By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Return to the office mandates and the continued desire for a better quality of life are affecting Americans as they decide where to move in 2023.
Companies that allowed employees to work remotely during and immediately after the Covid pandemic are reversing course this year. On Sept. 5, Meta’s requirement that employees assigned to an office show up at least three days a week went into effect.
With the policy change, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company joined Google and other major employers that are pulling the plug on remote work despite advances in technology that allow people to log in from anywhere. Some analysts argue that it is a leadership preference, while others point out that…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Inflation has affected the housing market as higher costs of living puts more stress on the average person’s finances.
The average American household spent $709 more in July than they did two years ago to buy the same goods and services, according to Moody’s Analytics.
“High inflation of the past 2+ years has done lots of economic damage,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Rick Sharga, President & CEO of CJ Patrick Company, said among other things, inflation makes it harder for renters to save money for a down payment, and as home prices tend to go up over time, the amount of…
By CHUCK GREEN
Mortgage rates are hovering around 7% as the summer winds down and with potential homebuyers facing high monthly payments for the few properties for sale, people are wondering when the Federal Reserve will loosen its grip on monetary policy so the housing market can free up again.
Last month, Chairman Jerome Powell announced the key interest rate would be lifted to 5.25% to 5.5% — the upper figure representing a level not seen since 2001, according to the Associated Press. Powell said that they don’t expect to reach their goal of 2% inflation until 2025, and they do not intend to cut rates until next year.
“The Fed’s rate hikes attempt to combat inflation, increasing mortgage interest…
By CHUCK GREEN
Okay, you’ve undoubtedly heard of those who play with house money. Yeah, that rocks.
By the same token, you’re probably similarly familiar with those who don’t owe money on their house. No mortgage. Zippo.
That not only rocks – and thunderously, at that — it brings the house down. C’mon, who doesn’t dream of having a mortgage-burning party and being free of that debt?
But home mortgage burnings are nearly unheard of in present-day America as the country is now more of a mortgage-ownership society than a home-ownership society.
Mortgage balances were at $12.04 trillion at the end of March, according to officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data.
The free…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Although the market is slow now, there will eventually be a point when homeowners let go of their low interest rates and move.
Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic, said it is just a matter of time.
Hepp was speaking during an economic forecast panel at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Las Vegas last week. During her presentation, she said although the housing market varies throughout the country, it has been a disappointing spring season.
“Most all markets at this point are showing declines in home sales, but some markets are showing much larger declines in home sales than others,” Hepp said.
She said part of the reason for that is homeowners feel…
Mortgage applications reversed after a month of increases despite declining rates, a rocky start to the typically robust spring buying season.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey says the adjusted Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage loan application volume – decreased by 4.1%.
Adjusted purchase applications dropped by 4%, while the unadjusted index was down 3% from the week before and 35% lower YOY.
Mortgage rates fell slightly, with the average interest rate for 30-year fixed loans down from 6.45% to 6.40%. This is the lowest level in more than a month.
Jumbo rates increased, however, from 6.27% to 6.36%.
“While we have seen relative weakness at the high end of the housing market in recent months, the…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS New data shows that 79% of Americans would rather renovate their current home than move to a different one and with $420 billion spent on remodeling projects in 2020 those in the mortgage, real estate, and building industries are taking notice. Discover Home Loans commissioned a national survey of 1,531 homeowners. The independent survey research firm Dynata fielded the first of the online surveys in January and found that nearly four in five people would rather make improvements on their homes than move in the current housing market. The maximum margin of sampling error was +/-3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. The top five reasons given for why homeowners would rather renovate are:…
Mortgage loan application volume fell 2.8% last week, driven again by low refinance applications, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reported. The Market Composite Index, which measures application volume, fell 2.8% on an adjusted basis. The Refinance Index dropped 5% and was 31% lower than a year ago, rebounding from last week’s drop to its lowest level since July 2021. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index rose 2%, while the unadjusted Purchase Index fell 2% compared to the week before, down 6% from the previous year. “Refinance applications decreased for the seventh time in eight weeks, as mortgage rates moved higher after two weeks of declines,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. But the…
A typical home spent just one week on the market before going under contract, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors. Their annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers — “real estate’s definitive guide on home buyer and seller trends” — reported on the pace of home sales between July 2020 and June 2021. By comparison, the average in 2012 was eleven weeks. “Buyers moving quickly during the pandemic, coupled with all-time-low inventory, led to a decline in time on market to the shortest ever recorded, which was just one week,” said Jessica Lautz, vice president of demographics and behavioral insights at NAR. “Only a quarter of home sellers offered incentives to entice potential buyers, down from…
