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…
Mortgage rates rose from an average of 5.51% to 5.54% last week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.54%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.78%. “The housing market remains sluggish as mortgage rates inch up for a second consecutive week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Consumer concerns about rising rates, inflation, and a potential recession are manifesting in softening demand. As a result of these factors, we expect house price appreciation to moderate noticeably.” Mortgage loan applications are tumbling as buyers are priced out by the combination of increasing interest rates and sky-high home prices. But the AEI Housing Center recently…
By CHUCK GREEN Home sweet… multifamily home construction? If, well, the spare bedroom fits. And that it seems to do in light of a new report from Construction Coverage showing a spike in construction of multifamily homes in the U.S. With a jump in multifamily housing projects, home building in the U.S. catapulted to a nine-month high last December, according to Reuters. There was a 2.4% hike to a rate of 737,000 units among multifamily homes under construction. “As long as supply chains remain stressed, builders will struggle to complete projects, slowing sales and likely limiting growth in the supply of new homes,” said Ben Ayers, Senior Economist at Nationwide in Columbus, Ohio. Earlier in the year, addressing the International Builders’ Show in…
Mortgage loan application volume tumbled again, falling by 6.3% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 6.3%. The adjusted purchase index dropped 7%, while the unadjusted purchase index increased by 16% and was 19% lower YOY. The refinance index fell by 4% and made up 31.4% of total applications, down 80% from the same time last year. ARM activity dropped to 9.5% of total applications. “Mortgage applications declined for the third week in a row, reaching the lowest level since 2000. Similarly, with most mortgage rates more than two percentage points higher than a year ago, demand for refinances continues to plummet, with…
Inflation is soaring in America’s most popular migration locations, in part because of their boost of new residents and high home price appreciation, Redfin reported. Phoenix, Atlanta, Tampa, and Miami saw double-digit inflation in Q2 2022. They are also all high migration areas that are popular among Redfin’s users. Inflation in Phoenix was up 11.3% YOY and is the third most popular city for Redfin.com users looking to move to a new city. Atlanta was the twelfth most popular and had an inflation rate of 10.9%. Next came Tampa, the second most popular destination on Redfin, with the third highest inflation rate at 10.6%, followed by Miami, the single most popular destination, with the fourth highest inflation at 10% flat.…
New home purchase applications fell 12% YOY in June, and were down 10% from May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Builder Application Survey. New single-family home sales ran at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 620,000 units in June, down 14.7% from May’s pace of 727,000 units. The unadjusted rate was estimated to be 57,000 home sales, down 6.6% from 61,000 in May. New home sales are estimated using mortgage application information and assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors. “Higher mortgage rates and heightened economic uncertainty cooled borrower demand in June, leading to new-home purchase applications declining to the lowest level since April 2020,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Additionally, new…
Nations Lending has opened a new branch in Spencer, WI, to be led by veterans Sue Foley and Jason Schultz, the company announced. Branch manager Sue Foley brings more than three decades of experience to the position. She will oversee all branch operations. “For a company of its size, Nations brings a family friendly environment where I feel how appreciated my presence is,” said Foley. “The blend of its company culture, employee relationships, and commitment to success will allow us to thrive.” Sales Manager Jason Schultz will be in charge of growing loan volume and increasing sales. He has more than $80 million in loan production under his belt from the last two years alone. “We have a fantastic team…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS As 94% of surveyed lenders agree that appraisal modernization efforts are valuable, two leaders who have witnessed the industry changing say new technology is making things possible that could have only been imagined in the past. Dean Kelker, Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer at SingleSource Property Solutions, and Todd Rasmussen, President of Equity Valuation Partners, recently sat down for interviews with The Mortgage Note, and this is what they had to say. “The lending process itself has changed quite a bit. It is certainly much faster than it was years ago largely because of the technology that’s been driving it,” Kelker said. “Most recently, largely due to the low interest rates, we have had a…
Millennials are often touted as getting the short stick when it comes to the housing market. Over the housing boom of the last two years, many Millennials who recently reached prime homebuying age started looking to buy their first home. But high competition and limited inventory have made this a notoriously difficult market for first-time buyers. This has been intensified by rising home prices. As of 2021, the average millennial with a mortgage owed $255,527 in mortgage debt, up 10% from the 2020 average and 16% from 2019. But while Millennials may be the largest buying cohort right now, Gen Z is right on their heels. Gen Z places much stock in the value of owning a home. Nearly 60%…
Mortgage rates drifted up again last week after plummeting the week prior, rising from an average 5.30% to 5.51%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.51%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.88%. “Mortgage rates are volatile as economic growth slows due to fiscal and monetary drags,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “With rates the highest in over a decade, home prices at escalated levels, and inflation continuing to impact consumers, affordability remains the main obstacle to homeownership for many Americans.” Affordability is at record lows across the country. The average monthly mortgage payment is up 6.2% month-over-month and 51% year-over-year. Low…
