Selling a home in May, June, or July brings premiums of 10% or more above market value, according to a new analysis by ATTOM Data Solutions. ATTOM looked at home sales over the past eleven years to determine the best month to sell a home. It found that spring and summer are the most popular times for homebuying, giving sellers the best opportunity to make money on their homes. “April showers may bring May flowers, but May brings home sellers the best opportunities to watch their profits grow,” said Rick Sharga, Executive Vice President of Market Intelligence at ATTOM. “Homeowners looking to maximize the price premium they can claim on their homes should sell their properties in May, June, and…
Mortgage loan application volume rose by 2.5% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 2.5%. The adjusted purchase index increased by 4%, while the unadjusted purchase index was up by 5% and was 11% lower YOY. The refinance index increased 0.2% and was down 71% YOY. Refinances made up 33.9% of total applications, down from 37.1%. ARM activity accounted for 9.3% of total applications. “The 30-year fixed rate was 5.36%, up over two percentage points from a year ago. The 127-basis-point jump in rates over the past two months has triggered a 49% drop in refinance activity,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice…
More home shoppers are searching out-of-market in Q1 2022, according to a new report from Realtor.com. Realtor.com looked at data from its website on where prospective buyers are searching for homes to identify migration patterns. In Q1 2022, 59.7% of Realtor.com listing page views came from shoppers looking for homes in metros other than where they live. This was up 1.9% from Q4 2021 and 4.6% YOY. Pageviews in areas with relatively lower median listing prices rose. Regions with warmer climates that have historically been inexpensive are the most popular search areas. Southern and Sun Belt markets are especially attractive to out-of-market and out-of-state viewers. Realtor.com shoppers in the Northeast were the most likely to look at listings in other…
More metro areas saw double-digit YOY increases in their median single-family existing-home sales price in Q1 2022 than in Q4 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) quarterly report. Prices grew by double-digits in 70% of the 185 metros analyzed by NAR, up from 66% in Q4 2021. The median sales of single-family existing homes rose at a pace of 15.7% to $368,200, compared to 14.3% in the quarter prior. Affordability dropped as a result, with monthly mortgage payments on the typical home with a 20% downpayment rising to $1,383, up $319 (30%) YOY. Homeowners spent 18.7% of their income on mortgage payments, up from 14.2% the same time last year. The South region accounted for 45% of…
Home prices rose by 20.9% YOY in March, setting another record and marking the 122nd consecutive month of YOY home price increases nationally, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast. Home prices were up 3.3% from the month prior. The annual appreciation of detached properties (22%) was 4% higher than that of attached properties (17.3%). But the company predicts that home price growth will moderate to 5.9% by March 2023 due to rising interest rates and low affordability. Late April rates jumped about 30% YOY, a “trend that might derail more prospective buyers.” “The annual growth in the U.S. index was the largest we have measured in the 45-year history of the CoreLogic Home Price Index,” said…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage has come under fire after posting online that he is “disappointed” with Rocket Mortgage’s decision to offer buyouts to members of its workforce. Mat Ishbia posted on LinkedIn last week that this should not be necessary for a company that made over $5 billion in profits last year. “These 2,000+ people will struggle to find new jobs, and I think it’s disgusting that they’re thinking short term and are solely focused on cutting a few million per month in costs… this is the wrong thing to do to people,” Ishbia said. Ishbia went on to write that they have not had a single layoff in 35 years at UWM. The post…
In its last weekly report, Black Knight found forbearances largely holding steady in a “typical” pattern for the end of the month. Overall, forbearances rose by 2,300 plans last week. Loans held by portfolios and PSLs increased by 7,300 (+3.5%), though this was tempered by decreases for GSE loans (-1.2%, 2,400) and FHA/VA (-1.1%, 2,700). Plan volume is down 54,700 (-7.3%) month-over-month. Some 78,000 plans are up for review in early May, the next time Black Knight expects to see significant improvement. One-third should expire. Overall, U.S. homeowners are in a good position to come out of forbearance strong. In January, delinquencies dropped to their lowest rate since at least January 1999 thanks to home price appreciation and the strong…
Mortgage rates declined for the first time after a weeks-long upward streak, averaging 5% last week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5%, down from 5.11% last week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.98%. “The combination of swift home price growth and the fastest mortgage rate increase in over forty years is finally affecting purchase demand,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Homebuyers navigating the current environment are coping in a variety of ways, including switching to adjustable-rate mortgages, moving away from expensive coastal cities, and looking to more affordable suburbs. We expect the decline in demand to soften home price growth…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Near one of the hottest housing markets in the country, a local builder says a shortage of electrical transformers is slowing down progress on 166 condo units. Joshua Manning, General Manager at Lewis Builders Development in Atkinson, NH, says they are trying to complete a new construction project in Epping, NH, where the median listing home price is $581,500, according to Realtor.com. When Manning ordered the 20 electrical transformers he needs last year, there was no indication there would be an issue. Now he wonders when the order will be completely filled. “It’s never taken this long to get electrical transformers for new houses,” Manning said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note. Manning said he…
Mortgage loan application volume plummeted by 8.3% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped by 8.3%. The adjusted purchase index fell by 8%, while the unadjusted purchase index fell by 7% and was 17% lower YOY. The refinance index fell 9% and was down 71% YOY. Refinances made up 35% of total applications, down from 35.7%. Mortgage rates reached their highest level since 2009 last week, and overall application activity dropped to its lowest level since 2018. “The drop in purchase applications was evident across all loan types. Prospective homebuyers have pulled back this spring, as they continue to face limited options of homes…
