American home shoppers have plenty to fear this Halloween as the housing crunch continues. But where buyers live plays a role in how stressful their experience is.
Though markets are tough across the nation, California is home to the scariest housing markets in the U.S., according to a new analysis by Point2.
Of the 200 largest American metros, California markets bode worst for homebuyers based on price changes and for-sale inventory.
Nine of the ten worst markets are in California, and they aren’t stereotypically wealthy West Coast leaders like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Instead, these are emerging hubs like Escondido and Sunnyvale, which were once more affordable than their famous counterparts.
Finding affordable housing in California has long been…
Homebuyers have plenty to be scared of this spooky season, with mortgage rates at two-decade highs and home prices breaking new records, sending affordability to bone-chilling lows.
But current homeowners have their own fears to overcome this Halloween.
Homeowners planning to feed Trick-or-Treaters this year are facing a surge in candy costs thanks to bad weather in China, India and Thailand. The price of sugar and sugar substitutes was up 7.7% YOY in September, while candy and chewing gum saw a 7.5% annual surge. This is well above the 0.2% increase for food overall.
With inflation ravaging wallets this year, 40% of Americans say higher costs will affect how much candy they buy.
Even so, Americans are projected to spend…
Home prices surged again in the third quarter as home shoppers butted heads because of low inventory.
Annual single-family home price growth increased annually and quarterly from Q3 2022 to Q3 2023, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Price Index.
Price growth rose 2% quarter-over-quarter and was up 5.3% YOY, showing home price appreciation remains resilient amid stock shortages. The index measures the average quarterly price change for all single-family properties in the United States, excluding condos.
“Slightly slowing house price growth may reflect in part the affordability impact of the higher mortgage rate environment – even though prices were still solidly higher this past quarter than a year earlier,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. …
Mortgage rates increased last week, and despite a two-week streak of declines, will likely remain above 7%.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.18%, up from 7.12%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.02%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped, however, down to 6.51% from 6.52%. A year ago, it averaged 5.21%.
“Mortgage rates inched back up this week and remain anchored north of seven percent. The reacceleration of inflation and strength in the economy is keeping mortgage rates elevated,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
The consumer price index saw its biggest monthly gain this year in August, coming in hotter than expected at +0.3% month-over-month.
This heightens the…
As the student loan forbearance program comes to an end, Americans are terrified that resuming payments will force them into greater debt.
That’s according to a new survey of student loan borrowers by digital personal finance company Achieve.
Student loan repayments were put on pause in March 2020 as a response to the pandemic. Payments will resume in October. Nearly half of respondents are extremely or very stressed about resuming their payments, while 28% say they will have to take on new debt to manage their personal finances.
45% of respondents paid down other expenses rather than making advance payments on their student loans during forbearance, with 27% using their extra cash for mortgage or rent payments.
More than 60%…
Young Americans’ homebuying outlook just keeps getting worse.
Almost one in five Millennials (18%) and 12% of Gen Z respondents to a Redfin survey believe they will never be able to own a home.
They overwhelmingly see affordability as their primary barrier, with half citing high prices as their biggest concern. Just under half of respondents say they can’t save for a downpayment, coming in second.
Notably, just over one-third directly blamed mortgage rates for the state of the market. Other concerns include paying off student loans and being able to make monthly mortgage payments.
“The worsening housing affordability crisis has an outsized impact on Gen Zers and Millennials because they’re much less likely to own a home than older…
As floods, fires, and devastation become commonplace in areas with high climate impact, more Americans than ever are factoring disasters into their homebuying decisions.
A majority of buyers in every region of the U.S. consider at least one climate risk when home shopping, according to a new report from Zillow.
Americans living in the West are the most likely to say climate fears are “very or extremely” impactful on their purchase decisions, with Northeastern buyers in second place. Southern and Midwestern shoppers are less concerned, though two-thirds report that disaster risk affects their searches at least somewhat.
Millennial and Gen Z buyers are the most likely to worry about global warming’s impact on their new homes. They also make up…
Powerbuyer Ribbon, now owned by sale-leaseback platform EasyKnock, is reintroducing its all-cash offer product to Atlanta and Charlotte.
RibbonCash offers temporary financing for cash offers, a powerful model during the housing boom that allowed it to expand to multiple states. But last year brought two rounds of serious staff cuts, with the company retaining only 30 employees by November 2022.
It suspended new RibbonCash financing at that time as well.
EasyKnock purchased Ribbon in May 2023, saying it would speed up the development of its buyer-seller marketplace, slated to launch later this year. The marketplace will connect sellers to both institutional and individual buyers, giving EasyKnock access to another sector of the housing market. It currently caters to existing homeowners.…
Mortgage applications dipped last week as rates hit their highest level since November 2022.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows the adjusted Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage loan application volume – decreased by 3.1%, adding to the week prior’s 3% decline.
Adjusted purchase applications fell by 3%, while the unadjusted index dipped 3% from the week before and 27% lower YOY.
The average interest rate for 30-year fixed loans rose from 6.93% to 7.09%, pushing homeownership farther out of reach for many Americans.
Refinances slipped by 3% and remain 32% lower than the same time last year, making up 28.7% of total applications. In the past decade, refis averaged 58% of total activity.
“Treasury yields rates…
As inflation slowly cools, consumers are feeling a lot more secure in their personal finances. But when it comes to homebuying, they’re still in the dumps.
Leaders at Fannie Mae said the Home Purchase Sentiment Index increased by 4 points YOY in July as consumers responded positively to the job security and mortgage rate components.
When asked to describe their feeling about the housing market, consumers became much more pessimistic, however, with 82% reporting that it’s a “bad time to buy” a home. This is a record high, up from 78% in June and above the last all-time high in October 2022.
“While consumers are reporting confidence in the components related to their personal financial situations, it’s unlikely we’ll see…
