Mortgage application volume fell again in the past week, dropping to its lowest point since Mid-July, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey found. Mortgage application volume fell by 1.9%. On an unadjusted basis, the index dropped 3% from last week. The data is driven largely by a 3% decline in refinancing. The refinance index was 4% lower year-over-year for the same week. The survey also showed a small 0.2% decline in the seasonally adjusted purchase index. “Mortgage application volume fell last week to its lowest level since mid-July, as mortgage rates have stayed just above 3% for several weeks. Refinance volume has been moderating, while purchase volume continues to be lower than expected given the lack of homes on…
As the housing market cools slightly and prices trend downward, consumers feel more positive about their homebuying prospects, according to Fannie Mae’s August Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI). The HPSI is a national telephone survey that polls 1,000 consumers a month about owning or renting a home, price changes, the economy, and overall consumer confidence. The results can help predict future housing outcomes. The HPSI was essentially unchanged in August, falling 0.1 points to 75.7, but the survey revealed that buyers are starting to feel more optimistic about the housing market. For the first time since March, more respondents said they believe it’s a good time to buy a home, rising from 28% to 32%. The percentage of those who…
The housing market is leveling out, with smaller, more affordable homes being listed and sellers pricing more competitively as 423,000 new homes go up for sale, according to Realtor.com’s August Housing Market Trends Report. The data show the number of homes actively for sale was up 4.3% nationally in August over the past year, and up 5.1% specifically in large metro areas. “A deceleration in the decline of inventory means the market is heading in an encouraging direction, but active inventory still remains historically low,” the report said. Freddie Mac estimates the US is short 3.8 million single-family homes. That estimate represents a 52% rise in the nation’s home shortage compared with 2018. “Low mortgage rates have motivated homebuyers to endure this…
Signs of softening housing markets and a leveling of mortgage interest rates have some industry observers asking if America is heading back to a ‘normal’ home-buying market. “For first-time buyers, more options and favorable financing offer the promise that after a year of frustrating bidding wars, finding the right home may finally be within reach,” George Ratiu, manager of economic research at Realtor.com said this week. “More listings are coming to the market these days, which is alleviating some of the supply crunch that prompted record increases in home prices.” Marco Santarelli, founder of Norada Real Estate Investments, says “new sellers are entering the market at near-normal levels,” in part thanks to cooling home prices. “Median listing prices in several…
Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS®) showed rates remain virtually unchanged this past week. The rate on a 30-day fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.87%, the same as last week and lower than the 2.93% average a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 2.18%, nearly identical to the 2.17% rate in the previous week. Fifteen-year rates averaged 2.42% a year earlier. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 2.43%, up from 2.42% last week and lower than the 2.93% rate a year earlier. “Economic growth and the acceleration in inflation have moderated in the last month, giving the markets comfort and leading to a stabilization in mortgage rates,” said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Heading…
Stagnating home prices and an influx of new homes for sale created a 9% dip in August pending home sales, the lowest they’ve been since April 2021, a Redfin report shows. The report showed asking prices of newly listed homes up 10% from last year to a median of $354,665, the lowest level since late April and down 1.8% from mid-June’s all-time high. Nationally, the inventory of homes actively for sale in August decreased by 25.8% over the past year, a lower rate of decline than July’s 33.5% decrease. The inventory of active listings is still down 52.8% from 2019. The number of active listings nationally declined by 25.8% over the last year, while the total inventory of unsold homes…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency named Laura Thrift as the new Director of the Office of Congressional Affairs and Communications and Alexei Alexandrov (above) as Chief Economist on Monday. Thrift has more than 15 years of experience on Capitol Hill working for senior members of the House of Representatives. Before joining FHFA, Thrift was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore). Thrift previously served as Senior Policy Advisor to Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) Prior to joining FHFA, Alexandrov, a Ph.D. economist, was the director of Central Algorithms for Wayfair.com. He also worked as a senior manager at Amazon.com. Additionally, he served as a senior economist at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, working on mortgage regulations stemming from…
The FHFA’s Q2 House Price Index (HPI) saw its largest ever annual gain, with house prices rising 17.4% year-over-year, up from 12.6% in the last quarter. This surge in home prices breaks the previous record, set in Q1. The FHFA HPI measures the movement of single-family house prices by reviewing repeat mortgage transactions on homes whose mortgages have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since January 1975. “During the second quarter, house prices peaked in June with an 18.8 percent growth rate compared to a year ago,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, Deputy Director of FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics. “For the quarter, annual gains surpassed 20 percent in the Mountain, New England, and Pacific census divisions and…
Despite no change in historically low mortgage rates, mortgage applications dropped 2.4% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey. The MBA said the decline in its seasonally adjusted market composite index tracking mortgage applications was influenced by a 3.8% decline in applications to refinance existing loans. “There was little change in mortgage rates last week, with the 30-year fixed remaining at 3.03 percent. Despite low rates, refinance applications declined, with some borrowers still waiting for rates to drop even lower,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “Recent uncertainty around the economy and pandemic have kept rates low over the past month, which is why the refinance index has oscillated…
The number of mortgage loans in forbearance remains unchanged from last week, holding at 3.25%, according to the latest numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The report, released yesterday, estimates that 1.6 million homeowners are in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained the same relative to the prior week at 1.66%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance also remained the same at 3.92%, while the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased 3 basis points to 7.18%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers increased 2 basis points to 3.50%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers was unchanged at 3.35%. But…
