Vacation home hunters are poised to face less competition this spring buying season as the number of locks on second homes dwindles.
According to a new report from Redfin, the number of people locking in mortgages for second homes remained close to a 7-year low in March. Locks for these buyers are down by 52% from February 2020, before the pandemic housing boom, and 49% YOY.
In comparison, primary loan locks are only down 13% from pre-pandemic levels, and 29% YOY.
Locks for second homes peaked at 89% in August 2020 as wealthy Americans took advantage of historically low rates and remote work opportunities.
Now, second-home buyers are deterred by high costs and lifestyle changes. Remote work is gradually fading…
The average mortgage rate ticked down again this week, but waning banking sector concerns have rates seesawing.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.32%, down from 6.42% the week prior.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.67%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped from 5.68% to 5.56%. A year ago, it averaged 3.83%.
“Economic uncertainty continues to bring mortgage rates down,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
“Over the last several weeks, declining rates have brought borrowers back to the market but, as the spring homebuying season gets underway, low inventory remains a key challenge for prospective buyers.”
Some buyers returned to the market early in order to snag a…
Buying a house became slightly more affordable in Q1 2023 as the housing market remains stalled, but remained out of reach for many Americans.
According to ATTOM Data Solution’s Q1 2023 U.S. Home Affordability Report, median-priced single-family homes and condos were less affordable in the first quarter of 2023 compared to historical averages in 94% of counties. This is a huge leap from the 62% of counties that were less affordable at the same time last year.
The portion of average wages it takes to pay major homeownership costs decreased slightly to 30%. While this is still unaffordable by most lending standards, it’s a minor improvement from the 31% registered at year-end 2022.
ATTOM calls this housing data a “mixed…
Home prices have fallen for the first time since 2012 as affordability concerns decimate buyer demand.
The median U.S. home sale price dipped by 1.2% to $386,721, the first annual decline in a decade, Redfin reported.
“Buyers are struggling because higher interest rates have increased the cost of homeownership, and sellers are struggling because they’re still adjusting to the fact that their home won’t sell for what their neighbors’ did a year ago,” said Andrew Vallejo, a Redfin real estate agent.
Prices are cooling, but after soaring to record heights after the pandemic, they’re still historically high. The cities with the biggest declines are pandemic hotspots seeing corrections after their boom moment. Two such cities, San Jose and Austin, saw…
Housing construction rebounded by more than expected in February, led by a surge in multifamily projects.
New U.S. home construction rose for the first time in six months, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Residential starts increased by 9.8% from January to an annualized rate of 1.45 million. This greatly exceeds estimates from economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who expected a pace of 1.31 million.
Permits for new homes also increased, up by 13.8% to a rate of 1.52 million. Permits offer an indication of how many homes will be built in the coming months.
Both multifamily and single-family construction saw gains, though multifamily had the best showing with a 24% increase, the most in almost two years. Rents…
Homebuyers and sellers were feeling pessimistic about the market last month due to affordability and job security concerns.
Leaders at Fannie Mae said the Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell by 3.6 points in February, breaking three straight months of increases and pushing the index closer to a record low recorded last October.
“The decline was partly driven by a substantial decrease in consumers’ sense of home-selling conditions, with most respondents who indicated it’s a ‘bad time to sell’ citing unfavorable economic conditions and mortgage rates as the primary reasons for that belief,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.
“With home-selling sentiment now lower than it was pre-pandemic – and homebuying sentiment remaining near its all-time…
Mortgage rates rose again this week, a second consecutive increase, pushing sub-6% rates further out of reach.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate averaged 6.32%, up from 6.12% the week prior.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.92%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.51% to 5.25%. A year ago, it averaged 3.15%.
“The economy is showing signs of resilience, mainly due to consumer spending, and rates are increasing. Overall housing costs are also increasing and therefore impacting inflation, which continues to persist,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
Shelter inflation in particular is on the rise.
A blog post by Christian Zimmermann, Assistant Vice President of Research Information…
Rent price growth is finally slowing, a positive sign for the housing market.
The median asking rent rose 2.4% YOY in January, the smallest increase since May 2012 and the lowest level in almost a year, Redfin reported.
Month-over-month, rents decreased by 1.9% and were down 5.4% from August’s peak.
Eleven U.S. metros saw rents dip, with both Phoenix and Oklahoma City seeing declines of more than 6%.
Though prices are retreating, rents are still 22.5% higher than in January 2020.
Redfin analysts say rents are cooling because of increasing supply and lack of demand. Inflation, economic uncertainty, and low household formation have stalled demand.
“We’re watching closely to see whether rents start falling year-over-year. That would be a welcome…
As rates retreat and home price appreciation cools, homebuyers are getting more bang for their buck, analysts at Zillow report.
Rising mortgage rates in 2022 pushed many buyers’ dream homes out of reach. Those who opted to stay in the market found that the homes they could afford were smaller and more expensive.
More affordable metros were the most impacted, as buyers competed for homes in those markets. Hartford had the largest dip in home size for $3,000, down 1,200 square feet. Indianapolis and Cleveland also saw homebuyers lose over 1,000 feet.
More expensive markets like San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco saw a similar trend.
“Mortgage rates have a huge impact on the types of homes…
Both purchase applications and refis saw increases as rates fell for a fifth consecutive week.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows the adjusted Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage loan application volume – rose by 7.4%.
Adjusted purchase applications increased by 3%, while the unadjusted index was up 4% from the week before and was 37% lower YOY.
Refinances saw a big upswing, rising 18% from the week prior. But they remain 75% lower than the same time last year, comprising only 33.9% of total applications.
In the past decade, refis averaged 58% of total activity.
“Both purchase and refinance applications increased last week and have shown gains in three of the past four weeks because of…
