By TYRONE TOWNSEND Renters continue to engage in bidding wars as Americans struggle to find affordable places to live. The demand for rental properties is growing due to rising mortgage rates, increasing inflationary concerns, and supply chain problems. Michael Scuito is a Savannah, Georgia, resident and an Army veteran who says he had to rearrange his budget to fit the current rental market. In 2020, he moved into a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment and was paying $1,575 a month. Later that year, the price was raised by over $200. “I live in one bed and one bath, paying $1650 a month. That’s not including utilities. I’ve constantly rearranged my budget to adjust to raising rent, food, and gas prices,” Scuito told…
Home price growth saw the largest single-month slowdown on record since at least the 1970s in June, coinciding with a huge increase in inventory, according to Black Knight’s most recent Mortgage Monitor Report. Annual home price growth fell from 19.3% to 17.3% between May and June. “For context, during the 2006 downturn the strongest single-month slowing was 1.19 percentage points – about what we saw last month – and June topped that by 66%,” said Black Knight Data & Analytics President Ben Graboske. However, while the slowdown was historic, home price growth would need to fall at this pace for a while yet before annual price appreciation returned to 5%. “Still, while this was the sharpest cooling on record nationally,…
Mortgage rates plunged by 24 basis points last week, averaging 5.30%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.30%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.80%. “Purchase demand continues to tumble as the cumulative impact of higher rates, elevated home prices, increased recession risk, and declining consumer confidence take a toll on homebuyers,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “It’s clear that over the past two years, the combination of the pandemic, record low mortgage rates, and the opportunity to work remotely spurred greater demand. Now, as the market adjusts to a higher rate environment, we are seeing a period of deflated sales activity…
The national median payment applied for by mortgage applicants dropped slightly in June, down to $1,893 from May’s $1,897, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI) found. PAPI measures the variations in new monthly mortgage payments across time and relative to income. The national PAPI fell 0.2% to a read of 163.9 in June, indicating that new mortgages account for a smaller share of a typical person’s income. A decrease in PAPI shows affordability improving for borrowers due to loan application amounts or mortgage rates falling, or earnings rising. But affordability remains high compared to the same time last year, with the index up 37.4% YOY. “Median mortgage applications payments have held steady during the last two…
Pending home sales tumbled in June after a slight increase in May, falling 8.6% month-over-month and 20% YOY. The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index posted a reading of 91 last month. A reading of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001. The PSHI is a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings. “Contract signings to buy a home will keep tumbling down as long as mortgage rates keep climbing, as has happened this year to date,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “There are indications that mortgage rates may be topping or very close to a cyclical high in July. If so, pending contracts should also begin to stabilize.” Buying a…
Mortgage loan application volume fell by another 1.8%, the fourth straight week of declines and the lowest level of activity since February 2000, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 1.8%. The adjusted purchase index dropped 1%, while the unadjusted purchase index decreased by 0.4%% and was 18% lower YOY. The refinance index fell by 4% and made up 30.7% of total applications, down 83% from the same time last year. ARM activity dropped to 9.1% of total applications. As affordability challenges continue and potential buyers decide to hold off searching for a home, purchase activity is now inching closer to pre-pandemic levels. “Weakening purchase applications…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Officials at the US Department of Justice say a Michigan real estate consultant and accountant will serve 18 months in prison after he filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. Steven Mills, of Harbor Springs and formerly of East Lansing, was retained by a corporation to supervise several real estate agents. Between 2012 and 2015, Mills demanded and received about $577,000 in kickbacks which he did not report on his tax returns, according to officials. Mills did not report all of the income he earned when he operated Mills Real Estate Consulting LLC. Officials say he did not report $100,000 he received from a real estate developer between 2013 and 2015. IRS-Criminal Investigation led the…
Florida has taken the top spot as the most sought-after area for renters in 2022, according to new research from RentCafe. RentCafe looked at the 100 largest U.S. markets and analyzed data such as the number of days a rental sat vacant, the percentage of occupied apartments, and how many renters competed for apartments. South and Central Florida ranked highest, followed by mid-sized markets in the Northeast. Miami-Date County is the hottest rental market in the country, with the highest demand for apartments thanks to a huge number of apartment hunters, low inventory, and record-high lease renewal rates. Hot areas like Miami and Orlando are struggling to keep up with an influx of new renters even though they have built…
Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure starts increased in June but ultimately stayed below pre-pandemic levels, according to Black Knight’s First Look at June 2022 data. The national delinquency rate rose by nine basis points month-over-month to 2.84%. But the three months prior saw consecutive record lows in delinquencies, meaning the boost has little bite. The increases were distributed across all categories. The number of borrowers late by a single day jumped 5%. Those late by 90 or more days increase by a mere 1%, and that comes on the heels of a 21-month streak of improvement. Foreclosure starts rose by 27% but remained down 40% from pre-pandemic levels. However, it does constitute a 441% YOY increase, which Black Knight notes is…
Zonda’s New Home Pending Sales Index for June 2022 finds the housing market cooling to levels seen in February 2020. The New Home PSI posted a reading of 125.5 for June, down 7.5% YOY and 27.9% below cycle highs. It measures new home orders and average sales rate per community. New home sales dropped month-over-month by 0.2%, the fifth straight month of declines. The new home orders component fell 10.5% YOY, while the average sales rate per community component fell 8.2% YOY. “Home sellers and home buyers are adjusting to a new reality in the housing market,” said Ali Wolf, Zonda’s chief economist. “Home sellers are quickly understanding the days of frenzied demand are behind us and it takes an…
