According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates rose 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. But despite rising rates, purchase activity increased 8 percent from the week before. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says the average loan size set … [Read more...]

Home builders are a great gauge of housing market health. When they're optimistic, chances are the economy is doing well and more new homes are being built. And when more new homes are being built, that helps balance supply and demand and keeps prices from rising too quickly. The National Association of Home Builders' monthly Housing Market Index measures builder confidence and scores the results on a scale where any number above 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than poor. In January, the index … [Read more...]

In a competitive market, it isn't uncommon for a home to attract multiple buyers. When this happens, buyers have to make their offer more attractive to the home's seller in order to have it chosen over other buyers' offers. Typically, that means more money. This is the primary reason for recent home-price increases. For the past few years, there haven't been enough homes for sale to satisfy buyer demand, which has caused more competition, bidding wars, and a higher percentage of homes selling above their list … [Read more...]

Home prices are always a hot topic among prospective home buyers. The reasons for this are obvious. After all, the price of homes in the neighborhoods you're targeting will, in large part, determine whether or not you can afford to buy one. So what might happen to prices, and the overall market, in the year ahead? Well, a lot depends on how many homes are available for sale. The main factor pushing home prices higher these days is a lack of inventory. Naturally, if inventory improves – either because more … [Read more...]

The standards used to determine whether or not a borrower is approved for a mortgage aren't fixed. There are times when they tighten and times when they loosen. Because of this, the Mortgage Bankers Association tracks credit availability each month in order to measure how easy or difficult it is for borrowers to get a mortgage. Any increase in their index indicates that credit has become more available, while a decline means standards have tightened. In December, the overall index rose 0.8 percent, pushing it to … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates rose last 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, while significant, weren't enough to slow buyer demand, however. In fact, demand for purchase loan applications increased 2 percent from one week earlier. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of … [Read more...]

There a lot of things to consider when thinking about making a move. How close you'll be to family and friends, affordability, and the local job market are all important factors that play a role when choosing where we'd like to live. But, according to one recent survey, climate is also a factor for homeowners and renters considering a move. In fact, among renters it was the most important factor, ranking higher than both the job market and home prices. Homeowners, on the other hand, ranked it second behind … [Read more...]

It'd be easy to get the impression that owning a home is more expensive than renting. After all, home prices have been increasing for years – and especially over the past year. But, according to a recent analysis from ATTOM Data Solutions, homeownership is still more affordable then renting in 58 percent of counties. The analysis compared the cost of owning a median-priced home to the average rent on a three-bedroom property in 1,154 counties and found that homeownership expenses consumed a smaller portion of … [Read more...]

The percentage of Americans who say it's a good time to sell a house rose 26 percent year over year, according to the December results of Fannie Mae's monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index. The survey – which asks Americans what they think about buying or selling a home, mortgage rates, home prices, their jobs, and household income – was relatively flat from the month before. However, year-over-year comparisons show a large spike in the number of respondents who think it's a good time to sell – while the number who … [Read more...]

Shopping for a home to buy can be challenging in markets where there aren't many homes for sale. For one, it's more difficult to find an available house in the right neighborhood with the right features. Then, when you do find one, you often have to outbid other prospective buyers who also want it. But, while the number of homes for sale is still lower than normal, you shouldn't let the current inventory crunch put your home-buying plans on hold. Why? Well, there's an expectation that this year's market will see … [Read more...]