Mortgage rates remained basically unchanged last week as markets adjust to economic expectations for 2024.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.62%, inching up from the week prior’s 6.61%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.48%.
This is the first increase since October. Rates have fallen more than a full percentage point since then, giving homebuyers more breathing room as they struggle against record-high unaffordability.
The 15-year fixed rate dropped, however, from 5.93% to 5.89%. A year ago, it averaged 5.73%.
Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater ascribed the news to the slow machinations of the market as it “digests incoming economic data.” He pointed out that rates stopped their…
Buffalo, NY, is slated to be the hottest market of 2024 as affordable metros gain popularity among money-minded Americans.
Cincinnati and Columbus took numbers two and three on Zillow’s Hottest Markets of 2024 list, driving home the importance of savings for homebuyers this year.
The list is made up of relatively low-cost cities, primarily in the Midwest and South. Indianapolis, IN; Providence, RI; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC (2023’s hottest city, now in 7th place); Cleveland, OH; Orlando, FL, and Tampa, FL, rounded out the top ten.
Zillow’s analysis looks at the 50 most populous metros and measures local home value growth and the speed at which home sellers are entering contracts with buyers, as well as job growth per new…
Both listings and sales improved in December, suggesting the impact of cooling rates may finally be encouraging movement in the market.
That’s according to HouseCanary’s December Market Pulse Report, which found new listings up 5% YOY last month.
Though stock remains historically low and many buyers are still priced out of the market, the data may reflect the beginning of a market reset for 2024.
“The slight increase in December listings indicates the impact of lower mortgage rates is beginning to trickle down into the market which comes as an optimistic sign as we head into the new year,” said Jeremy Sicklick, HouseCanary Co-Founder and CEO. “With that said, any market turns are likely to be slow.”
Sicklick pointed to…
The last two weeks of 2023 brought a slump in mortgage applications as buyers continue to grapple with affordability.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows the adjusted Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage loan application volume – fell 9.4% from the two weeks prior. The data includes adjustments for the holidays.
Adjusted purchase applications dropped by 5%, while the unadjusted index fell 34% and was 12% lower YOY.
Americans appear to be losing interest in falling rates, which initially sparked some activity in the market. The 30-year fixed ended the year at 6.76%, ticking up very slightly from the week prior but still down more than a full point from its October peak.
MBA Vice President and…
New home sales sank again in November despite cooling mortgage rates, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Sales fell by 12.2% from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000, well below the rate of 685,000 units predicted by economists.
This is the sharpest decline since April 2022.
November saw the beginning of a cool down that brought interest rates to the mid-6’s. But at the start of that process, rates were at their highest levels in more than two decades, nearing 8%.
New home sales were up only 1.4% year-over-year, a notable decline from the month prior’s 17.7% YOY increase. Lack of existing inventory pushed buyers to new…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
As 2023 comes to a close, industry leaders say there were some highs, but leaving this year behind won’t be a problem for many mortgage professionals.
ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in the spring, as the peak homebuying season heated up, lenders nationwide enjoyed their first quarterly increase in mortgage activity after eight consecutive declines dating back to early 2021.
“The second-quarter rebound was huge as total loans shot up 22%. The spike was powered by across-the-board, double-digit gains in purchase, refinance, and home-equity credit line deals,” said Barber.
But the turnaround was quick lived, he said, as the numbers went back down in the third quarter, with overall activity decreasing by 3%. Only refinance lending…
By DESMOND LACHMAN
Rudi Dornbusch, the late MIT economist, famously observed that economic and financial crises take longer to arrive than you can possibly imagine, but when they do come, they happen faster than you can possibly imagine.
Next year, Mr. Dornbusch’s warning could again prove to be prophetic as far as the commercial real estate sector and the regional banks are concerned. To be sure, four years on since 2020’s Covid pandemic upended the commercial property market, we have yet to have a full-blown financial crisis. However, next year could be the year when the commercial real estate market and the regional banks unravel at a faster pace than we thought possible.
At the heart of the commercial property…
Mortgage rates sank last week, buoying buyers, sellers, and builders’ spirits ahead of the holiday.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.67%, down from the week prior’s 6.95%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.27%.
The 15-year fixed rate dropped as well, down more than 40 bps to 5.95%. A year ago, it averaged 5.69%.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained below seven percent for the second week in a row, a welcome downward trend after 17 consecutive weeks above seven percent,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
“Lower rates are bringing potential home buyers who were previously waiting on the sidelines back into the market and builders already are…
Delinquencies rose in November but remain historically low despite some worrying data about FHA and VA loans.
That’s according to ICE’s First Look at November Mortgage Performance, which clocked delinquencies at 3.39% last month. This is down 10 bps YOY and remains 64 bps below pre-pandemic levels.
Serious delinquencies– loans with missed payments more than 90 days late– increased to 459,000 but are 21% lower than the same time last year.
But while loans remain strong overall, FHA delinquencies hit a 9-year high (excluding the immediate aftermath of the pandemic). Early-stage delinquencies for VA loans also surged, reaching their highest non-pandemic levels since 2009.
Recently originated mortgages are suffering the most thanks to the high interest rates of late 2023.…
Existing-home sales increased for the first time in five months as falling rates made homebuying more affordable.
Sales rose by 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.82 million, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors.
While this is a clear improvement from past months, year-over-year sales are down 7.3%, and NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun notes the data is still impacted by the sky-high mortgage rates of the past few months.
“The latest weakness in existing home sales still reflects the buyer bidding process in most of October when mortgage rates were at a two-decade high before the actual closings in November,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “A marked turn can be expected…
