Most pet owners are willing to forgo their dream home if it doesn’t suit their furry friends, according to a new survey from Realtor and HarrisX. Of more than 3,000 American adults surveyed, 82% who owned pets and planned to buy a home in the next year reported that their pets’ needs are just as important as their own or their family’s needs. About three-quarters of homeowners own a pet, and 79% say they consider their animals when choosing a home or apartment. More than 60% of prospective buyers say they have passed on an otherwise perfect home because it didn’t accommodate their pets. Neighborhoods matter, too, as 87% of those with pets looking to buy a house within the next…
Inventory saw a record uptick in the four weeks ending December 4th as buyer demand dwindled and homes lingered on the market, according to new data from Redfin. The total number of homes for sale rose 15% YOY in that period, the largest increase recorded in Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index. New listings fell by 20%, however, suggesting the stock shortage will be ongoing. Demand has dwindled as many homebuyers were priced out of the market by sky-high prices and rates. Buyers who could afford a home when interest rates were at historical lows found that in 2022, they couldn’t afford anything. But homebuyer demand did rebound from an all-time low, up 5% from a week prior as rates continue to…
Home price appreciation is now half of what it was in April, its lowest recorded point since early 2021, according to new data from CoreLogic. October’s CoreLogic Home Price Index recorded a 10.1% increase YOY. Though still elevated, it continues to decrease from record highs earlier this year. The coming months are expected to push growth back into single digits. Month-over-month, prices were down 0.1% from September. Low inventory, waning buyer purchase power, and economic uncertainty are at the heart of the issue, CoreLogic leaders say. Price growth is expected to cool through next spring when the housing market may go negative before slowly rebounding in the latter half of 2023. CoreLogic predicts appreciation will be 4.1% next October. “Following…
Real house prices jumped 10.5% in September and logged a 60.6% YOY increase, according to First American’s Real House Price Index. As a result, consumer buying power, or how much a person can buy based on changes in income and interest rates, fell by 8.9% month-over-month and 29.3% YOY. The significant dip in affordability measured here results from skyrocketing home prices and rapidly increasing mortgage rates. “Even though household income increased 3.1% since September 2021 and boosted consumer house-buying power, it was not enough to offset the affordability loss from higher mortgage rates and fast-rising nominal prices,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Alabama saw the largest annual increases in real house…
As the market corrects and mortgage demand sinks, lenders are struggling to market themselves to a shrinking pool of rate-focused borrowers, according to J.D. Power’s latest U.S. Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. The study found that as demand hits a 22-year low, mortgage brokers are finding it difficult to stand out from the crowd. Borrowers are choosing lenders based solely on who is offering the lowest rate that day. “The average mortgage customer experience has become increasingly commoditized, with few lenders finding the right formula to build long-term trust and loyalty that truly stands out from the competition,” the report reads. Rocket Mortgage ranked highest for origination satisfaction, followed by Chase, Citi, and Fairway Independent. Overall, lenders were on equal footing…
Mortgage loan application volume dipped just slightly last week, continuing a weeks-long trend of relative calm, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped by 0.1%. Mortgage rates jumped back up to 7.14% after cooling slightly. The adjusted purchase index rose 1%, while the unadjusted purchase index decreased by 1% and was 41% lower YOY. “Mortgage rates edged higher last week following news that the Federal Reserve will continue raising short-term rates to combat high inflation. The 30-year fixed rate remained above 7% for the third consecutive week, and there were increases for most other loan types,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. …
Homebuyers saw affordability plunge in September as the typical monthly payment rose $102 from August. The national median payment applied for by applicants jumped to $1,941 from $1,839 in the month prior, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index fell for a second consecutive month, up 5.5% to a reading of 163.6. PAPI measures monthly payments across time and relative to income, so this reading indicates that payments on new mortgages accounted for a smaller share of a typical person’s income. The increase reverses four months of improvement from an index high of 164.2 in May. “With mortgage rates continuing to rise, the purchasing power of borrowers is shrinking. The median loan amount in September was $305,550…
The third quarter of 2022 brought the slowest quarterly price growth since Q4 2011, showing just how quickly home prices are changing as the market rebalances. Single-family home prices rose 13.8% YOY in Q3 2022, slowing from last quarter’s 19.1%, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Price Index. The Index measures average quarterly price change for all single-family U.S. properties except condos. Prices were up only 0.2% from Q2, their slowest quarter since 2011. “Year-over-year home price growth decelerated in the third quarter, as the sharp rise in mortgage rates – and declining housing affordability – appears to have weighed further on demand,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. He added that many homeowners who might…
Austin, TX, has been ranked the best city for working from home, leading a list full of Southern and Western metros. A new SmartAsset study looked at factors such as the number of remote workers, housing costs, and income taxes to determine what U.S. cities offer the most to work-from-homers. Remote work has risen in prevalence from around 5% in 2016 to 17.9% in 2021. In 13 cities, more than a third of the workforce is remote. Some employers are even using remote work as a bargaining chip to offer lower salaries while inflation is high. This type of work is changing how Americans view moving and shifting their priorities when searching for a new home. And it’s not going…
Buyers are paying record-high down payments thanks to the combination of soaring prices and high competition, but they may see a reprieve soon, according to new data from Redfin. The typical U.S. mortgage borrower in July put down $62,500, up 13.6% YOY and nearly twice the growth in home sales prices. It’s also nearly double the median $32,917 down payment from July 2019, before the pandemic. Down payments have fallen slightly since peaking at $66,000 in May and June, due in part to the cooling market. Just under 59% of buyers who used a mortgage had a 10%-plus down payment, up from 57.5% a year ago but down from a peak of 60.5% in May. “Homebuyers don’t need to make…
