With affordability at its worst level in more than three decades, most Americans are putting off buying a home until rates fall.
Only 6% of Americans interested in buying a home are planning to do so this summer, with the majority waiting for interest rates to drop, according to BMO’s Real Financial Progress Index. Just 4% say they expect to buy in the fall.
High rates, low inventory, and sky-high house prices are keeping potential buyers on the sidelines. Of those who don’t currently own a property, 65% are holding off due to the state of the economy.
In the current high-rate environment, affordability is an insurmountable challenge for many buyers. As of May, each of the 100 largest U.S.…
Mortgage rates increased again last week due to signs that beating inflation may take a while.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.79%, up from 6.57% the week prior.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.09%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also spiked from 5.97% to 6.18%. A year ago, it averaged 4.32%.
“Mortgage rates jumped this week, as a buoyant economy has prompted the market to price-in the likelihood of another Federal Reserve rate hike,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
Federal officials have hinted that the Central Bank is considering further interest rate hikes later in the year, even if they skip one in June.
Fed Governor Philip…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A report released on Thursday shows that residential lending continues to slow across the United States.
According to ATTOM’s first-quarter 2023 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, 1.25 million mortgages were originated in Q1. That number was down 19% from Q4 2022.
“Lenders saw opportunities dwindle even more during the first quarter as the longest slowdown in mortgage activity in at least 20 years continued,” Rob Barber, chief executive officer at ATTOM, said in a statement. “In one sense, it wasn’t that unusual, given that wintertime is usually the slow time of the year for lenders. But the latest slide extends a run that started two years ago and has carved away nearly three-quarters of the home-mortgage…
By CHUCK GREEN
To home sellers who agonizingly watched the prices of their abodes recede recently, leaving a nasty gash in profits, there’s little to say but “ouch.”
Want a touch of solace? Apparently, the waters are rippling with plenty of others in the same predicament.
A first quarter 2023 U.S. Home Sales Report released by ATTOM showed that on median-priced single-family home and condo sales across the country, profit margins dipped to 44.2%, sagging from 48.7% in the fourth quarter of last year.
A silver lining is that the typical investment return stayed relatively high. In fact, it was nearly double where it was four years ago. From the peak of 56.1% in the second quarter last year, the…
Millions of Americans who bought new homes during the pandemic have enjoyed them and the benefits of historically low interest rates. But for those who missed out, the homebuying process has become a drag.
A new survey from Clever Real Estate found more than half of Americans who recently bought a home feel that they overpaid for their home and have struggled financially since.
One thousand Americans who purchased a home in 2022 or 2023 were surveyed on April 12 and 13, 2023. Respondents answered up to 21 questions regarding their recent home purchase, previous home sales, and views on buying and selling homes.
Almost half of respondents exceeded their budget and 58% believe they overpaid. Considering that, it’s no…
Data released today shows a modest increase in home prices took place in March, signaling that home price declines may be over.
Year-over-year, prices increased by 0.7%, down from 2.1% in the prior month, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index.
The 20-City Composite posted a -1.1% year-over-year decline, down from a 0.4% gain in the previous month.
“The modest increases in home prices we saw a month ago accelerated in March 2023,” Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, said. “Two months of increasing prices do not a definitive recovery make, but March’s results suggest that the decline in home prices that began in June 2022 may have come to an end.”
Lazzara added…
Elon Musk expects home values to tank in the coming year, spurned by weakness in the commercial real estate market.
The tech billionaire tweeted “Commercial real estate is melting down fast. Home values next,” in response to a tweet about the market from Craft Ventures founder David Sacks.
Commercial real estate is having a tough moment in a high-rate, high-price environment. The Federal Reserve has called CRE weakness a possible risk to the U.S. financial systems.
“[T]he magnitude of a correction in property values could be sizable and therefore lead to credit losses,” officials wrote in a report.
JPMorgan has estimated that around $450 billion in commercial real estate loans due to expire this year could default, while Morgan Stanley…
April brought no change in pending home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors.
NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index remained at 78.9 in April, the same reading as in March. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
Year-over-year, pending sales dropped by 20.3%.
“Not all buying interests are being completed due to limited inventory,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Affordability challenges certainly remain and continue to hold back contract signings, but a sizeable increase in housing inventory will be critical to get more Americans moving.”
Analysts differ on when inventory will be correct.
ATTOM Data’s Rick Sharga told Bankrate not to expect a big inventory boost anytime soon. But Robert Johnson,…
Mortgage rates increased again last week due to a heap of political and financial news.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.57%, up from 6.39% the week prior.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.10%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 5.75% to 5.97%. A year ago, it averaged 4.31%.
Daily average rates even exceeded 7% on May 25, hitting their highest level since November.
“The U.S. economy is showing continued resilience which, combined with debt ceiling concerns, led to higher mortgage rates this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
At the current rate, 6.57%, Redfin reported that the typical buyer’s monthly mortgage payment amounts to $2,614, a…
The overall mortgage delinquency rate fell to a record low in March, according to new data from CoreLogic.
Just 2.6% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency, down 0.3% from March 2022 and 0.4% from the month prior.
This is the lowest level ever recorded. CoreLogic chalks it up to the country’s unemployment rate, which is at a 50-year low.
Serious delinquencies in particular benefitted, down 1.5% YOY to 1.1% of all mortgages, a 23-year low.
Early-stage delinquencies (1.1%) and adverse delinquencies (0.3%) were unchanged YOY. The share of mortgages in some stage of foreclosure (0.3%) and the share that transitioned from current to early-stage (0.5%) were also unchanged from the same time last…
