Good Morning! Today is Monday, April 4. Ukraine accused Russian forces of executing civilians in a Kyiv suburb before retreating. At least six people were killed after gunfire erupted in downtown Sacramento, California. Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed a 9% stake in Twitter. The Mortgage Note Reports Young Buyers Priced Out: The share of younger home buyers is declining after peaking in 2020, but is higher in more affordable metros. Geneva CCO: Kelly Singh has joined direct mortgage lender Geneva Financial as its Chief Compliance Officer. In Case You Missed It: People in the mortgage and real estate industries are speculating on whether 2022 will be a year of growth or the start of the end for a red-hot market…
The share of young homebuyers under the age of 30 has dropped below pre-pandemic levels as the affordability crisis prices them out of the market, according to a survey by CoreLogic. Young homebuyers took advantage of historically low-interest rates in 2020, accounting for 22% of homebuyers, a record high for the age group. But the share fell back to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 and further declined at the beginning of 2022. Controlled for seasonality, the share of young homebuyers in January and February 2022 is at a ten-year low. Markets in the Midwest have a higher portion of young homebuyers than coastal areas. More affordable metros have the highest share as young homebuyers – who typically have lower incomes and…
Good Morning! Today is Friday, April 1. Russia’s defense ministry announced a cease-fire in Mariupol. The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russian technology companies. The House passed a bill to limit the cost of insulin to $35 a month, sending it to the Senate. The Mortgage Note Reports Rates Rise: Mortgage rates jumped again to an average of 4.67%. Forbearances Up Slightly: Forbearances rose slightly again last week, though new plan starts dropped to 10,100, the lowest level in four months. And in other mortgage and housing news… Jobs Report: The unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in March, while payrolls saw big gains, according to Labor Department data. Listing In April: Homes listed for sale in the second half of…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS As the spring selling season begins, people in the mortgage and real estate industries are speculating on whether 2022 will be a year of growth or the start of the end for a red-hot market that has favored sellers and forced up the price of housing in many parts of the country. Numbers from the start of the year look promising for growth. On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. A 19.2% annual gain was reported in January, up from 18.9% in December. The 10-City Composite annual increase was 17.5%, up from 17.1% in December. The 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% year-over-year gain, up from 18.6% in the previous…
Forbearances rose slightly again as late-month new plans and restarts offset early-month exits, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision. Overall, forbearances rose by 3,700. Forborne loans held by portfolios and PSLs increased by 5,300 (2.1%). FHA/VA loans remained unchanged, while GSE plans fell by 1,800 (0.8%). New plan starts dropped to 10,100, the lowest level in four months. Restarts fell by 11,500 to 20,200. Plan volume is down 40,000 (-5.1%) month-over-month. Forbearance volumes have ticked up some after long periods of decline, but are generally improving as the country recovers from the pandemic. The number of homeowners with existing loan workouts who were current on their payments rose in February for the first time since June 2021. “We can credit…
Mortgage rates jumped again to an average of 4.67%, up from last week’s 4.42%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.67%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.18%. “Mortgage rates continued moving upward in the face of rapidly rising inflation as well as the prospect of strong demand for goods and ongoing supply disruptions,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Purchase demand has weakened modestly but has continued to outpace expectations. This is largely due to unmet demand from first-time homebuyers as well as a select few who had been waiting for rates to hit a cyclical low.” Though refinance applications continue dropping,…
Good Morning! Today is Thursday, March 31. The US is planning to lift an order that has restricted immigration for the past two years. Officials say Vladimir Putin’s subordinates have misled him about the Russian military’s struggles to avoid angering him. Google’s sister company Waymo is sending fully autonomous vehicles onto the streets of San Francisco. The Mortgage Note Reports Will The Housing Market Boom Or Bust? As the spring selling season begins, people in the mortgage and real estate industries are speculating on whether 2022 will be a year of growth or the start of the end for a red-hot market. Editor Kimberley Haas takes a deep dive into this topic. Flip Profits: Home flipping profits fell across the…
Home flipping profits fell across the country in 2021 despite a surge in the number of houses flipped, according to ATTOM Data Solution’s 2021 U.S. Home Flipping Report. The number of single-family homes and condos flipped in 2021 was 323,465, up from 257,091 in 2020 (+26%). This is the largest number of flips since nearly 334,000 homes were flipped by investors in 2006. In Q4 2021, there were 96,773 homes flipped, a rate of 6.8%. But flips accounted for only 5.5% of all home sales last year, falling in 53% of the markets analyzed by ATTOM. They are down from 5.5% in 2020 and 6.1% in 2019. The Northeast and West saw the biggest declines in number of homes flipped.…
Mortgage loan application volume fell by 6.8% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped by 6.8%. The adjusted purchase index rose by 1%, while the unadjusted purchase index rose 1% and was 10% lower YOY. The refinance index fell 15% and was down 60% YOY. Refinances made up just 40.6% of total applications, down from 44.8%. Mortgage rates hit a three-year high at 4.80%, putting further pressure on dwindling refinances. “Not surprisingly, refinance application volume declined further, as fewer borrowers have an incentive to apply at rates that are significantly higher than a year ago,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA Senior Vice President and Chief…
Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, March 30. US job openings totaled 11.3 million in February, barely budging from January. The F.D.A. authorized a second booster shot for anyone 50 or older. Russian missile strikes destroyed a government building in Mykolaiv, a port city in the south of Ukraine. The Mortgage Note Reports Home Prices In Perspective: Homes are less affordable than they were a year ago, but they largely remain more affordable than at the peak of the 2006 housing boom. Corcoran CIO: Jason Crawford has been appointed Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of Corcoran Global Living, the company announced. And in other mortgage and housing news… Home Price Appreciation: The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Index shows home price appreciation up 19.2% in…
