According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates rose again last week with increases seen 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. But despite rates rising to their highest level since March 2020, demand for mortgage applications still increased 12 percent from the week before. In fact, refinance activity was up 18 percent … [Read more...]

In a fast-paced market, home buyers have to be prepared for competition. A good home will attract multiple interested buyers and, if you hope to be successful, you'll have to move quickly and make an offer that rises above the rest. These days, that's especially true. With a lower than normal number of homes for sale and buyer demand still elevated, listings are seeing more traffic than ever. In fact, according to one recent analysis, the number of showings rose 11.5 percent last year from the year before. In … [Read more...]

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index measures the number of contracts to buy homes signed each month. It's considered a good indicator of future home sales, as it measures signings and not closings, which typically happen several weeks later. In December, the index found contract activity down from the month before, falling 3.8 percent from November. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says the decline was likely due to a lack of homes available for sale. “Pending home sales faded toward … [Read more...]

Falling temperatures and higher mortgage rates did nothing to slow new home sales in December, according to numbers recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. New home sales defied expectations and rose nearly 12 percent from the month before. The increase pushed sales to their highest level since March and beat economists' predicted pace by almost 100,000 units. At a time of year when home sales typically slow, the sales surge is an encouraging sign. It's also … [Read more...]

Last year was a good year for home sellers. A combination of elevated buyer demand and rising home prices meant homeowners looking to make a move could sell quickly and for a profit. And, according to new numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions, their profit margin in 2021 was the biggest in 13 years. So how big was it? Well, according to the report, the typical home sale last year generated $94,092, representing a 45.3 percent return on investment compared to the original purchase price. That's up from $64,931 in 2020 … [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, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. It was the fifth consecutive weekly increase and pushed rates to their highest level since March 2020. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry … [Read more...]

Unless you're a real estate investor, you probably aren't making home buying decisions based on market conditions. Most of us decide to buy a house based on what's happening in our lives. A growing family, a new job, or a desire to move closer to family and friends is more likely to motivate your decision to buy than mortgage rate fluctuations or price increases. However, if you're thinking about moving sometime soon, conditions can definitely influence how soon. Which is why expectations that mortgage rates will … [Read more...]

There are few things that haven't been affected by the pandemic over the past two years. Almost everything about the way we live has changed in one way or the other. That, of course, is especially true of the housing market and economy. The pandemic upset the long-term trends of supply and demand and made it much more difficult to predict where markets might be headed in the weeks and months ahead. But now that we're two years into it, the pandemic and its effects are a little more predictable and, according to the … [Read more...]

Work is a fact of life. It's how we pay the bills. It's also a big part of how we choose where we live. After all, nobody wants to spend three hours a day driving to and from the office. So the closer we can live to our workplace the better. But while a short commute has always ranked high on home buyer wish lists, the pandemic has changed that. More Americans are able to work remotely and it's given them more freedom to choose where they live. A lot of us, though, are still waiting to hear what our long-term work … [Read more...]

In 2021, sales of previously owned homes hit their highest level in 15 years, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales totaled 6.12 million, increasing 8.5 percent from the year before. But while sales were strong throughout the year, they slowed in December, as the number of available listings fell. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says, despite the end-of-year slowdown, demand from buyers remains high. “December saw sales retreat, but the pull back was more a … [Read more...]