According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased last week from the week before. Rates were up 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. As a result, demand for mortgage applications fell from the previous week. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says the housing market remains strong. “The housing … [Read more...]

The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices has collected home price data for the past 30 years and is considered among the leading measures of U.S. home values. Their most recent release, which covers data through the end of 2020, shows last year's home-price performance was one of the best in index history. Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P, says prices have been accelerating since June of last year. “As COVID-related restrictions began to grip the economy … [Read more...]

High buyer demand and low for-sale inventory have made for a hot housing market. Homes are selling quickly and buyers are having to compete for available listings. But, according to the most recent outlook from Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group, the market is expected to cool off at some point this year. When that happens is still a little uncertain, however. “While housing is still expected to moderate in the new year from its unsustainably high pace in the second half of 2020, the ESR Group did … [Read more...]

The typical home for sale was on the market for just 21 days in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. That's down from 43 days one year earlier. It's yet another sign that fewer homes for sale has caused the homes that are for sale to sell quickly. So quickly, in fact, that 71 percent of the homes that sold in January were on the market for less than a month. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says home-buyer demand has started the year off strong . “Home sales continue to ascend in the … [Read more...]

Home builders know the housing market. Their business depends on it. That's why the National Association of Home Builders keeps a monthly measure of how confident they are in the market for newly built single-family homes. If builders are optimistic, chances are the market is doing well. In February, the index – which scores builders' responses on a scale where any number above 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than poor – was up one point to 84, just below its all-time high. Robert Dietz, the … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased last week from one week earlier. Rates were up for both 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances and 15-year fixed-rate loans. Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration fell slightly while jumbo loans were unchanged. Despite rising in recent weeks, mortgage rates remain historically low. However, the uptick has caused application demand to fall. In fact, it was down 5.1 percent … [Read more...]

The housing market can be understood as simple supply and demand. When there are fewer homes for sale and buyer demand is high, home prices rise. When the opposite is true, prices fall. But there's a little more to it than that. The balance of supply and demand is affected by numerous factors, including some less obvious ones that may not occur to the average home buyer. For example, in today's market, the inventory of homes for sale is lower than normal. But while new home construction is the fastest way to … [Read more...]

Generally speaking, home prices rise more than they fall. If you look at year-over-year data, you'll see home prices increase a few percentage points almost every year. There are, of course, exceptions, but homeownership got its reputation as a safe investment for good reason. So the real question is by how much and how quickly are prices are rising. One way to tell is to look at asking prices. The asking price of a home is the amount the seller hopes to get for it – not the final sales price. In most years, asking … [Read more...]

There are many ways to measure housing market activity. You can look at it geographically and compare how one region's homes are selling compared to another's. Or you can look at it historically and compare today's numbers to the past. You can also look at it based on price range. Is the high end of the market performing differently than the market for affordable homes? Are first-time buyers more or less active than luxury buyers? Using these different perspectives can help you breakdown what's happening in the … [Read more...]

A property is considered equity rich when its value is more than double the amount of the loans used to purchase it. In other words, if you owe $90,000 on a home worth $200,000, you're equity rich. It's a good position to be in as a homeowner, especially if you're considering selling in the near future. Because of this, ATTOM Data Solutions' quarterly Home Equity & Underwater Report tracks how many of the nation's 59 million mortgaged homes could be considered equity rich. According to their most recent report, … [Read more...]