jr. While only 27% of resale agents surveyed nationally said home prices are mostly increasing month over month, ...
Rick Palacios Jr.: Multiple shocks erase hopes for spring 2026 housing rebound
The U.S. housing market was already set for a difficult period before recent developments in war, oil prices, and interest rates. Rick Palacios Jr. states that these factors have all converged ...
ARMs account for 31 percent of California mortgage originations, Rick Palacios Jr. says
Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) represented roughly 31 percent of mortgage originations in California in 2025. Rick Palacios Jr. pointed out that this data suggests buyers in higher price ...
Rick Palacios Jr.: Atlanta Fed notes homebuilders slow starts as buyers seek deals
Homebuilders in the U.S. are reducing new housing starts and using incentives to decrease speculative inventory, according to the Atlanta Fed Beige Book. Rick Palacios Jr. shared that some ...
