Mortgage loan application volume fell 2.3% last week, reversing a two-week uptick, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows. Overall applications dipped to their lowest level since 2000. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 2.3%. The adjusted purchase index fell 1% while the unadjusted purchase index dropped 2% and was 18% lower YOY. The refinance index dropped by 5% and made up 31.2% of total applications, down 82% from the same time last year. Refinances are at their lowest level since November 2000, pushed down by a 6% decline in conventional refinance applications. ARM activity fell to 7% of total applications. “Home purchase applications continued to be held down by rapidly drying…
By CHUCK GREEN Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Is it the place to be? Why not? Portsmouth’s a medium size coastal city with 22,277 residents as of July 1, 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city’s rife with attractions including a new jazz club, theaters, restaurants, overall safety, outdoor living, and the school district has 6 schools with 2,531 students. Here’s the scene from Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club on New Year’s Eve: Happy New Year’s Eve from Portsmouth, NH! pic.twitter.com/5wwd4JU4sJ— Kimberley Haas (@KimberleyHaas) January 1, 2022 The Seacoast region has and will continue to benefit from market demand that is generated by people looking for a higher quality of life within an urban setting, Jim Goldenberg, principal of Cathartes,…
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…
Homebuilding plummeted in July as both homebuyers and sellers continue to lose confidence in the market. Housing starts fell by a shocking 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.446 million units last month, according to new data released by the Commerce Department. This is their lowest rate since February 2021 and significantly below market expectations of 1.53 million. Last month’s revised data put starts at a rate of 1.599 million units. A drop this big suggests the housing market still has room to contract in the third quarter of this year. Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics called the data “terrible” in a tweet Tuesday. Single-family starts fell 10.1%, their lowest in two years, while starts for units in…
Good Morning! Today is Monday, August 15. Ukraine accused Russia of using the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to blackmail Kyiv and its allies. Five members of Congress arrived in Taiwan, less than two weeks after a visit by Speaker Nancy Pelosi prompted Chinese military drills. Actress Anne Heche died at 53 after a car crash. The Mortgage Note Reports Listings Fall: New listings fell 12% during the four-week period ending August 7 as “rate lock-in” and falling demand pushed some sellers to the sidelines. Fairway Hires: Scott Bristol, Brian Chick, and John Lowe have joined Fairway Independent Mortgage as part of an “aggressive expansion” of its production group. And in other mortgage and housing news… Wells Fargo Cutting Mortgage Ties: Wells Fargo, which once accounted for one of every…
New listings fell 12% during the four-week period ending August 7, the largest YOY decline since June 2020, according to recent Redfin data. Higher mortgage rates are keeping some Americans in their homes longer than they normally would be. Some homeowners are experiencing what Redfin calls “rate lock-in,” a fear of putting their home up for sale due to a low rate they nabbed during the pandemic. Others are realizing they won’t get an offer over listing price on-demand like they could last year. “Buyers are backing off due to rising housing costs and sellers are holding back because they realize they won’t get the bidding war they would have gotten six months ago,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor…
Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, August 9. Donald Trump said the F.B.I. raided his Mar-a-Lago home and opened a safe. China announced plans for more drills in the waters around Taiwan. Olivia Newton-John died at 73. The Mortgage Note Reports Cenlar Appointments: Cenlar FSB has appointed Dave Applegate as Chairman of the Board of Directors, while Robert Lux and Dr. James Dara will take over as co-CEOs. Inventory Growth: Active listings rose by 30.7% YOY in July, a record-high growth rate, but remain below their pre-pandemic and even early-pandemic levels. View Post And in other mortgage and housing news… Delinquencies Fall Again: Delinquencies accounted for 2.7% of all mortgages in May, down 2% month-over-month to another new low. Bad Times: Consumer sentiment towards housing fell to its lowest level since…
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 appreciation is leveling out on a national level, but zooming in on price points and regions reveals a more complex picture, according to new data from the AEI Housing Center. The center looked at how home price appreciation is changing, first by price tier and then by specific metros and geography. While June home price appreciation dropped to nearly zero month-over-month nationally, the story is completely different when analyzing these two metrics. In the first, the Center divided home sales into four price tiers based on their access to leverage. Doing so revealed that appreciation is slowing across all tiers, especially when it comes to the highest level. High-price tier homes were the first to show a negative…
Good Morning! Today is Friday, August 5. The Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a national health emergency, releasing extra funds. Senator Kyrsten Sinema agreed to advance a modified version of the Democrats’ climate and tax bill. A Russian judge sentenced Brittney Griner to nine years in a penal colony on drug charges. The Mortgage Note Reports Rates Sink: Mortgage rates nosedived by 31 basis points last week to an average 4.99%, dropping below 5% for the first time since April. Zillow, Opendoor Shake Hands: Zillow is partnering with once-rival Opendoor in a multi-year deal that allows Zillow users to request an Opendoor offer on their home. And in other mortgage and housing news… Jobs Report: U.S. employers added 528,000 jobs in July, again besting expectations and bringing the total…
