Americans are paying top dollar to live in areas prone to devastating environmental disasters, with home prices soaring in these locations. A new report from real estate publication Home Bay found that home prices are increasing at a higher rate than the national median in the areas most impacted by climate change. Home sales prices are up 167% in metros within states that have had at least 50 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declarations since 2012. By comparison, the national median increase is only 113%. FEMA ranks California, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and North Carolina as the states with the highest risk for homeowners– that is, the states that are most likely to have disasters that threaten buildings, people, and…
Mortgage loan application volume rose slightly by 0.7% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by 0.7%. The adjusted purchase index rose 0.1%, while the unadjusted purchase index fell by 21% and was 24% lower YOY. The refinance index rose by 2% and made up 30.3% of total applications, down 80% from the same time last year. ARM activity fell to 10.1% of total applications. “Mortgage rates continue to experience large swings. After increasing 65 basis points during the past three weeks, the 30-year fixed rate declined 14 basis points last week to 5.84%,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS At least four industry leaders will cover the travel expenses for employee abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday. The New York Times named Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Zillow in a Tweet on Monday. There were 4,307 Retweets, 705 Quote Tweets, and over 17,300 Likes as of Tuesday morning. The media relations departments at Bank of America and JPMorgan put out press releases about their stress test results on Monday. Bank of America announced plans to increase its quarterly common stock dividend beginning in the third quarter of 2022. “Our responsible growth strategy over the last decade has put us in a strong position to support our clients…
Annual home price appreciation dipped slightly in April, the first decline in months and a sign that the housing market is finally pumping the brakes. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, which measures average home prices, found that home prices rose by 20.4% YOY, decelerating from March’s read of 20.6%. Though it’s not a drastic fall, the numbers suggest that rising mortgage rates and increasing costs associated with buying a home are deterring buyers. The last time prices decelerated was in November of 2021. “April 2022 showed initial (although inconsistent) signs of a deceleration in the growth rate of U.S. home prices,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI. “We continue to observe very broad strength in the housing market,…
Pending home sales finally rose in May after six consecutive months of decreases, ticking up a small but significant 0.7%. The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) posted a reading 99.9 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. However, year-over-year transactions are down 13.6%. “Despite the small gain in pending sales from the prior month, the housing market is clearly undergoing a transition,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Contract signings are down sizably from a year ago because of much higher mortgage rates.” All four regions saw YOY declines but were split down…
By CHUCK GREEN With lumber prices toppling, it might be the ideal time to knock on wood. Gently, though. It just might be a bit fragile at the moment. Year to date, prices have sagged around 50%, according to 7seasgroupusa.com. They recently sunk to their lowest point in nine months as they traded under the $600-per-thousand-board-feet mark. Conversely, a year ago, prices, fueled by pent-up demand for construction and home upgrades in the aftermath of COVID on the heels of a frenzy of speculation, reached $1,733, which was unprecedented.But as the housing market backed down in light of escalating interest rates, lumber prices have borne the brunt, receding more than 60% from their March highs, according to Business Insider. In May,…
Soaring interest rates pushed homebuyer demand down in its largest annual decline in more than two years, Redfin reported. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index was down 16% YOY, its largest drop since April 2020, in response to lagging inventory and skyrocketing mortgage rates. Last week, rates jumped a full half-point in the largest one-week increase in the history of Freddie Mac’s weekly rate survey, which dates back to 1987. This week they’re up to 5.81%. At the same time, pending home sales were down 10% YOY, the largest decline since May 2020. Home prices are moderating slightly, but still elevated. The average size of a purchase loan application was $420,000, down from a peak of $460,000. In 2019, the average loan…
Mortgage rates increased again this week, averaging 5.81%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.81%, up from last week’s 5.78%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.02%. “Fixed mortgage rates have increased by more than two full percentage points since the beginning of the year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The combination of rising rates and high home prices is the likely driver of recent declines in existing home sales. However, in reality many potential homebuyers are still interested in purchasing a home, keeping the market competitive but leveling off the last two years of red-hot activity.” Rising rates have priced some…
Housing payments have surpassed the dreaded 30% cost-burdened threshold thanks to the 30-year fixed rate’s recent half-point jump. Black Knight reports that it now costs $2,103 to make the principal and interest (P&I) payment on an average-priced home with a 20% downpayment. That equates to 36.2% of the median household income and sinks affordability to its lowest level in more than 35 years. Payments as a percentage of income are now higher than the previous record of 34.1% in July 2006, and significantly up from the long-term average of 25.1%. The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines cost-burdened families as those “who pay more than 30% of their income for housing” and “may have difficulty affording necessities such as…
Investment opportunities in multifamily housing slipped in Q1 2022, with the Freddie Mac Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index (AIMI) falling by 4.8% from Q4 2021 and 2.4% year-over-year. AIMI analyzes multifamily rental income growth, property price growth, and mortgage rates to measure multifamily market investment conditions. A decline such as this indicates that attractive investment opportunities are becoming more difficult to find. For the second quarter in a row, increases in net operating income (NOI) were overwhelmed by property price growth and rising interest rates. AIMI fell nationally and in 18 of the 25 individual markets analyzed by Freddie Mac. Only seven markets experienced growth. Quarter-over-quarter NOI grew 2.5% and was up in every metro. Miami saw the fastest increase…
