Home sales slide by 1.7% in Nov.
WASHINGTON — Home-buying slumped in November, with some Americans priced out of the market by rising prices and a shortage of sales listings.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of existing homes fell 1.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million. Would-be buyers face supply constraints: The number of properties for sale has dwindled 5.7% from a year ago to 1.64 million units.
Affordability has also been a persistent challenge. The median home sales price has climbed 5.4% from a year ago to $257,400, outpacing wage growth.
Still, lower mortgage rates have provided a base of demand. Over the past 12 months, the decline in the typical mortgage rate from 4.9% to 3.8% this November helped to annual boost sales 2.7%.
The housing market has enjoyed nearly eight years of rising prices, steadily recovering from the Great Recession that was triggered in large part by subprime mortgages and a wave of foreclosures. But the recovery in prices has proved to be a barrier for first-time buyers: With fewer starter homes priced below $250,000 on the market, sales at that level have declined over the past year.
November’s decline in existing home sales came from the South and West. Sales increased in the Northeast and Midwest.
Swiss Re: disasters cost world $140B
BERLIN — Insurer Swiss Re says losses from natural and man-made disasters cost about $140 billion this year, down from $176 billion in 2018.
The Zurich-based reinsurance company said Thursday that its annual review found natural disasters such as tropical cyclones and floods accounted for $133 billion in economic losses.
Swiss Re said that while the impact of climate change on natural disasters is still inconclusive, there is growing evidence that it is causing more frequent and severe ‘secondary perils’ like hail and drought.
The company said such secondary perils accounted for more than half of the global insured losses of $56 billion this year, down from $93 billion in 2018.
Swiss Re said 11,000 people died or disappeared in disasters in 2019.
Carmakers probed in air bag recall
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s highway safety agency has launched an investigation into four automakers that have a potentially deadly type of Takata air bag inflator in their vehicles but have yet to recall them.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents posted Thursday that it is investigating Audi, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi in connection with a Takata recall involving 1.4 million inflators.
The inflators made by the now-bankrupt Takata have a distinct and separate problem that can cause them to blow apart a metal canister and spew shrapnel into people’s faces and bodies. The problem killed a driver in Australia who was in an older 3-Series BMW, which has already recalled more than 116,000 vehicles.
The problem is so dangerous that in some cases BMW has told drivers to park their vehicles until repairs can be made.
The safety agency says in documents that Takata didn’t provide details on the affected makes, models or model years of vehicles with the defective inflators. So it is telling the companies to recall them promptly.
GM recalls 814K pickups, cars
DETROIT — General Motors is recalling more than 814,000 pickup trucks and cars in the U.S. to fix problems with electronic brake controls and battery cables.
The first recall covers nearly 464,000 Cadillac CT6 sedans and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickup trucks from 2019. The company said a software error can disable the electronic stability control and antilock brake systems, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will reprogram the brake computer starting Jan. 27, according to documents posted Thursday on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
The second recall covers over 350,000 2019-2020 Silverado and Sierra 1500 pickups. A cable connecting the battery and alternator may have too much glue on it. That can interrupt the electrical connection and possibly cause the trucks to stall or even catch fire. Starting Jan. 27, dealers will inspect the cables and clean the connectors if needed.
Mortgage rates hold steady for week
WASHINGTON — U.S. long-term mortgage rates were unchanged this week, staying near historically low levels.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage held at 3.73 percent for the second straight week. The benchmark rate was 4.62 percent a year ago, a level that appears to have depressed home sales as interest rates increased in response to higher federal budget deficits following President Donald Trump’s tax cuts.
But interest rates have tumbled over the past 12 months due to greater uncertainty over trade with China, slower economic growth and the Federal Reserve cutting a benchmark rate regarding the interest on inter-bank loans.
The average rate on a 15-year mortgage stayed at 3.19 percent for a second consecutive week.
