The new home market accounts for just over 10 percent of total home sales. But though it’s only a small slice of overall housing-market activity, it plays an important role. After all, when the new home market is healthy, and builders are building more homes, that adds supply to the inventory of available homes which means more choices for home buyers and fewer price spikes. So what’s happening in the new home market now? Well, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey, average mortgage rates fell again last week, as rates continued to ease after spiking earlier this year. Rates were down from the week before for 30-year fixed-rate loans with conforming balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Jumbo loans saw a slight increase from the previous week. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says rates are now at a five-month low. … [Read more...]

Sales of previously owned homes slowed in June, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales slipped 5.4 percent from the month before and were also down 5.4 percent from year-before levels. But despite slower sales, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the market is improving for buyers. “We’re seeing a slow shift from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market,” Yun said. “Homes are sitting on the market a bit longer, and sellers are receiving fewer offers. More buyers … [Read more...]

The number of homes for sale has been improving for a while now and the gains continued in June. In fact, according to recently released data, inventory was up 4 percent from May. The improvement pushed the number of homes on the market 23 percent higher than last year and shrunk the gap between current levels and pre-pandemic averages – it is now the smallest it’s been since 2020. Inventory improvements have also led to year-over-year increases in all but two of the country’s 50 largest metropolitan areas. What … [Read more...]

When the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development release their monthly New Residential Construction report, it comes with three components. The first tracks building permits, measuring the number of permits to build new homes pulled during the month. The second category is housing starts, which tracks how many new homes started construction. The final component is completions. Completions gauge how many new homes were finished during the past month. In June, they surged. In fact, … [Read more...]

Home builders know the housing market. They have to, if they hope to be successful. Builders have to know what buyers want, where they want it, and when they’ll be ready to buy. That’s why the National Association of Home Builders takes a monthly survey of home builders, asking for their perception of the current market and their expectations for the months ahead. The survey is scored on a scale where any number above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. In July, it fell to 42, down … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week from one week earlier. Rates were down for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says rates are now at a four-month low. “Mortgage rates declined last week, as recent signs of cooling inflation and the increased likelihood of Fed … [Read more...]

Most of us know what it means to be sticker shocked. It's when you find out the price of something is much higher than you expected. It can be a surprise. It can also be a disappointment, if you were actually ready to buy. These days, according to the results of a new survey, sticker shock may be a common occurrence in the housing market. In fact, the survey – from the National Association of Home Builders and the U.S. Census Bureau – found there's a fairly large gap between what home buyers expect to pay for a … [Read more...]

There’s been a lot of talk recently about how market conditions may be keeping current homeowners from making a move. But homeowners may be moving sooner than the experts think. In fact, according to one new survey, there’s no shortage of homeowners thinking about moving in the near future. The survey found 38 percent of homeowners said they’re likely to purchase a home in the next year. That’s a significant number and a good sign that buyer demand remains high – and particularly among homeowners, who have been … [Read more...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association tracks mortgage credit availability to determine how easy or difficult it is for borrowers to get a loan. Each month, its Mortgage Credit Availability Index gauges whether credit has loosened or tightened on a scale where any increase indicates borrowers’ access to credit has improved – whether through less restrictive lending standards or through offered loan programs. In June, the MCAI increased for the sixth consecutive month. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief … [Read more...]