Home buyer affordability continued to improve in September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s monthly Purchase Applications Payment Index – which measures the national median mortgage payment applied for by prospective home buyers – found payments down 0.8 percent from the month before. Edward Seiler, MBA’s associate vice president, Housing Economics, and executive director, Research Institute for Housing America, says affordability is now better than it’s been in two years. “Home buyer … [Read more...]

The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index measures the number of contracts to buy homes signed each month. Because contract signings precede closings, the NAR’s index is considered a good future indicator of existing home sales numbers. In September, the index rose 7.4 percent to its highest level since March. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the spike in signings was likely due to falling mortgage rates during the month. “Contract signings rose across all regions of the country as … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased last week from the week before. Rates were up across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says recent increases have muted overall mortgage demand. “Mortgage applications were essentially flat last … [Read more...]

Home prices are still rising, according to the latest results of the S&P Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. S&P’s index – considered among the leading measures of home price activity – has been tracking prices for nearly 30 years. The most recent release shows prices up 4.2 percent year-over-year. But while prices continue to increase, the rate of increase has slowed. For example, the previous month’s report showed prices up 4.8 percent from year-before levels. In other words, prices continue to … [Read more...]

Sales of newly built single-family homes are now at the highest level since May 2023, according to new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In September, sales rose 4.1 percent from the previous month and were 6.3 percent higher than last year at the same time. The increase put the seasonally adjusted annual rate at 738,000 units, higher than the 720,000 units economists expected. In short, the new home market continues to outperform the market for previously … [Read more...]

The share of current homeowners who can consider themselves equity rich remains historically high, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ third quarter 2024 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. The report found 48.3 percent of mortgaged residential properties were equity rich – meaning the combined loan balances secured by those properties were no more than half the properties’ value. That’s higher than last year when it was 47.4 percent but lower than the second quarter of this year when it hit its recent peak of … [Read more...]

Sales of previously owned homes fell 1 percent in September, according to the latest numbers from the National Association of Realtors. Decreasing sales numbers were found in three of four U.S. regions, with only the West seeing an increase. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says sales have been relatively flat despite improving conditions. “Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing,” Yun … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates saw mixed results last week, with little movement from the week before across all loan categories including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Though steady, rates remain up from last month’s lows and that’s pushed demand for mortgage applications lower, with purchase loan activity down 5 percent … [Read more...]

The quickest way to solve an inventory problem is to create new supply. That’s certainly true for the housing market. When there are few available homes for sale and current homeowners don’t look likely to sell, new home construction can help fill the gap. And luckily for today’s home buyers, builders have been doing just that. In fact, according to one new analysis, roughly 1 million single-family homes were completed in 2023 – the second highest total since before the housing crash and financial crisis nearly 15 … [Read more...]

Most home buyers need a loan to buy a house, which makes access to credit a potentially important factor in the home buying process – even if it isn’t as closely followed as the ups-and-downs of home prices and mortgage rates. The Mortgage Bankers Association follows access to credit, though, and its monthly Mortgage Credit Availability Index gives potential borrowers a look at whether lending standards are loosening or tightening. In September, the index fell 0.5 percent on a scale where any decline indicates … [Read more...]