According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates were up last week from the week before. Increases were seen for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. Rates for jumbo loans fell from one week earlier. Mortgage rates have now increased in four of the first six weeks of 2021. But despite rising, rates are still near record lows and buyers are still active. Joel Kan, … [Read more...]

The coronavirus caused a significant decline in the number of homes available for sale last year. It didn't, however, reduce the number of interested buyers. That combination – high buyer demand and low for-sale inventory – caused prices to rise, competition to intensify, and houses to sell quickly. But, according to the National Association of Home Builders latest Housing Trends Report, market conditions didn't hurt buyers' optimism. In fact, at the end of 2020, prospective home buyers were more optimistic about … [Read more...]

Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index surveys Americans each month to gauge their feelings about the housing market and their personal financial situation. The survey asks participants for their opinion on mortgage rates, home prices, their income, job security, and whether they think now is a good or bad time to buy or sell a home. In January, the index rose 3.7 points from the month before, with much of the improvement due to a 16 percent jump in the number of respondents who said now is a good time to sell … [Read more...]

Spring is typically the season when the housing market heats up. And, while it's still more than a month away, prospective buyers hoping to start their home search in the coming weeks should be prepared. The winter market hasn't ever really cooled down and it's a good sign that it'll be a fast-moving and competitive spring. For example, according to one recent analysis, home buyer demand, at the end of January, was 60 percent higher than it was last year at the same time. Additionally, the number of homes for sale … [Read more...]

A lot has been written about how the coronavirus and remote work have led home buyers to flee urban centers and head to the suburbs. The idea that Americans – who can work from home and no longer have to worry about their commute – are leaving expensive city centers and moving to more affordable homes in the suburbs has been a consistent theme since the pandemic began. It makes sense. After mitigation efforts forced more of us inside, we began reevaluating what we want in our homes. That, naturally, led to rising … [Read more...]

December isn't typically a popular month with home buyers. And while there are many reasons for this, last year, buyers largely ignored them. In fact, there were more buyers who signed contracts to buy homes during the month than ever before. According to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, contracts to buy hit an all-time high for the month, even though they fell slightly from November. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says there's no shortage of interested home buyers. “Pending … [Read more...]

Last year was an unusual year for the housing market. Expectations of a busy spring sales season were dashed when the coronavirus took hold and mitigation efforts caused interested buyers to delay their plans. But what looked like it may have been a lost year turned into something entirely different. The market rebounded faster than predicted and buyers returned in droves. Sales skyrocketed in early summer and then out performed year-before levels through the end of the year. According to one recent analysis, … [Read more...]

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 1.6 percent in December, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The increase was the first month-over-month improvement since July and puts new home sales 15.2 percent higher than they were in December 2020. Overall, new home sales ended the year 18.8 percent higher than in 2019, making it the best year in more than a decade. It's yet another sign of the housing market's continued strength. … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, demand for loans to buy homes is now 16 percent higher than it was last year at the same time, continuing a trend that started in the second half of last year. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says purchase activity and average loan size have been climbing since last spring. “Activity was up 16 percent from a year ago, and the average purchase loan amount hit another record high of $395,200,” … [Read more...]

The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices have been considered among the leading measures of US home prices for decades. According to their most recent release, prices are still rising, continuing a streak that dates back to last summer. In fact, the data – which covers home values through the end of November – shows increases have actually accelerated. Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P, says the most recent increase was the biggest since February 2014. “As … [Read more...]