Home prices fell for a second consecutive month in August, with prices seeing the sharpest contractions in more than 13 years. Black Knight’s latest Mortgage Monitor Report showed huge price drops month-over-month and stalling inventory levels. Its Home Price Index saw prices decline 0.98%, with the median home price now 2% off its June peak. July’s 10.5% dip and August’s 0.98% are the largest one-month price drops since the Great Recession and are in the top eight largest dips ever recorded. “Either one of them would have been the largest single-month price decline since January 2009 – together they represent two straight months of significant pullbacks after more than two years of record-breaking growth,” Black Knight Data & Analytics President…
New home sales rose in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000, up 28.8% from July’s revised rate but down 0.1% YOY, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The seasonally‐adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of August was 461,000, representing a supply of 8.1 months at the current sales rate. The median sales price of a new home was $436,800, while the average sales price was $521,800. The data comes on the heels of a surprise increase in mortgage applications last week, despite rates rising to their highest point since October 2008. “As with the swings in rates and other uncertainties around the housing…
New home sales fell in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 511,000, down 12.6% from June and 29.6% YOY, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The massive dropoff can be attributed to the rising cost of buying a home. Home price appreciation and increasing interest rates are pricing potential buyers out of the market. Between rates and prices, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical US home is 62% higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, some sellers are opting not to put their homes up for sale, exacerbating the stock shortage and driving up competition. About half of all homeowners have a rate under 4% and are disinclined…
Mortgage rates dropped to an average 5.13% last week from 5.22% the week prior, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.13%, following a rollercoaster couple of weeks that saw both a 30-point rate decrease and a 20-point increase. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.86%. “Inflation appears to be beyond its peak, which has stopped the rapid increase in mortgage rates that the housing market was experiencing earlier this year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The market continues to absorb the cumulative impact of the large price and rate increases that led to a plunge in affordability. As a result, over the rest…
In a reversal of a pandemic trend, competition for low-priced homes has surpassed that for mid- and high-priced homes, according to a new Zillow analysis. July saw inventory rise 11% month-over-month and 19.3% YOY in the most expensive third of the housing market, while the middle third also saw a 12.7% MOM and 17.3% YOY increase. Inventory grew by only 11.2% MOM and 10.4% YOY in the lowest-priced tier. A year ago, the inventory of the lowest-priced homes was growing twice as fast as expensive homes, and the upper tiers saw the strongest competition, the reverse of this month’s trend. “Buyers are stretched thin when it comes to affordability, and they are flocking to the lowest-priced homes on the market…
Active listings posted a record-high growth rate in July, an indication that balance is returning to the housing market, Realtor.com reported. July’s Monthly Housing Trends Report found that the national inventory of active listings rose by 30.7% YOY, while the total inventory of unsold homes, including pending listings, increased for the first time since September 2019. This means there were 176,000 more homes actively for sale on a typical day in July than at the same time last year. However, the bump in total unsold inventory amounted to only a modest 3.5% due to a dip in pending inventory. And listings are still far behind their pre-pandemic and even early pandemic levels. Active listings were 15.7% below 2020 and 45.4%…
Home price growth saw the largest single-month slowdown on record since at least the 1970s in June, coinciding with a huge increase in inventory, according to Black Knight’s most recent Mortgage Monitor Report. Annual home price growth fell from 19.3% to 17.3% between May and June. “For context, during the 2006 downturn the strongest single-month slowing was 1.19 percentage points – about what we saw last month – and June topped that by 66%,” said Black Knight Data & Analytics President Ben Graboske. However, while the slowdown was historic, home price growth would need to fall at this pace for a while yet before annual price appreciation returned to 5%. “Still, while this was the sharpest cooling on record nationally,…
Mortgage loan application volume fell by another 1.8%, the fourth straight week of declines and the lowest level of activity since February 2000, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 1.8%. The adjusted purchase index dropped 1%, while the unadjusted purchase index decreased by 0.4%% and was 18% lower YOY. The refinance index fell by 4% and made up 30.7% of total applications, down 83% from the same time last year. ARM activity dropped to 9.1% of total applications. As affordability challenges continue and potential buyers decide to hold off searching for a home, purchase activity is now inching closer to pre-pandemic levels. “Weakening purchase applications…
Housing inventory rebounded in June, rising 2% across the country, according to a new report from Redfin. This is the first annual inventory increase since July 2019. Rising mortgage rates, home price appreciation, and a looming recession have pushed some potential homebuyers to the sidelines. Home sales were down almost 16% YOY, the largest drop since May 2020. “The country’s economic woes have already cooled the housing market, and they’re likely to continue dampening demand,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “The Fed has signaled it may increase interest rates further to combat stubbornly high inflation, which could harm consumer confidence, and lower stock prices mean fewer prospective homebuyers can afford a down payment.” Housing affordability is at its lowest…
Annual single-family home prices rose by 19.4% in Q2 2022. This is down from Q1’s upwardly revised 20.5% but still close to a record high, according to Fannie Mae’s latest Home Price Index. On a quarterly basis, home prices increased by 4.3% between Q1 and Q2. “Home prices maintained a near-historic pace of appreciation in the second quarter, as low levels of housing inventory continued to support price growth,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “At the end of 2021 and extending into 2022, we believe many homebuyers pulled forward their purchase plans to avoid expected increases in mortgage rates, contributing to demand for homes and strong price appreciation. Given the sharp rise in mortgage…
