Once a home seller agrees to a buyer’s offer and the parties sign a contract to buy, that home’s sale is considered pending until it closes weeks later. The National Association of Realtors tracks pending sales because they’re considered a good forward-looking indicator of future home sales numbers. After all, most pending sales lead to final sales. That’s why it’s good news that the latest results of the NAR’s index show pending home sales up 2 percent in October from the month before. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief … [Read more...]

The new home market helps keep the overall housing market balanced. When demand is high, builders build more homes. That adds to the supply of available homes and helps keep home prices from spiking – which means, whether you’re considering buying a new house or not, the new home market impacts your home search. So is it bad news that the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development show new home sales down 17.3 percent in October? Well, it may not be as bad as it … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week for the first time in two months. Rates were down across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans 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 home buyer activity rose as a result. “Purchase activity drove overall applications higher last week, as … [Read more...]

The S&P Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index is among the leading measures of U.S. home prices. The Index has been collecting data for more than 27 years and covers all nine U.S. census divisions. According to the most recently released results, home prices rose 3.9 percent year-over-year through the end of September. That’s down from the 4.3 percent annual gain seen in the previous month’s report. But while home prices are decelerating nationally, Brian Luke, CFA, Head of commodities, Real & Digital … [Read more...]

It’s been a while since home buyers had the upper hand. In recent years, sellers have held all the power, while home buyers competed against each other to get an offer accepted. Too few homes for sale meant bidding wars, rising home prices, fast sales, and frustrated home shoppers. But this year things started to change. The inventory of homes for sale has been improving, and it’s led to an increasing number of metro areas where buyers are having better luck. In fact, according to one new analysis, home buyers now … [Read more...]

Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group releases an updated outlook each month covering what it believes is ahead for the housing market and economy. In its November commentary, the group says continued economic strength may keep housing market conditions static for longer than previously thought. In other words, the economy didn’t slow as much as expected and it’s keeping mortgage rates from falling further. “Long-run interest rates have moved upward over the past couple months following a string of … [Read more...]

Sales of previously owned homes rose 3.4 percent in October, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors. The monthly gain helped push sales 2.9 percent higher than they were at the same time last year, marking the first year-over-year increase in more than three years. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the worst of the housing market’s downturn may be over. “The worst of the downturn in home sales could be over, with increasing inventory leading to more transactions,” Yun said. … [Read more...]

Average mortgage rates moved higher again last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey. Rates were up week-over-week for 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Only loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration saw a decline. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says rates increased but so did mortgage demand. “Mortgage rates moved higher for the fourth consecutive week, with the … [Read more...]

Whether or not a borrower is approved for a loan depends on a number of factors, including current lending standards and the availability of loan programs. Because they aren’t fixed, these factors can affect how easy or difficult it is for a borrower to get a mortgage at any given time. That’s why the Mortgage Bankers Association tracks credit availability each month with its Mortgage Credit Availability Index. When the index increases, it means lending standards have loosened, and when it falls, standards have … [Read more...]

The National Association of Home Builders keeps a monthly measure of how confident home builders are in the market for newly built single-family homes. Its Housing Market Index is a closely followed market barometer, scored on a scale where any number above 50 means more surveyed builders feel conditions are good than poor. In November, the index hit 46, the third consecutive monthly gain and three points higher than the month before. The improvement was attributed to post-election expectations that regulatory … [Read more...]