Low mortgage rates. Slower home sales. Slower price growth. That’s what Freddie Mac’s quarterly forecast released Tuesday is calling for, as markets have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic – with home sales and price growth declining in the last few months. “While the housing market undoubtedly has felt the effects of COVID-19, we are encouraged by recent homebuyer demand as well as mortgage rates that should remain at record lows for the foreseeable future,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said. “However, beyond the initial rebound in the housing market, the economic and housing outlook will be heavily impacted by the prospects for a vaccine, fiscal policy and the underlying organic recovery of the economy which, in combination, make…
Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 10.9 percent in May over a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s builder application survey released Tuesday. Applications also increased 26 percent over April, MBA said. “The solid increase in new home purchase applications in May is another indication of a recovery in the housing market,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “MBA estimates that new home sales rebounded 26 percent last month – a healthy turnaround after three months of declines.” MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 672,000 units in May 2020, based on data from the survey. The new home sales estimate is derived…
Two months after things looked bleak, builder confidence surged in June as the nation takes additional steps to reopen after the economic shutdowns in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released Tuesday found builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes increased 21 points to 58. Anything about 50 reflects a positive view of the market. “Housing clearly shows signs of momentum as challenges and opportunities exist in the single-family market,” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said. “Builders report increasing demand for families seeking single-family homes in inner and outer suburbs that feature lower density neighborhoods. At the same time, elevated unemployment and the risk of new, local…
Good news for home sellers: Bidding wars are making a comeback. A new report released Monday by Redfin found that 49.4 percent of Redfin offers faced competition in May – up 43.9 percent in April. The uptick is being fueled by a shortage of inventory, as there were 18.9 percent fewer houses on the market in May than a year earlier. “Bidding wars also jumped in May because homebuyers felt they were starting to get more clarity around where the economy was headed, with cities around the nation lifting stay-at-home orders. This gave house hunters more confidence to compete,” Redfin lead economist Taylor Marr said. “But with coronavirus cases back on the rise in many states, only time will tell whether…
The percentage of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the weekly forbearance survey released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The percentage of Fannie and Freddie mortgages in forbearance decreased from 6.4 percent to 6.38 percent. The share of all mortgages in the United States in forbearance increased slightly from 8.53 percent to 8.55 percent – or 4.3 million loans – as of June 7, the MBA said. “MBA’s survey results from the first week of June showed a slight uptick in the overall share of loans in forbearance, but this increase was primarily driven by a larger share of portfolio and PLS loans…
In an attempt to measure housing’s comeback from the coronavirus pandemic, realtor.com created the Housing Recovery Index – with the initial report showing the U.S. housing market is recovering even in the face of COVID and civil unrest across the country. The report uses realtor.com search traffic, media list prices, new listings and median time on the market to compare it to a baseline of 100 – established based on January 2020 market trends. The higher a market’s index value, the bigger the recovery and vice versa. For the week ending June 6, the Housing Recovery Index was 88.8 nationwide, 11.2 points below the January baseline and up 1 point over the week before. The slight increase in this week’s overall…
Mortgage rates hovered near record lows again this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 3.21 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday. “The rebound in homebuyer demand continued this week, driven by mortgage rates that hover near record lows,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “This turnaround in demand, particularly by those who have higher incomes than the typical household, also reflects deferred sales from the spring.” The survey found that for the week ending June 11: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.21 percent with an average 0.9 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 3.18 percent and down from 3.82 percent a year ago.15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.62 percent with an average…
Mortgage applications for home purchases increased for the eighth straight week as the housing market continues to take steps forward from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic. For the week ending June 5, purchase applications increased 15 percent on unadjusted basis over the week before and 13 percent than a year ago. Overall, all mortgage applications increased 20 percent for the week on an unadjusted basis – and 13 percent over the same week a year ago. “Fueled again by low mortgage rates, pent-up demand from earlier this spring, and states reopening across the country, purchase mortgage applications and refinances both increased. The recovery in the purchase market continues to gain steam, with the seasonally adjusted index rising to its…
Mortgage credit keeps getting tighter, but the decrease in credit availability leveled off in May, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Tuesday. May marked the sixth straight month that saw mortgage credit tighten, falling 3.1 percent in the month. Mortgage credit availability has decreased by nearly 32 percent over the last six months, according to MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI). The MCAI fell to 129.3 in May. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012. “Mortgage lenders in May responded accordingly to the increased risk and uncertainty in the economy,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of…
The percentage of mortgages in forbearance in the United States barely increased last week, with the number bank-managed mortgages in forbearances actually decreasing for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The latest Mortgage Bankers Association report released Monday found that 8.53 percent of U.S. mortgages were in forbearance as of May 31 – up from 8.46 percent a week earlier. By contrast, the percentage increased by 1 to 2 percentage points during some weeks in April. That equates to about 4.3 million homeowners whose mortgages are in forbearance. “With the job market beginning to gradually improve, more homeowners are exiting forbearance, and we are seeing declines in forbearance volume among some servicers,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior…
