According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased again last week. 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, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. With rates continuing to climb, refinance activity has slowed. Last week, it dropped another 9 percent and is now 54 percent lower than last year at the same time. Purchase activity, on the … [Read more...]

The winter housing market is typically the slowest of the year. Many prospective home buyers, anticipating the start of the spring sales season, put their plans on hold and wait for warmer weather. But while this winter saw the market slow down a bit, it's been anything but typical. With the number of homes for sale still much lower than normal, even winter home buyers have encountered a fast-paced market with plenty of competition from other buyers. In fact, one recent analysis covering the four weeks ending … [Read more...]

When you choose a home to buy, you're also choosing a neighborhood. The area surrounding the house you buy will play a big part in how much you like living there. After all, you aren't going to be spending all of your time indoors. That's why it's important as a home buyer to take note of the area's amenities and how close you are to the things you'll want and need. How important? Well, one recent survey found that 80 percent of Americans said they love their home and, among them, 77 percent said it was because of … [Read more...]

Determining how much house you can afford can be complicated. There are a lot of numbers involved. Home prices and mortgage rates are important, of course, but so is your downpayment, household budget, and income. In other words, it's an equation that's pretty specific to your financial situation, the house you're looking at, and which neighborhoods you're targeting. Ultimately, though, you're trying to figure out how much your monthly mortgage payment will be. And while it does depend a lot on your particular … [Read more...]

Traditionally speaking, marriage and homeownership go hand-in-hand. First, you get married, then you buy a home and start a family. It's all a part of settling down. But while that's the classic order of things – and the majority of today's home buyers are still married couples – this somewhat old-fashioned notion is starting to change. These days, there's an increasing number of single Americans buying homes and, according to one recent survey, even a rising number of buyers who have purchased a house with a … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased again last week. Rates were up week over week 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. The increases led to a decline in both refinance and purchase application demand. Overall, demand was down 8.1 percent from the week before. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice … [Read more...]

Buying a house is a major financial transaction. For most of us, it'll be among the biggest we're ever involved in. But money isn't the only thing you're committing when you purchase a home, you're also committing your time. The average home buyer will spend the next five to 10 years living in the house they buy. Which is why it's important to know exactly what you're looking for when shopping for a home – especially, in a fast-paced market. You likely won't have days to debate the pros and cons of a particular … [Read more...]

It's a seller's market. So it's no surprise that Fannie Mae's most recent Home Purchase Sentiment Index found respondents more optimistic about selling a home than they were about buying one. With inventory low and buyer demand high, that's to be expected. The survey found 69 percent of participants said they believed now was a good time to sell a house, while just 25 percent said they thought it was a good time to buy. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's senior vice president and chief economist, said younger Americans were … [Read more...]

Nearly 200,000 more Americans will turn 32 this year than did last year. That may seem like a random factoid but it actually has big implications for the housing market. That's because 32 is the age when many Americans buy their first home. It's also close to the median age of parents with newborns. And with a couple hundred thousand more Americans turning 32 this year – and even more next year – there will be a lot of home buyers looking to buy a home in a family-friendly neighborhood. That means increasing demand … [Read more...]

The gap between what homeowners owe on their mortgages and what their homes are worth continues to widen, according to new numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions. Their most recent U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report found that 41.9 percent of mortgaged residential properties were considered equity rich in the fourth quarter of 2021. Equity rich refers to when the combined amount of loan balances is no more than 50 percent of a property's estimated value. In short, it's good news for homeowners – and it's … [Read more...]