Pending home sales declined for the month in November but remained significantly higher than a year earlier, according to a new report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. Contract signings were up 16.4 percent from November 2019 – and were a record high for the month of November. Still, sales decreased 2.6 percent from October. “The latest monthly decline is largely due to the shortage of inventory and fast-rising home prices,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “It is important to keep in mind that the current sales and prices are far stronger than a year ago.” Regionally, the Northeast Pending Home Sales Index was 15.3 percent higher than November 2019 (and down 3.3 percent for the month),…
Home prices surged 14 percent and pending home sales were up 34 percent year over year for the four-week period ending December 20, according to a new report released Tuesday by Redfin. The medium home price for the period was $320,714, according to a market review of more than 400 metropolitan areas in the United States. The report found: New listings of homes for sale were up 12 percent from a year earlier.Active listings fell 31 percent from 2019 to a new all-time low.39 percent of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market – up from 26 percent a year ago.The average sale-to-list price ratio was 99.4 percent – 1.5…
Another week, another new record low for mortgage rates. Freddie Mac released its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Thursday, showing the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 2.66 percent – the lowest rate in the survey’s 50-year history. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.66 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Christmas Eve, down from last week’s 2.67 percent and last year’s 3.74 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.19 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week’s 2.21 percent and last year’s 3.19 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.79 percent with an average 0.2 point, unchanged from last week and down from last year’s 3.45 percent. “The housing market…
Mortgage applications in the United States held largely steady last week, increasing 0.8 percent from the week before, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Refinance Index increased 4 percent for the week ending December 18 and was 124 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 7 percent compared with the previous week and was 26 percent higher than last year. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 74.8 percent of total applications from 72.7 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 1.9 percent of total applications. “There are still signs of relative strength in the housing market as 2020 ends,”…
The official numbers are in, and home prices in the United States continue to climb. Home prices increased 1.5 percent in October – and were 10.2 percent higher than October 2019 levels, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The 1.5 percent increased followed a 1.7 percent increase in September. “U.S. house prices rose for the fifth straight month since states re-opened their local economies,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA’s Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics. “The 12-month gain of 10.2 percent in October is the highest annual appreciation observed since the 2004-2005 period. Extremely low mortgage rates and a limited supply of homes for sale continue to propel price gains. The…
The streak is over. Existing-home sales dropped by 2.5 percent in November, ending a streak of five months of month-over-month increases, the National Association of Realtors announced Tuesday. Still, sales were up 25.8 percent from last November. “Home sales in November took a marginal step back, but sales for all of 2020 are already on pace to surpass last year’s levels,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Given the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s amazing that the housing sector is outperforming expectations.” Single-family home sales of 5.98 million in November were down 2.4 percent from 6.13 million in October and up 25.6 percent from one year ago. Existing condo and co-op sales of 710,000 units were down 2.7 percent for the month…
The number of US mortgages in forbearance increased slightly in mid-December, according to the latest weekly forbearance report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. MBA’s weekly survey released Monday found 2.7 million homeowners remained in forbearance plans. The survey also showed: 5.49 percent of mortgages were in forbearance as of December 13, up from 5.48 percent the week before.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased from 7.68 percent to 7.79 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.26 percent to 3.25 percent.5.95 percent of independent mortgage bank mortgages were forbearance, down from 5.98 percent.5.41 percent of bank-managed mortgages were in forbearance, up from 5.38 percent. “The share of loans in forbearance has…
The pandemic – and the adoption of remote work – is driving an increased number of relocations, with the most people leaving the biggest metropolitan areas such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. A Redfin analysis found that 29.4 percent of its users looked to move to another city or town in October and November, up from 25.4 percent the year before. Redfin said it’s the highest share of people looking to relocate since it started tracking the data in 2017. RankMetroNet OutflowNet OutflowLast YearPortion ofLocal UsersSearchingElsewherePortion ofLocal UsersSearchingElsewhereLast YearTop DestinationTop Out-of-StateDestination 1New York,NY37,30524,40235.2%37.1%Boston, MABoston, MA2SanFrancisco, CA33,52025,35624.0%23.0%Sacramento,CASeattle, WA3Los Angeles,CA20,82114,28318.0%16.5%San Diego,CALas Vegas,NV4Washington,DC10,2285,24613.0%10.8%Salisbury,MDSalisbury,MD5Chicago, IL5,4142,97612.3%10.2%South Bend,INSouth Bend,IN6Denver, CO4,4082,26427.7%23.1%Seattle, WASeattle, WA7Seattle, WA2,495-2,90714.1%11.2%Los Angeles, CALos Angeles,CA8Milwaukee,WI2,39579642.0%38.4%Chicago, ILChicago, IL9San Diego,CA2,256-2,11425.7%18.7%Los Angeles,CAPhoenix, AZ10Indianapolis,IN1,41635439.5%30.6%Chicago, ILChicago, IL Meanwhile, more people are…
Mortgage rates have tumbled to a new all-time low, falling to a 2.67 percent, according to the weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac. The survey released Thursday found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.67 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 17, down from last week’s 2.71 percent and last year’s 3.73 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.21 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week’s 2.26 percent and last year’s 3.19 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.79 percent with an average 0.3 point, unchanged from last week and down from last year’s 3.36 percent. “The housing market continues to surge higher and support an otherwise stagnant economy that…
Homebuyers say the time it takes to close is the most frustrating part of the homebuying process and believe greater use of technology could smooth the process, according to a survey released Thursday by a company that provides technological support for real estate transactions. The survey by Spruce found: 82 percent of homeowners surveyed agree that technology could make buying a home easier.45 percent of homeowners surveyed cited the “time it takes to close” as the most frustrating part of the homebuying process – ahead of finding a home within budget, putting the offer in, getting a good deal, and confusion with the overall process.48.5 percent of homeowners think real estate transactions are outdated. Spruce said the close window was…
