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…
Mortgage rates in the United States didn’t budge from record-low levels this week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday in its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.71 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week, unchanged from last week and down from last year at this time when it averaged 3.73 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.26 percent with an average 0.6 point, also unchanged from last week and down from 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, down from last week’s 2.86 percent and last year’s 3.36 percent. “Mortgage rates remain at record lows, resisting their typical correlation to Treasury yields, which…
Mortgage applications dropped slightly last week, while remaining significantly higher than 2019 levels, according to a report released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. For the week ending December 4, applications overall decreased 1.2 percent. The Refinance Index increased 2 percent for the week and was 89 percent higher than a year ago, while the Purchase Index decreased 5 percent – and was 22 percent higher than the same week a year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 72 percent of total applications from 69.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 1.7 percent of total applications. “Refinance activity increased last week in response to mortgage rates for 30-year, 15-year, and FHA…
Mortgage credit freed up in November to its highest level since July, according to a new report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Overall, the Mortgage Credit Availability Index has fallen significantly since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – down 30 percent below pre-pandemic levels. After months of decline, the MCAI rose by 0.7 percent to 122.2 in November. Source: Mortgage Bankers Association “Mortgage credit availability increased slightly in November to its highest level since July, as the job market improved, and the housing sector continued to show strong borrower demand,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “There was an increase in credit availability for jumbo loans, as well as loan products with…
The number of US mortgages in forbearance held steady to close out November, with about 2.8 million homeowners still pausing their mortgage payments amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced Monday. MBA’s weekly survey found: Total loans in forbearance remained unchanged for the week ending November 29 at 5.54 percent.The share of Ginnie Mae mortgages in forbearance increased from 7.83 percent to 7.89 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.36 percent to 3.34 percent.Independent mortgage bank loans in forbearance dropped from 6.03 percent to 6.02 percent.Bank-managed mortgages climbed from 5.47 percent to 5.48 percent. “After two weeks of increases, the share of loans in forbearance was unchanged for the week that…
Home buyers and sellers weren’t feeling overly optimistic in November. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell 1.7 points in November to 80.0, the first decline after three months of increases. The HPSI is down 11.5 points from last year at this time, Fannie Mae announced Monday. “The HPSI appears to have peaked for now as consumers continue to consider how COVID-19 impacts their ability to buy or sell a home,” said Doug Duncan, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “This follows the HPSI’s recovery of slightly more than half of the loss experienced during the first few months of the pandemic.” Fannie Mae’s findings include: The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy a home decreased…
