Applications for home mortgage purchases increased 13 percent from the previous week and 25 percent over a year ago, according to a report released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Adjusted for the Labor Day holiday, purchase applications were up 3 percent for the week. Overall, applications were up 6.8 percent for the week – including a 9 percent increase for refinance applications. Compared to a year ago, refinance applications were 86 percent higher. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 64.3 percent of total applications from 62.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 2.2 percent of total applications. “Mortgage applications activity remained strong last week, even as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and…
House prices increased 1 percent in July from the previous month – while jumping 6.5 percent from July 2019, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Monthly increases ranged from 0.6 percent in the West North Central division to 2 percent in New England. The yearly increases ranged from 5.4 percent in the West South Central division to 7.7 percent in the Mountain and East South Central divisions. “The dramatic increase in prices this summer can be attributed to the historically low interest rate environment and rebounding housing demand even as the supply of homes for sale remains constrained,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA’s Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics.…
Coming to a pandemic near you: Escape From New York. Of the top 10 markets that have cooled down since last year, four are New York City boroughs – the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island, according to a new study released Tuesday by Redfin. Manhattan was excluded from the study due to a lack of data. “People want out of New York City,” local Redfin agent Ken Wile said. “This pandemic has changed everybody’s lives. People who had to commute to the city no longer have to, so they want more space, more value and more nature.” The rankings are based on year-over-year change in home prices, home sales, the share of homes that sold above their list price,…
The share of US mortgage borrowers whose loans are in forbearance dropped below 7 percent for the first time since mid-April, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced Monday in its weekly forbearance report. There are 3.5 million American homeowners in forbearance plans as of September 13 – which works out to 6.93 percent of all mortgages, down from 7.01 percent the week before. The MBA survey found: The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased from 9.12 percent to 9.15 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 4.65 percent to 4.55 percent.7.26 percent of independent mortgage bank loans were in forbearance, down from 7.33 percent.71.8 percent of bank-managed mortgages were in forbearance, down from…
A pair of housing reports finds that U.S. home prices and sales continue to climb quickly amid a market scarcity and the coronavirus pandemic. A Zillow report found that home values increased 0.7 percent in August to $256,663 – the biggest month over month increase in nearly seven years. Meanwhile, a Redfin report found that home prices in blue counties, red counties and swing counties increased by double digits from a year earlier. “Homeowners in counties of all colors—blue, red and purple—are benefiting from a strong housing market even during this deep recession,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Home values are up, which is great financial news if you’re a homeowner, regardless of your politics.” Using 2016 electoral data, Redfin…
Single-family housing starts increased in August at its highest rate since February, the month before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States, according to a report released Thursday by the federal government. Overall, housing production fell 5.1 percent due to a large decrease in starts on condos and apartment buildings, the report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Single-family starts increased 4.1 percent to 1.02 million. Multifamily starts plummeted 22.7 percent to 395,000. “Consistent with surging builder confidence, single-family starts rose in August to meet rising buyer traffic,” said Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. “Builders continue to face concerns…
As colleges across the country operate completely or primarily online, fewer and fewer students are living in college towns – which means landlords are charging less rent in those neighborhoods. A study released Thursday by Zillow found that the average rent in college areas has fallen 1.2 percent since February – while rent has increased 1.4 percent in areas with fewer college students. “The softening rental market across the country is more stark in college neighborhoods as pandemic-mandated campus closures and opportunities to complete courses online have provided motivation for young people to move back home,” Zillow senior economist Cheryl Young said. “With many leases ending at the end of the summer or the beginning of the fall, we can expect…
The national median home price jumped 11 percent in August from a year earlier – the largest annual increase in more than six years, according to a report released Thursday by Redfin. The median home price in the United States was $328,400. Median prices increased in all 85 largest metropolitan areas that Redfin tracks. The smallest increase was in New York (2.7 percent), while Bridgeport, Conn. (30.7 percent), Memphis (20.5 percent) and Tulsa (+19.8 percent) saw the largest year-over-year increases. “The supply of homes is tighter than ever, and home prices are growing at the fastest rate in years. Why isn’t this historic seller’s market holding back buyers?” said Redfin lead economist Taylor Marr said. “Homeowners are just now deciding to sell; they were just a little…
Roughly 11 million households fell behind on mortgage payments or rent, and 30 million Americans missed at least one student loan payment during the first three months of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The report, created by MBA’s Research Institute for Housing America, found that 5.88 million renters (or 11 percent) missed, delayed or reduced at least one payment, and 5.14 million homeowners missed or deferred at least one mortgage payment. “RIHA’s study shows that households were largely successful in navigating a difficult economic landscape and continued to make their housing payments during the first three months of the outbreak. In contrast, nearly half of student debt borrowers missed at least…
It’s not a new record – but it isn’t far off. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87 percent this week, up ever so slightly from last week’s 2.86 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending September 17, down from 3.73 percent last year at this time.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.35 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from last week’s 2.37 percent and last year’s 3.21 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.96 percent with an average 0.3 point, down from last week’s 3.11 percent and last year’s 3.49 percent. “Despite the recession, the very…
