Record Share Of Homesellers Slash Prices

Home sellers are slashing prices at a record pace as buyer activity falls off, Redfin reported. The median asking price for newly-listed homes saw decreased acceleration, rising 15% YOY. It is down 1.5% from its all-time high, which it hit in May. At the same time, a record share of sellers cut their asking price in the four-week period ending June 26. Pending home sales saw their biggest drop since May 2020, as evidence emerges that buyer demand is beginning to cool. But Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather says buyers aren’t done yet. Instead, they’re noticing “the shift in power, and are no longer leaving the market in droves.” That is, buyers are seeing that sellers are losing the upper…

Rates Reverse In Face Of High Inflation, Recession Risk

Mortgage rates reversed their upward trend this week, averaging 5.70%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.70%, down from last week’s 5.81%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.98%. “The rapid rise in mortgage rates has finally paused, largely due to the countervailing forces of high inflation and the increasing possibility of an economic recession,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.  “This pause in rate activity should help the housing market rebalance from the breakneck growth of a seller’s market to a more normal pace of home price appreciation.” Recession fears are rapidly growing, with 70% of economists expecting it by 2023. “It’s…

Steven Valladares Named Angel Oak VP Of Correspondent Sales

Angel Oak Home Loans, a full-service mortgage lender known for its non-QM offerings, has hired Steven Valladares, CMB, as vice president of correspondent sales. “I am excited to be part of the growing sales team at Angel Oak, where we will continue to provide excellent support to our lender partners, especially in this unique market environment,” he said.  “Angel Oak’s leadership in the non-qualified mortgage market is indicative of what’s to come as we expand in the agency space as well. Angel Oak will act as a multifaceted correspondent capable of satisfying the needs of the massive agency market as well as non-QM.” Valladares brings three decades of experience to the company, with twenty years of direct sales experience focused…

Inventory Rose At Its Fastest Ever Yearly Pace In June

Inventory jumped 18.7% YOY in June, with news listings beating out even typical pre-pandemic levels, Realtor.com reported in its June Housing Report. The number of homes for sale increased at its fastest yearly pace of all time at 18.7%, up 8% from the month prior. This is thanks in part to an influx of new sellers entering the market at a higher rate than in the years before the pandemic. Compared to June 2021, active inventory increased in 40 of the 50 metros analyzed by Redfin, led by Austin, Texas (+144.5%), Phoenix (+113.2%), and Raleigh, N.C. (+111.7%). However, prices have yet to come down as a result of new inventory. The national median listing price instead rose to a new…

Morning Roundup (6/29/2022) – Time To Buy, Loan App Growth

Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, June 29. A former aide to the White House chief of staff testified that Trump knew some rally attendees on Jan. 6 were armed but still wanted security to let them in. She also said that the White House knew Proud Boys would be in attendance and that Mark Meadows told her on Jan. 2 that “things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6.” The Mortgage Note Reports Time To Buy: Two heavy hitters who recently joined the Guild Mortgage team in Kansas say although the market may be tough for potential buyers now, a home is still a great investment. Editor Kimberley Haas reports. Disappointing Loan App Growth: Mortgage loan application volume rose slightly by 0.7% last week, and the average purchase…

American Buyers Are Flocking To Regions With High Climate Risk For Homes

Americans are paying top dollar to live in areas prone to devastating environmental disasters, with home prices soaring in these locations. A new report from real estate publication Home Bay found that home prices are increasing at a higher rate than the national median in the areas most impacted by climate change. Home sales prices are up 167% in metros within states that have had at least 50 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declarations since 2012. By comparison, the national median increase is only 113%. FEMA ranks California, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and North Carolina as the states with the highest risk for homeowners– that is, the states that are most likely to have disasters that threaten buildings, people, and…

Loan Applications Remain Basically Flat After A Slight 0.7% Increase

Mortgage loan application volume rose slightly by 0.7% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by 0.7%. The adjusted purchase index rose 0.1%, while the unadjusted purchase index fell by 21% and was 24% lower YOY. The refinance index rose by 2% and made up 30.3% of total applications, down 80% from the same time last year. ARM activity fell to 10.1% of total applications.  “Mortgage rates continue to experience large swings. After increasing 65 basis points during the past three weeks, the 30-year fixed rate declined 14 basis points last week to 5.84%,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and…

Industry Leaders To Cover Travel Expenses For Employee Abortions

By KIMBERLEY HAAS At least four industry leaders will cover the travel expenses for employee abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday. The New York Times named Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Zillow in a Tweet on Monday. There were 4,307 Retweets, 705 Quote Tweets, and over 17,300 Likes as of Tuesday morning. The media relations departments at Bank of America and JPMorgan put out press releases about their stress test results on Monday. Bank of America announced plans to increase its quarterly common stock dividend beginning in the third quarter of 2022. “Our responsible growth strategy over the last decade has put us in a strong position to support our clients…

CoreLogic’s Patrick Dodd Officially Named President And CEO

Patrick Dodd has been named president and chief executive officer of CoreLogic, the company announced in a press release. “I am honored and excited to continue leading our outstanding team through this next important phase of growth and transformational evolution for our company,” Dodd said. Dodd replaced former CEO Frank Martell in January when Martell said it was time for him to “step back” from leading the company. Martell took a non-executive position as chair of the board of directors, and Dodd became interim CEO. Prior to that announcement, Dodd served as CoreLogic’s chief operating and growth officer. Other past positions include a long tenure at TV ratings firm Neilson, including holding the title of president of Nielsen Europe, China,…

Home Price Appreciation Finally Dips After Months Of Acceleration

Annual home price appreciation dipped slightly in April, the first decline in months and a sign that the housing market is finally pumping the brakes. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, which measures average home prices, found that home prices rose by 20.4% YOY, decelerating from March’s read of 20.6%. Though it’s not a drastic fall, the numbers suggest that rising mortgage rates and increasing costs associated with buying a home are deterring buyers. The last time prices decelerated was in November of 2021. “April 2022 showed initial (although inconsistent) signs of a deceleration in the growth rate of U.S. home prices,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI. “We continue to observe very broad strength in the housing market,…