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…
The Freddie Mac Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index rose by 1.9 percent in the third quarter, meaning there were more attractive investment opportunities in the multifamily market. The third-quarter increase comes after a 0.3 percent decline in the second quarter, while the AIMI increased by 2 percent for the year. AIMI is an analytical tool that combines multifamily rental income growth, property price growth and mortgage rates to provide a single index that measures multifamily market investment conditions. “AIMI rebounded in the third quarter as mortgage rates dropped and despite the stresses created by COVID-19, multifamily fundaments have been relatively resilient to date,” said Steve Guggenmos, vice president of Freddie Mac Multifamily Research and Modeling. “Nationally, AIMI continues to be…
Mortgage applications for new home purchases in November jumped by 34.7 percent over a year ago, according to a report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. For the month, purchase applications dropped by 16 percent from October, MBA said. “November new home sales activity, both mortgage applications and home sales, ran at a pace considerably ahead of 2019, showing the ongoing strong growth in housing demand and new residential construction,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “However, MBA estimates that after climbing to a new survey high in October, the seasonally adjusted pace of new home sales declined in November. Signs of a slowdown in the economic recovery likely contributed to the expected monthly…
Tis the season for year-end lists and predictions, and Redfin released its top 10 predictions for the 2021 housing market. Without further ado, here’s the list: Mortgage rates will remain historically low at 3 percentThere will be more home sales than in any year since 2006, but price growth will slowThere will be more new homes built than in any year since 2006The number of Americans relocating will be the highest it has been in 16 years, which will help the economies of affordable places like Buffalo, Cleveland and PittsburghThe homeownership rate will reach 70 percent for the first time since 2005San Antonio, Tucson and Tampa will be the hottest housing markets as major southern cities like Austin, Phoenix and…
The share of mortgages in forbearance in the United States decreased slightly last week, with 2.7 million homeowners still pausing their mortgage payments, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced in its weekly survey Monday. The survey found: Total loans in forbearance decreased from 5.54 percent to 5.48 percent as of December 6.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 7.89 percent to 7.68 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.34 percent to 3.26 percent.The share of independent mortgage bank-managed mortgages in forbearance dropped from 6.02 percent to 5.98 percent.Bank-managed mortgages dropped from 5.48 percent to 5.38 percent. “The share of loans in forbearance decreased in the first week of December. However, more…
Natural disasters are impacting home values in high-risk areas at a time when home prices are soaring across the United States, according to a realtor.com analysis released Monday. The value of homes in high-risk flood areas grew at 5 percentage points lower than homes in similar areas with less flood risk, while the values of homes in high risk fire areas increased at 3 percentage points lower. In 78 flood-risk counties across the country, realtor.com found that homes with hurricane-related disaster declarations experienced a cumulative sales price per square foot growth of 25 percent, compared to 29 percent for homes with a moderate or major risk, and 30 percent for homes with a minimal or low risk. Realtor.com also found…
