By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia knew he was facing a tough crowd when he took the stage during a Monday morning session at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention and expo.
“I stand here this morning fully aware of the mood in this room and I am also fully aware of the way the actions we on the FOMC have taken over the past 18 months in our efforts to tame inflation to get it back to a 2% annual target have, in their own way, contributed to the current mortgage climate,” Patrick Harker said.
Harker said he met with community members this summer to see firsthand the impacts that monetary…
By CHUCK GREEN
The housing market has been slowing down due to interest rate hikes, but that likely won’t stop officials from pushing further in their fight against inflation. And average American homebuyers and sellers will be affected by their decisions as affordability continues to be a concern nationwide.
Last week, the Federal Reserve Board voted to hold interest rates steady at their monthly policy meeting, keeping the federal funds rate target range between 5.25% and 5.5%.
Chairman Jerome Powell said in his remarks that despite the pause, “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and we intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving down sustainably toward our objective.”…
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 KIMBERLEY HAAS
Addressing affordability issues by allowing for creative living solutions may be the key to getting more Millennials into homeownership.
According to the 2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report published by the National Association of Realtors, the share of Millennial buyers has declined. Millennials between 24 and 42 years old made up 28% of all buyers surveyed.
The share of Millennial buyers dropped because Baby Boomers between 58 and 76 years old were on the move in the last half of 2021 and the first half of 2022. They made up 39% of buyers and were the largest share of homebuyers, taking the top spot from Millennials, who had held the position for eight years.
Overall,…
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 PATRICK LAVERY
When last we heard from the Federal Reserve on interest rates, on June 14, the Federal Open Market Committee agreed not to raise the target range for the federal funds rate for the first time in more than a year.
With the Fed’s next meeting now less than a week away, could Chairman Jerome Powell be preparing to announce one of the hikes that he said in June might still be remaining for this year? Or will the FOMC stick to a holding pattern?
And how are those developments going to impact a U.S. housing market that Powell has continuously characterized as sluggish throughout 2023?
It is predicted that the central bank will deliver a quarter of…
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…
By CHUCK GREEN
To home sellers who agonizingly watched the prices of their abodes recede recently, leaving a nasty gash in profits, there’s little to say but “ouch.”
Want a touch of solace? Apparently, the waters are rippling with plenty of others in the same predicament.
A first quarter 2023 U.S. Home Sales Report released by ATTOM showed that on median-priced single-family home and condo sales across the country, profit margins dipped to 44.2%, sagging from 48.7% in the fourth quarter of last year.
A silver lining is that the typical investment return stayed relatively high. In fact, it was nearly double where it was four years ago. From the peak of 56.1% in the second quarter last year, the…
By CHUCK GREEN
Industry leaders and economists are sharing their opinions about changes to fees for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after reports that homebuyers with good credit scores and substantial down payments will pay more so fees for borrowers limited by income or wealth can be reduced.
The changes to the loan-level price adjustment matrix by officials at the Federal Housing Finance Agency went into effect on May 1 and are the target of two bills in Congress.
Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma, vice chairwoman of the Republican Main Street Caucus, introduced the Free Market Mortgage Act. She said the changes will force homebuyers with good credit to pay more for their mortgages to subsidize loans…
