Mortgage applications increased last week amid record-low interest rates and high demand for a limited number of homes on the market, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced Wednesday. MBA’s weekly survey found that applications overall increased 3.9 percent, with refinances up 5 percent for the week and 79 percent over a year ago. Purchase applications declined 2 percent and were up 19 percent over the same period of 2019. “Amidst strong competition for a limited supply of homes for sale, as well as rapidly increasing home prices, purchase applications increased for both conventional and government borrowers,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of industry and economic forecasting. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 71.1 percent of total applications…
House prices in the United States surged in the third quarter of 2020, increasing 3.1 percent from the second quarter and 7.8 percent ahead of 2019 levels, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The report found: U.S. house prices have risen for 37 consecutive quarters.Prices rose in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between the third quarters of 2019 and 2020. The top five areas in annual appreciation were Idaho (14.4 percent), Arizona (11.1 percent), Washington (10.8 percent), Utah (10.7 percent) and Tennessee (10 percent).The areas showing the lowest annual appreciation were North Dakota (4 percent), Iowa (4.7 percent), Louisiana (4.8 percent), Alaska (4.9 percent) and Hawaii (5.2 percent).House prices rose…
The share of mortgages in forbearance in the United States increased ever so slightly in mid-November, while a second report released Monday found that mortgage delinquencies overall were down in October. The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly report found: Total loans in forbearance from 5.47 percent to 5.48 percent as of November 15, which works out to about 2.7 million mortgages in the United States.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased from 7.70 percent to 7.73 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.36 percent to 3.35 percent.Independent mortgage bank-managed loans in forbearance held steady at 5.94 percent, while bank-manage mortgages climbed from 5.43 percent to 5.44 percent. “A marked slowdown in forbearance…
Existing home sales climbed for the fifth straight month in the United States in October, with all regions of the country experiencing growth, according to a monthly report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors. Sales were up 4.3 percent from September and 26.6 percent from October 2019 – and they were selling quickly. The report found that 72 percent of homes sold last month were on the market for less than 30 days. “Considering that we remain in a period of stubbornly high unemployment relative to pre-pandemic levels, the housing sector has performed remarkably well this year,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The surge in sales in recent months has now offset the spring market losses,” he…
It’s a Lucky 13 for borrowers. For the 13th time this year, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates set a new record low – this time falling to 2.72 percent, according to a Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.72 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week, down from last week’s 2.84 percent and last year’s 3.66 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.28 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week’s 2.34 percent and last year’s 3.15 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.85 percent with an average 0.3 point, down from last week’s 3.11 percent and last year’s 3.39 percent. “Weaker consumer spending data, which accounts…
Mortgage applications held largely steady again, with a decrease of 0.3 percent for the week ending November 13, according to a report released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Purchase applications dipped 1 percent for the week but were 26 percent higher than a year ago, while refinance applications fell 2 percent for the week and were 98 percent higher than a year ago. “The refinance index decreased last week – driven by sharp declines in FHA and VA applications – but remained a robust 98 percent above a year ago. The average refinance loan balance of $291,000 last week was the lowest since January. Many borrowers with higher loan balances may have acted earlier on in the current refinance…
More than a third of Americans living in cities say that protests this year have made them move elsewhere – or have already moved, according to a new survey released Monday by Redfin. The survey of 3,000 US residents, conducted in October, found: 34 percent of people living in cities say they want to or have moved.Overall, 30 percent of Americans say protests have made them want to move.47 percent say the protests have had no impact.23 percent say the protests have made them like where they live more, driven by 28 percent of rural residents. “Americans have been leaving major cities in droves during the pandemic, and recent unrest is just one small piece of the puzzle,” Redfin chief…
More often than not, you still can’t put an offer on a home without someone else making a competing offer. For the sixth month in a row, more than half of home sales have been the subjects of bidding wars, according to a new report released by Redfin on its properties. In October, 56.8 percent of Redfin offers on homes in the United States faced competition – down from a peak of 59.3 percent in August. “Has the market calmed down since the summer? Yes, but every offer I submit still faces multiple competing bids and we continue to see a lot more buyers than we normally would at this time of year,” said Melissa Killham, a Redfin real estate…
The number of US mortgages in forbearance dropped for the 11th week in a row, with 2.7 million homeowners still pausing their mortgage payments during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced Monday. The survey found: The total share of mortgages in forbearance dropped from 5.67 percent to 5.47 percent as of November 8.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 7.95 percent to 7.70 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.49 percent to 3.36 percent.Independent mortgage bank-managed mortgages in forbearance dropped from 6.19 percent to 5.94 percent.Bank-managed mortgages in forbearance dropped from 5.60 percent to 5.43 percent. “While the rate of new forbearance requests has declined and exits are increasing,…
More tenants in affordable housing made payments in October than in any month since early in the pandemic, according to a report released Monday by MRI Software. MRI’s report found: Rent payments increased to 82 percent of the prior year, the first month since June since the rate was over 80 percent.Collections in public housing dropped slightly in October to 94 percent year over year, compared to 98 percent in September. Move-outs in affordable housing decreased by 17 percent year over year, leading to higher occupancy rates for the sector.Move-ins, at 92 percent of last year’s volume, affected the rates to a lesser extent. “The pandemic will continue to affect trends in both sectors,” said Brian Zrimsek, Industry Principal at…
