According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates were down last week for loans with conforming balances and the drop helped drive mortgage demand upward. In fact, demand for loans to buy homes was up 9 percent from the week before and is now 2 percent higher than the same week one year ago. Mike Fratantoni, MBA's chief economist, said the increase in home buying activity follows several weeks of volatility. But though encouraging, the improvement wasn't evenly … [Read more...]

Home prices have been increasing for a while. Driven by high buyer demand and a lower-than-normal number of homes for sale, values have been on the rise. But, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the rate of home price increases is now starting to slow. In fact, the results show the National Index gained 5.5 percent year-over-year, which is down from 5.7 percent. Additionally, 16 of 20 included cities saw smaller annual increases. David M. Blitzer, managing director and … [Read more...]

Over the past decade, housing market conditions have changed dramatically. The housing crash and subsequent price rebound have caused a shift from buyer's to seller's market. Add to that lower-than-normal mortgage rates and a lack of for-sale inventory and prospective home buyers could be forgiven for not knowing what to expect when they head out to look for a home. Fortunately, however, Fannie Mae's most recent forecast from their Economic and Strategic Research Group contains some good news. That's because, … [Read more...]

Sales of previously owned homes rose 1.4 percent in October from the month before, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors. The increase was the first in six months. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said housing inventory is increasing and it's bringing buyers back to the market. “After six consecutive months of decline, buyers are finally stepping back into the housing market,” Yun said. “Gains in the Northeast, South, and West – a reversal from last month's steep decline or plateau … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week, reversing an upward trend seen over the past several weeks. Though the decline was slight, it affected all loan categories except those backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says rates slowed due to economic concerns. “Treasury rates declined last week, as equity markets continued to see large swings amidst investor … [Read more...]

For most of this year, new home builders have been optimistic. With high buyer demand and a stronger economy, the market for newly built homes was building some momentum. But, according to the most recent Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders, conditions are changing and builders are reacting. In fact, the index – which measures builder confidence on a scale where any number above 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than poor – dropped eight points in November. Robert … [Read more...]

Young Americans want to own a home. Research consistently shows large majorities who say they aspire to one day become homeowners. And yet, the number of first-time home buyers active in the market has been lower than what is historically normal for several years. So why aren't more young Americans buying houses? Well there are a number of factors at play but, among them, student loan debt is a big one. According to one recent study, the average monthly student debt payment for current renters who say they'd like … [Read more...]

One good way of measuring where home prices are headed is to look at how many homes for sale have had to adjust their initial listing price. If there are a lot of homes in your area with price reductions, it could be a sign that the local market is softening. And, according to one national report, it likely is. That's because, new numbers show 31.3 percent of homes for sale in October had at least one price cut of more than 1 percent. By comparison, last year at the same time just 25 percent of homes had previously … [Read more...]

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