The supply of affordable homes in the U.S. rose 13% year-over-year (YOY) in Q3, increasing at a record pace of 1.6% YOY, according to a Redfin report. The report suggests the increase in affordable homes is due to forbearance programs ending, forcing many owners of low-cost homes to put them on the market. As forbearance programs launched in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic come to a close, many homeowners are putting those houses on the market. More than 450,000 homeowners have exited forbearance plans in the first two weeks of October. “The end of forbearance has forced many lower-income Americans to put their homes up for sale and become renters,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “This has caused the…
Mortgage loan application volume dropped 3.3% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reports. The Market Composite Index, which measures application volume, fell 3.3% on an adjusted basis. The Refinance Index fell 4% and was 33% lower than a year ago, beating last week’s drop to its lowest level since January 2020. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 2%, while the unadjusted Purchase Index fell 3% compared to the week before, down 9% from the previous year. “Mortgage rates decreased for the first time since August, as concerns about supply-chain bottlenecks, waning consumer confidence, weaker economic growth, and rising inflation pushed Treasury yields lower. Most of the decline in rates came later in the week, which is likely…
Home prices rose 5.3% last quarter and nearly 20% year-over-year (YOY), according to Clear Capital’s October 2021 Home Data Index. Western states led price growth once again, with prices rising 24.3% YOY. Phoenix continued to dominate with a 57% price increase, though the report noted that “COVID-related noise” may have inflated that figure. However, significant increases were confirmed by a 31% rise in price-per-square-foot. Las Vegas price hikes were close behind, up 26%, followed by Portland, up 21%. The South followed up the West in appreciation, showing price growth of 20.5% YOY. Tampa topped its list at 31%, followed by Raleigh and Orlando, both experiencing 25% increases. The Northeast saw prices up by 16.7%. Providence and Hartford saw the largest…
Forbearances continued to drop last week, with the total number of loans in protection down to 2.15% of servicers’ portfolio volume, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest survey. The estimated number of homeowners in forbearance plans remains around 1.1 million. “For the first time since March 2020, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance dropped below 1%. A small decline for this investor category was matched by similarly small declines for Ginnie Mae and portfolio/PLS loans,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “Forbearance exits slowed at the end of October to the slowest pace since late August. With so many borrowers having reached the end of their 18-month forbearance term,…
As potential homebuyers struggle to find affordable houses, new construction may not be a reliable fix. Prices for newly-constructed homes outpaced median income, pricing out most Americans, according to a study from real estate tech firm Knock. Knock reported that prices for newly-constructed homes are unseasonably high, with August’s median new home price staying the same from July at $390,900. That price outpaces the national median household income, which has dropped 2.9% to $67,521 from 2019 to 2020. It is the first decline since 2011, and early forecasts show only small rebounds in 2021. “To put things in perspective, the minimum total household income for a mortgage on a $390,900, with a 6% down payment, typically falls just under $80,000,”…
By Kimberly Haas For people who are interested in finding out if their home or future home is haunted, there is a website for that. Roy Condrey, who has experience as a project manager at a software company, lives in South Carolina and is the founder and president of DiedInHouse.com. On his social media pages, Condrey and his team post information about some of the more notable houses throughout the nation, including houses where there has been paranormal activity and/or violent deaths. “The Victorian” in Gardner, Mass., was featured on the Died In House Facebook page on Oct. 27. “The S.K. Pierce Mansion, a.k.a ‘The Victorian’ in Gardner, Mass. where a man was reported to have burned to death in…
After a “lull” last week hit the brakes on an early October tidal wave, forbearances held steady this week, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision. Approximately 19,000 homeowners exited forbearance plans this week, slightly better than last week’s dismal 7,300. Black Knight characterized last week’s slowdown as usual for the middle of the month and anticipates exits will accelerate this week as we move closer to month-end deadlines. This includes 140,000 plans facing final expiration. The number of loans in forbearance fell across all categories, with a 3,300 drop in loans held by Portfolio and PSLs, 7,700 among FHA/Va loans, and 7,900 for GSE loans. Notably, forbearance plan starts rose slightly last week, though they are still 28% lower from…
The number of “zombie” foreclosures hardly budged this quarter, though increases are expected to come, according to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions. Properties that are both vacant and in the foreclosure process, known as “zombie” properties, make up 3.3% of foreclosures. Zombie properties are most common in the Northeast and Midwest. New York has the highest rate, followed by Ohio, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. And 7,432 property owners vacated their homes in Q2, down from 7,538 in Q3 2021 and from 7,612 in Q4 2020. That number is down both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year (YOY) in 25 states. Georgia saw a 29% drop in zombies from Q3 to Q4, while Kentucky, Illinois, Connecticut, and Oklahoma all saw drops of over…
Mortgage rates rose again over the past week, reaching 3.14%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.14%, up from last week’s 3.09%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.81% “The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has been trending up due to the decline in new COVID cases, increasing consumer optimism, as well as broadening inflation and persistent shortages,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Mortgage rates are also rising, but purchase demand remains firm, showing that latent purchase demand exists among consumers.” Industry experts have noted minor decreases in home prices and other factors that would point to a cool-down, but the market remains hot. The…
Mortgage fraud rose 37.2% year-over-year (YOY) through Q2, reaching pre-pandemic levels, according to CoreLogic’s latest Mortgage Fraud Report. The increases are artificially high given the significant drop in fraud during 2020, which was driven by jumps in traditionally low-risk refinances. The current level mimics mid-2019. “Refinance opportunities that surged lending volumes during the pandemic may be winding down. The outlook is for fewer low-risk refinances compared to purchases and cash-out refinances, which translates to a higher-risk environment for fraud,” said Ann Regan, executive, product management at CoreLogic. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, increasing interest rates have hampered refinance activity, with applications spiraling to their lowest point since January 2020. Purchase applications have picked up slightly. About 0.83% of all…
