By Jim Perskie The number of mortgage loans in forbearance decreased slightly in the latest Mortgage Bankers Association weekly report – though there are other indications that the number may begin to climb again. The MBA report released Monday found that 8.47 percent of mortgages in the United States were in forbearance as of June 21, down from 8.48 percent the week before. That works out to about 4.2 million homeowners in forbearance – the third weekly drop in a row. “The overall share of loans in forbearance declined for the second week in a row, led by the third straight drop in GSE loans,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “Many borrowers initially received a three-month…
After the largest drop in history in April, pending home sales mounted a record comeback in May. Funny how that works. The Pending Home Sales Index increased by 44.3 percent to 99.6 in May, the highest month-over-month gain since the National Association of Realtors started the index in 2001. That comes a month after back-to-back decreases, including a 21.8 percent drop in April. “This has been a spectacular recovery for contract signings and goes to show the resiliency of American consumers and their evergreen desire for homeownership,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said. “This bounce back also speaks to how the housing sector could lead the way for a broader economic recovery.” NAR said every major region recorded an increase…
Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Salt Lake City have the lowest Black homeownership rates of any major metropolitan areas in the United States, according to an analysis released Monday by Redin. Overall, 44 percent of Black families owned the home they live in at the end of the first quarter – up from 41.1 percent a year earlier. By contract, the national homeownership rate for white families is 73.7 percent. That gap is even more pronounced in Minneapolis, where 25 percent of Black families own their own – compared to 76 percent of white families. Grand Rapids, Michigan, has the second biggest gap (78 percent to 33 percent), followed by Salt Lake City (72 percent to 28 percent) and Milwaukee (70 percent…
Houston homes will no longer have master bedrooms or master bathrooms. Instead, the Houston Association of Realtors will use the phrases “primary bedroom” and “primary bathrooms,” the Houston Chronicle reported. The change comes after some realtors said the word “master” has a stigma associated with it. The Chronicle reported that HAR agreed to change the phrases on its Multiple Listing Service and its website on June 15. “This topic is currently being debated across the real estate industry, and the national standards organization for MLSs will be considering a similar change that could make ‘primary’ the new standard nationally,” HAR said in a statement shared with the Chronicle. Don’t expect the changes to go nationwide just yet. The National Association…
Affordable homes are getting a less affordable. A report released Friday by Redfin found that the most affordable third of homes in the United States were 5.5 percent more expensive at the end of May than they were a year ago – while the price of the most expensive third of homes increased just 2 percent. “The severe shortage of affordable homes that we’ve been grappling with for years is now being exacerbated by an increase in the number of buyers who are in search of lower-cost houses,” Redfin lead economist Taylor Marr said. “Many Americans—especially millennials—were already toying with the idea of buying their first house before the pandemic. Now they’re actually taking the plunge because mortgage rates are so…
By Jim Perskie The housing recovery is continuing, even as the coronavirus pandemic is showing no signs of letting up across the United States. The realtor.com Weekly Housing Recovery Index released Thursday increased two points for the week ending June 20 – climbing to 92 points, just eight points short of the pre-pandemic baseline. This week’s data shows the housing market is continuing to warm up as economies reopen and more buyers return to the streets, but with COVID cases increasing in some regions uncertainty still remains,” said Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com. The report found: Time on market dropped by three days last week, though remains 13 days slower than last year.New listings are down 19…
No news is good news for borrowers. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.13 percent for the second week in a row, remaining at a record low, Freddie Mac announced Thursday in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. “After the Great Recession, it took more than 10 years for purchase demand to rebound to pre-recession levels, but in this crisis, it took less than 10 weeks,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The rebound in purchase demand partly reflects deferred sales as well as continued interest from prospective buyers looking to take advantage of the low mortgage rate environment.” The survey found: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.13 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending June 25, unchanged from…
Realtors: Get your online meeting backgrounds ready. The National Association of Realtors announced Wednesday that its REALTORS Conference & Expo – scheduled for Nov. 13-16 in New Orleans – will be held virtually due to “health and safety concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.” “While positive indicators begin to show our economy is rebounding and treatment options for COVID-19 are proving more effective, so much remains unknown about this virus and the circumstances we will face as a nation come this fall,” NAR President Vince Malta said. “In order to prioritize the health and safety of our members, staff and sponsors, NAR looks forward to hosting a fully virtual REALTORS Conference & Expo this November.” NAR conducted a survey in…
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered the economy, house prices in the United States increased 0.2 percent in April, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Prices also rose 5.5 percent from April 2019 to April 2020, FHFA’s House Price Index showed. “U.S. house prices posted another positive monthly increase in April. … We expect the normal spring bump in sales was pushed off by the COVID-19 shutdowns and may extend into the summer months as states reopen and real estate sales pick back up,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics at FHFA. For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly house price changes from March to April…
The streak is over. After nine straight weeks of increases, the number of mortgage applications for home purchases decreased by 4 percent for the week ending June 19 – though remained 18 percent higher than a year ago. Overall, mortgage applications dropped 8.7 percent from a week earlier. “Even with high unemployment and economic uncertainty, the purchase market is strong,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting “Activity has climbed above year-ago levels for five straight weeks and was 18 percent higher than a year ago last week.” MBA said refinance applications decreased 12 percent from the previous week and was 76 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of…
