Refinancing activity reached its highest levels since 2013, jumping 250 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 over a year earlier, according to a report released Monday by Black Knight. The analysis, included in the firm’s monthly Mortgage Monitor Report, noted that cash-out lending increased to a 10-year high, though refinancing for better rates and/or terms drove much of the increase. Many homeowners who refinance are doing so with new lenders, according to Black Knight Data & Analytics President Ben Graboske. “Despite a surge in refinance lending driven by low rates, servicers continue to struggle in their efforts to recapture refinancing borrowers, with only one in five being retained by servicers in Q4 2019,” said Graboske. “Retention rates rose along…
Ahead of the South Carolina primary, former Vice President Joe Biden released a $640 billion housing plan that is designed to provide access to affordable, safe and energy-efficient homes that are “located near good schools and with a reasonable commute to their jobs.” Biden’s 5,200-word plan includes a refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000 for people buying their first homes; the creation of a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to build new and improve existing affordable housing; and ending “discriminatory and unfair practices” in the housing market. “Housing should be a right, not a privilege. Far too many Americans lack access to affordable and quality housing,” the Biden campaign said in announcing the plan. “Nationwide, we have a…
House prices in the United States rose for the 34th consecutive quarter, according to 2019 fourth quarter data released Tuesday by the Federal Housing Finance Authority. “US house prices have risen continuously since 2011,” said Lynn Fisher, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics at FHFA. “Falling interest rates and steady job growth renewed housing demand in 2019 and may have arrested the resent deceleration in home prices that began in 2018.” House prices were up 1.3 percent for the quarter and 5.1 percent over the fourth quarter of 2018. The FHFA analysis also found: U.S. house prices have increased every quarter since September 2011. House prices rose in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between the fourth quarters of…
The National Association of Home Builders reports that houses continue to get just a bit smaller: New single-family home size trended lower during the final quarter of 2019 as interest rates remained low and builders seek to add additional entry-level supply. According to fourth quarter 2019 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area ticked down to 2,252 square feet. Average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes increased to 2,511 square feet. Here’s a look at the trend in graphic form: After a large growth, house size is about the same as pre-recession levels. NAHB says this trend is typical, The post-recession increase in single-family home size was consistent with the historical…
Reflecting a strong market and low interest rates, builder confidence in the housing market remained high though slightly lower this month, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released Tuesday. Builder confidence dropped a point in February to 74, a
number reflects nearly historically high confidence in the housing market. “Steady job growth, rising wages and low interest rates are
fueling demand but builders are still grappling with increasing construction
and development costs,” NAHB Chairman Dean Mon said in a news
release. The NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI measures builder perceptions of
current single-family home sales and expectations for sales over the next six
months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” Any number over 50 indicates that…
Want to make money on your house? How long should you hold
on to it? What regions in the United States are most conducive to building
value? The National Association of Realtors released a
study this month that seeks to answer those questions by looking at
historical data to determine whether homeowners are more likely to experience a
home price gain or loss during the period when they hold a home. In short, all regions of the United States – the Northeast,
Midwest, South and West – saw home values increase when they held onto their
homes over seven, eight, nine and 10-year periods between 1989 and 2019. The
findings include: The average price appreciation of a
single-family home ranged…
The
Federal Reserve announced today that it is leaving interest rates steady,
citing a growing economy and a strong jobs market. The Fed voted unanimously to
keep the overnight lending rate at 1.5 to 1.75 percent. “The
Committee judges that the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate to
support sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market
conditions, and inflation returning to the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent
objective,” the Fed said in a
statement.
“The Committee will continue to monitor the implications of incoming
information for the economic outlook, including global developments and muted
inflation pressures, as it assesses the appropriate path of the target range
for the federal funds rate.” Looking
ahead, the Fed said, “In determining the…
