Millennials Dominate In America’s Biggest Metros

Despite challenging conditions for first-time homebuyers, Millennials are actively engaging in the housing market, especially in the nation’s largest metros, according to a new analysis from LendingTree. The analysis found that Millennials– people aged 25 to 40 in 2021– make up a majority of homebuyers in most of the US’s largest metros, especially Denver, Seattle, and Boston.  Of mortgages offered in Denver, 63.3% were offered to Millennials. In Seattle, 61.35% were offered to Millennials, and in Boston, 61.08%. Miami, Jacksonville, and Tampa have the smallest share of buyers in this age group, at 46.54% across all three markets. San Francisco, New York, and San Jose have the greatest portion of older Millennials, with an average age of 33.51%, while Indianapolis,…

Is Home Ownership More Affordable Than Renting? It Depends.

By KIMBERLEY HAAS A report released this month suggests that despite rising home prices it is more affordable to own a median-priced house than to rent a three-bedroom property in a majority of the United States. ATTOM’s 2022 Rental Affordability Report used fair-market rent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and sales deed data in 1,154 counties to find that home ownership will be more affordable in a majority of the country again in 2022. Todd Teta, Chief Product Officer at ATTOM, said home ownership still remains the more affordable option for average workers because it takes up a smaller portion of their pay when the math is…

MBA: Forbearances Fell To 1.67% In November

The total number of loans in forbearance fell from 2.06% of servicers’ portfolio volume to 1.67% in November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Loan Monitoring Survey. MBA estimates 835,000 homeowners are currently in forbearance plans. Independent mortgage banks saw a 0.34% decline from 2.28% to 1.94%, while depositories saw a 0.5% drop from 2.02% to 1.52%. The share of forborne Fannie and Freddie loans fell to 0.76%, down by 16 basis points, while Ginnie Mae loans fell to 2.10%, down 42 basis points. PLS and portfolio loans in forbearance dropped by 106 basis points to 3.94%. “The share of loans in forbearance in November declined – albeit at a slower pace than October – as borrowers continued to…

63,000 Homes Were Listed “For Sale By Owner” In September

Over a three-year period, between 4% and 6% of all monthly listings across the country were offered directly by their owners, a new report from Zillow found. Homes listed as “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) are advertised and sold directly by owners without an agent’s help. Roughly 63,000 homes for sale in September 2021 were FSBO, while in 2021 overall 24% of rural sellers did not use an agent. For comparison, 16% of suburban sellers did not use an agent, along with 20% of urban sellers. The report found that FSBOs are most common in rural areas. They were also more affordable overall. The median list price for an FSBO was $292,810, while the median price for a home sold…

Delinquency Rate Dropped 4.25% In October

The national delinquency rate continued to improve at a slow but steady pace last month, with especially impactful declines for loans overdue by 30 days or more, according to Black Knight’s October 2021 “first look” report. Delinquencies dropped another 4.25% at the end of October to 3.74%. The decline was pushed by significant changes in longer delinquencies. Loans 30 or more days past due dropped by 82,000, bringing their total below 2 million for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.  Serious delinquencies also saw huge drops, declining by 10%, or 127,000 loans. Black Knight attributes that dip to the first wave of homeowners in forbearance beginning to make payments again. The report predicts more improvement in this…