Rents And Mortgage Payments See Record Growth

Both rent and mortgage payment price growth reached record highs in December, according to a new report from Redfin. Rents jumped to $1,877, 14.1% year-over-year (YOY) and the largest annual jump since at least February 2019, the earliest month in Redfin’s data. The national monthly mortgage payment rose 21.6% YOY, also the largest increase in Redfin’s data history. “The growth in mortgage payments has been driven by both climbing prices and climbing mortgage rates,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather.  “And those rising mortgage costs push more potential homebuyers into renting instead, which pushes up demand and prices for rentals. Mortgage rate increases are accelerating, which will cause both mortgage payments and rent to grow throughout 2022.” The 30-year fixed-rate…

Freddie Mac Forecast: Purchases Up, ReFi’s Down in 2022

Mortgage lenders should expect a small uptick in home purchases, while refi’s fall off the fiscal cliff. That’s the finding of the latest Freddie Mac’s latest Quarterly Forecast. Housing demand is expected to remain high, with home sales forecast to reach 6.9 million in 2022, then 7 million in 2023. “As mortgage rates rise, we do expect some moderation in housing demand, causing house price growth to temper. However, the combination of a large number of entry-level homebuyers facing a shortage of entry-level inventory of homes for sale should keep the housing market competitive,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.  “In 2022, we expect purchase originations to grow from $1.9 trillion in 2021 to $2.1 trillion in 2022 while…

Builder Confidence Dips As Costs Rise

Builder confidence dropped slightly in January, disrupting a four-month trend of rising builder sentiment despite high consumer demand, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Builder confidence in the markets for newly-built, single-family homes dropped one point to 83. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. Notably, the HMI has remained at 83 or 84 for the past three months, the same level as the spring of 2021. The drop was attributed to inflation concerns and ongoing supply chain disruptions. “Higher material costs and lack of availability are adding weeks to typical single-family construction times,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa,…

Multifamily To Remain Strong In 2022

Freddie Mac’s annual multifamily outlook projects another strong year, with rents continuing to increase despite an overall moderating market. The report projects that the Sun Belt will outperform slow-growing smaller markets in the Northeast and Midwest. “We believe the market will continue to grow in 2022, reflecting the strong multifamily fundamentals that drove the market to a record-breaking year in 2021,” said Steve Guggenmos, vice president of Multifamily Research & Modeling at Freddie Mac. “We anticipate rent growth in all markets in 2022 due to strong demand driven by improving economic conditions.” Growth broke records in 2021 thanks to changing migration patterns and strong economic conditions. Multifamily demand reached its highest ever levels during Q2 and Q3 of 2021, and…

MBA: Mortgage Applications Down 2.7%

Mortgage loan application volume dropped 2.7% from the week ending December 31, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reported. MBA adjusted the results to account for the holidays. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 2.7%. The adjusted purchase index fell 4%, while the unadjusted purchase index fell 32% and was 12% lower YOY. The refinance index fell 2% and was down 40% YOY. Refinances made up 65.4% of total applications. The survey attributed the drop in refinances to an increase in the 30-year fixed rate, which rose to 3.33%, its highest point since April. “The higher rates to close 2021 caused refinance activity to decrease 2.2%. Refinance demand continues to dwindle, as…

Home Prices Hit New Record In November 2021 But Expected To Slow In 2022

Home prices across the country climbed 18.1% year-over-year (YOY) in November 2021, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) Report. This is the highest annual growth since at least 1976 when the HPI began. For comparison, the annual growth in November 2020 was 8.1%. Home price growth, which is calculated against the median national home sale price, was up in all four price tiers measured by CoreLogic. The lowest price tier rose 19.8% YOY, while the low- to middle-priced tier rose 19%. Middle- to moderately-priced homes saw an increase of 19.1%, while high-priced homes saw prices rise 18.6%. Arizona saw the highest YOY appreciation (+28.6%), followed by Florida (+25.8%) and Idaho (+25.5%). Washington, D.C., and Alaska were at the bottom…

Study: Americans Moving To Be Closer To Family

A new study from United Van Lines found Americans moved to lower-density areas to be closer to their families in 2021. The study, which uses data from the migration patterns of United Van Lines customers, found Vermont and South Dakota had the highest inbound migration, at 74% and 69%, respectively. South Carolina (63%), West Virginia (63%), and Florida (62%) also had high inbound migration rates. New Jersey had the highest number of people moving out of the state, at 71%, for the fourth year in a row. Illinois (67%), New York (63%), Connecticut (60%), and California (59%) also saw high outbound migration. Kentucky and Wyoming were among several “balanced” states that saw similar numbers of people moving in and out.…

Housing Affordability Dropped In 77% Of US Counties

America’s home affordability problem was bad in 2020, before COVID-19 hit. In 2021, it got even worse. In Q4 2021, median-priced single-family homes were less affordable in 77% of U.S. counties analyzed by ATTOM Data Solutions, a 13-year high, the company found. In 440 out of the 575 counties analyzed, the gap between incomes and affordable home prices was larger than their historical averages. This is a dramatic increase from Q4 2020 when only 39% of counties were less affordable than in the past. “The average wage earner can still afford the typical home across the United States, but the financial comfort zone continues shrinking as home prices keep soaring and mortgage rates tick upward,” said Todd Teta, chief product…

MBA: Loan Application Volume Falls 4%

Mortgage loan application volume dropped 4% last week, overwhelming a 2% increase from the week prior, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reported. The seasonally adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose 4%. The seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 1%, while the unadjusted purchase index fell 4% and was 9% lower YOY. The refinance index fell 6% and was down 41% YOY. Refinances made up 63.3% of total applications. The report noted that refinances fell even though rates remained steady week to week. Interest rates are 40 basis points higher year-over-year, however, in line with the 41% drop in refinances from the same period in 2020. “Fewer homeowners have a strong incentive to refinance…

Rate/Term Refinances Reach Lowest Point Since February 2020

Rate lock volume fell 4.7% month-over-month in November, Black Knight’s latest Originations Market Monitor report found. It is the third straight month of overall declines. The drop was driven by rate/term refinance originations, which fell 9.4% from October and almost 65% year-over-year (YOY), its lowest level since February 2020. Rate/term refinance dropped in eight out of eleven months in 2021. Locks on purchase and cash-out refinance fell 3.9% and 2.5% from October, respectively. However, they are still higher than 2020, with purchase locks up 13% YOY and cash-outs up 36% YOY. “While 30-year rates ended November relatively flat from where they were at the start of the month, there was some volatility in rate offerings throughout the month,” said Black…