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…
Sales of newly built single-family homes jumped 16.6 percent in May – another sign the housing market is recovering from the devastating economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 676,000, which was 12.7 percent above the May 2019 levels, the Census Bureau said. “The May sales numbers are in line with rising builder sentiment,” said Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. “With home building considered an essential business, this solid sales report is another indicator that housing is leading the economic recovery.” The report also found: The median sales…
By Jim Perskie The number of mortgage loans in forbearance in the United States began declining for the first time since the CARES Act was passed in response to economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown across the country. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey found that 8.48 percent of mortgages were in forbearance as of June 14 – down from 8.55 percent the week before. That works out to an estimated 4.2 million homeowners in forbearance plans, down from 4.3 million the week before. “Fewer homeowners in forbearance underscores the continued improvements in the job market and provides another sign of the fundamental health of the housing market, which has rebounded considerably over the past several weeks,” said…
Existing home sales dropped 9.7 percent in the United States in May, the third straight month of declines as the nation continues to cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total existing home sales dropped to 3.91 million in May, which is 26.6 percent below May 2019 levels, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors. “Sales completed in May reflect contract signings in March and April – during the strictest times of the pandemic lockdown and hence the cyclical low point,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Home sales will surely rise in the upcoming months with the economy reopening, and could even surpass one-year-ago figures in the second half of the year.” All four…
Home values may fall in the second half of the year as the housing market and economy as a whole cope with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, accouding to a report released by Zillow on Thursday. According to the Zillow Home Value Index, the typical home value in the United States is $251,598, up 4.3 percent from last year – a small acceleration from April’s 4.2 percent year over year. But by more recent measures the growth rate has begun to slow. In April, home values grew 0.41 percent month over month and slowed to 0.35 percent in May, the biggest one-month slowdown in more than a year – and “a possible indicator that the market is headed for…
It’s another record. Rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage tumbled to an average of 3.13 percent his week, the lowest rate since Freddie Mac started tracking them in 1971, Freddie announced Thursday. “Mortgage rates have hit another record low due to declining inflationary pressures, putting many homebuyers in the buying mood,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “However, it will be difficult to sustain the momentum in demand as unsold inventory was at near record lows coming into the pandemic and it has only dropped since then.” Freddie’s weekly survey for the week ending June 18 found: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.13 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.21 percent and last…
The recovery in the housing market is continuing – and is being led by five high-tech hubs, according to the Weekly Housing Recovery Report released Thursday by realtor.com. For the week ending June 13, realtor.com found that local markets with strong tech job presences are bouncing back more quickly than others. Five of these communities – Denver, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego – pushed past their January 2020 pace last week. “As the market heads into the summer, growth in online home searches and asking prices has surpassed pre-COVID levels, but movement in supply and time on market remains well below seasonal pace,” said Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com. “But locally the story is much…
The housing market is gaining steam. Single-family permits issued in May were 11.9 percent above April levels in the United States, while all privately-owned housing unit permits were up for 14.4 percent, according to a report released Wednesday by the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Total housing starts also were up 4.3 percent for the month. “We expect this momentum to continue as economic activity recovers,” National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz said. “In another promising sign, single-family permits are up almost 2 percent on a year-to-date basis and builders are bringing back thousands of workers laid off in March and April to meet renewed demand.” On a regional and year-to-date basis (January…
Mortgage loan purchase applications reached their level since 2009 as the housing market continues to make a comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced Wednesday. Overall, mortgage applications increased 8 percent from a week earlier. Purchase applications increased 2 percent from a week earlier and was 21 percent higher than the same week a year ago. It is the ninth straight week purchase applications have increased. “The housing market continues to experience the release of unrealized pent-up demand from earlier this spring, as well as a gradual improvement in consumer confidence,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. Refinance applications increased 10 percent from the previous week and was 106 percent higher…
