Mortgage rates dropped to an average 5.13% last week from 5.22% the week prior, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.13%, following a rollercoaster couple of weeks that saw both a 30-point rate decrease and a 20-point increase. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.86%. “Inflation appears to be beyond its peak, which has stopped the rapid increase in mortgage rates that the housing market was experiencing earlier this year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The market continues to absorb the cumulative impact of the large price and rate increases that led to a plunge in affordability. As a result, over the rest…
Existing-home sales dropped for the sixth straight month in July, down 5.9% from June and 20.2% YOY, according to the National Association of Realtors’ most recent data. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million and declined in every major region. At the same time, inventory of unsold homes increased to 1.31 million, or 3.3 months of inventory at the current sales pace. “The ongoing sales decline reflects the impact of the mortgage rate peak of 6% in early June. Home sales may soon stabilize since mortgage rates have fallen to near 5%, thereby giving an additional boost of purchasing power to home buyers,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. The median price for an existing home…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Bank of America has granted the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Health Equity $1 million to launch a program that promises to improve children’s overall health in West Philadelphia. Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, Chief Health Equity Officer of the Center for Health Equity and Medical Director of the Community Asthma Prevention Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, talked in an interview with The Mortgage Note about how residential segregation and economic inequality have left some neighborhoods so run down they are unhealthy for children to grow up in. In West and Southwest Philadelphia, more than one-third of children live below the poverty line, according to a press release. “Because of systematic practices there have been homes that…
Mortgage loan application volume fell 2.3% last week, reversing a two-week uptick, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows. Overall applications dipped to their lowest level since 2000. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 2.3%. The adjusted purchase index fell 1% while the unadjusted purchase index dropped 2% and was 18% lower YOY. The refinance index dropped by 5% and made up 31.2% of total applications, down 82% from the same time last year. Refinances are at their lowest level since November 2000, pushed down by a 6% decline in conventional refinance applications. ARM activity fell to 7% of total applications. “Home purchase applications continued to be held down by rapidly drying…
By CHUCK GREEN Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Is it the place to be? Why not? Portsmouth’s a medium size coastal city with 22,277 residents as of July 1, 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city’s rife with attractions including a new jazz club, theaters, restaurants, overall safety, outdoor living, and the school district has 6 schools with 2,531 students. Here’s the scene from Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club on New Year’s Eve: Happy New Year’s Eve from Portsmouth, NH! pic.twitter.com/5wwd4JU4sJ— Kimberley Haas (@KimberleyHaas) January 1, 2022 The Seacoast region has and will continue to benefit from market demand that is generated by people looking for a higher quality of life within an urban setting, Jim Goldenberg, principal of Cathartes,…
In a reversal of a pandemic trend, competition for low-priced homes has surpassed that for mid- and high-priced homes, according to a new Zillow analysis. July saw inventory rise 11% month-over-month and 19.3% YOY in the most expensive third of the housing market, while the middle third also saw a 12.7% MOM and 17.3% YOY increase. Inventory grew by only 11.2% MOM and 10.4% YOY in the lowest-priced tier. A year ago, the inventory of the lowest-priced homes was growing twice as fast as expensive homes, and the upper tiers saw the strongest competition, the reverse of this month’s trend. “Buyers are stretched thin when it comes to affordability, and they are flocking to the lowest-priced homes on the market…
Homebuilding plummeted in July as both homebuyers and sellers continue to lose confidence in the market. Housing starts fell by a shocking 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.446 million units last month, according to new data released by the Commerce Department. This is their lowest rate since February 2021 and significantly below market expectations of 1.53 million. Last month’s revised data put starts at a rate of 1.599 million units. A drop this big suggests the housing market still has room to contract in the third quarter of this year. Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics called the data “terrible” in a tweet Tuesday. Single-family starts fell 10.1%, their lowest in two years, while starts for units in…
New listings fell 12% during the four-week period ending August 7, the largest YOY decline since June 2020, according to recent Redfin data. Higher mortgage rates are keeping some Americans in their homes longer than they normally would be. Some homeowners are experiencing what Redfin calls “rate lock-in,” a fear of putting their home up for sale due to a low rate they nabbed during the pandemic. Others are realizing they won’t get an offer over listing price on-demand like they could last year. “Buyers are backing off due to rising housing costs and sellers are holding back because they realize they won’t get the bidding war they would have gotten six months ago,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor…
By ISAIAS PACHECO The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly mortgage application survey has recorded an increase of 0.2% for the week of August 5. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 0.3% compared with the previous week. Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting said mortgage rates remained volatile last week – after drops in the previous two weeks. Kan said mortgage rates ended up rising four basis points and mortgage applications were relatively flat, with a decline in purchase activity offset by an increase in refinance applications. “The purchase market continues to experience a slowdown, despite the strong job market. Activity has now fallen in five of the last six weeks, as buyers remain on the…
By ISAIAS PACHECO Information about the AEI Housing Market Indicator for the month of July was recapped during a recent meeting. Leaders at the organization went over their new Month-over-Month constant quality home price appreciation graphic, which shows that many of the largest Metros, especially western Metros, have begun experiencing negative M-O-M HPA. The overall goal is to monitor market stability through accurate real-time tracking to help avoid destructive housing booms and busts, they say. Key takeaways from the briefing on August 2: Purchase rate lock volume and home price appreciation both continue to decelerate and confirm a strong trend reversal.April 2022 volume was down 13% from the same month in 2021 but up 8% from 2020.Based on Optimal Blue…
