Pandemic-related moratoriums on foreclosures and evictions are set to expire June 30, and some lenders plan to start resuming foreclosures in July. About 2.1 million homeowners are still in mortgage forbearance, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. As of April, about 1.8 million households who aren’t in forbearance were 90 days delinquent on their loan, according to Black Knight data.

Bank of America says its suspension of foreclosures will end on bank-owned loans and government-backed loans when the national moratorium ends at the end of June. “The good news is the amount of deferrals is way down, and most of the clients have become current,” Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, said at this week’s Senate hearing, as reported by CNBC. “Irrespective of that deadline passing, we’ll continue to work with a few clients we have left to help them.”

JPMorgan Chase also said during the hearing that about 90% of its customers have exited forbearance programs.

Forbearance and delinquency rates have gradually dropped since the nation started reopening last summer. Nearly 92% of mortgage holders were making loan payments as of April 23, the largest share for any month since the onset of the pandemic, Black Knight reports.

Some lending giants plan to delay taking any action against delinquent homeowners even after federal moratoriums expire. For example, Wells Fargo told lawmakers this week that it plans to extend moratoriums on foreclosures and evictions for loans that they own until the end of the year. Wells Fargo also said it supports the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed rule that would prevent lenders from initiating foreclosure proceedings until 2022.

The housing industry is anticipating more inventory in the coming months. Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, said after last week’s existing-home sales report: “We’ll see more inventory come to the market later this year as further COVID-19 vaccinations are administered and potential home sellers become more comfortable listing and showing their homes. The falling number of homeowners in mortgage forbearance will also bring about more inventory.”

Ultra-low mortgage rates returned this week, with lenders offering home buyers and refinancers a chance once again to lock in a rate below 3%. But the National Association of REALTORS® warns that these low rates in the 2% range won’t last much longer, and mortgage rates likely will edge up soon. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.95% this week, Freddie Mac reports.

“Mortgage rates are continuing to offer many homeowners the potential to refinance and increase their monthly cash flow,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. Homeowners who refinanced their 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in 2020 saved more than $2,800 annually, Khater notes. “Substantial opportunity continues to exist today, as nearly $2 trillion in conforming mortgages have the ability to refinance and reduce their interest rate by at least half a percentage point.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending May 27:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.95%, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.15%.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.27%, with an average 0.6 point, falling from last week’s 2.29% average. A year ago, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 2.62%.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.59%, with an average 0.2 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.13%.

Freddie Mac reports average commitment rates along with average points to better reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining a mortgage.

After more than a year of masking and social distancing, more people are returning to a normal routine as COVID-19 vaccines blunt the effects of the pandemic. But with more coronavirus restrictions coming to and end, many people are wondering what the workplace will look like moving forward and how business etiquette will change. For now, experts say, you may need to continue keeping the handshake—a traditional greeting and symbol of agreement on a transaction—in your back pocket.

“Don’t offer to shake hands if you are introduced,” writes etiquette expert Eva Del Rio in a column for The Gainesville Sun in Florida. “Simply say, ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ with a smile and a nod of the head while keeping your hands by your side. If someone offers their hand to you, it’s okay to say, ‘It’s so nice to meet you, but I’m not shaking hands yet,’ implying that someday you will.”

Elbow bumping, Del Rio notes, was a fun, new way to greet others at the beginning of the pandemic, but now she says it’s unnecessary and can come across as gimmicky in the workplace. Also, continue to respect personal space. Some consumers may be uneasy with someone who comes too close to them or if a shopper stands right behind them in line.

In March, nearly half of Americans—an equal share of vaccinated and unvaccinated people—said they felt uneasy about adjusting to in-person interaction again, according to a survey from the American Psychological Association. Del Rio says you don’t have to space yourself too far from others, but be mindful that people now consider “personal space” to be a larger area than before the pandemic.

Everyone has different comfort levels, James Honeycutt of the University of Texas at Dallas told Cleveland.com. In describing proxemics, the study of social space, Honeycutt says that about 18 inches around your body are considered intimate space, up to four feet is personal, 12 is social, and 36 is public.

Also, follow local mask guidance as a show of respect to others. “Remember, etiquette is not so much about rules; it’s about being considerate and thoughtful of others,” Del Rio writes for the Sun. “This means always carry a mask with you—just in case. And never make fun of someone for wearing a mask or taking a precaution.”

he lack of inventory continued to chip away at pending home sales last month, but the home-buying craze is still going strong.

The National Association of REALTORS®’ Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings—fell 4.4% month-over-month in April. Still, pending home sales are up nearly 52% compared to a year ago. However, NAR notes that the year-over-year comparison is skewed since it’s from a time when pandemic-related shutdowns prompted home sales to dip to all-time lows.

Nevertheless, “contract signings are approaching pre-pandemic levels after the big surge due to the lack of sufficient supply of affordable homes,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The upper-end market is still moving sharply as inventory is more plentiful there.”

Yun anticipates the overall housing supply to see an increase in the fall as more homeowners warm up to the idea of selling. An increase in inventory is largely predicted to occur as vaccine rates increase and sellers realize the equity they’ve accumulated. Also, more inventory likely will arise once the end of the eviction moratorium at the end of June as homeowners exit forbearance.

For now, the Midwest is the only region seeing a month-over-month increase in pending home sales, NAR reports. “The Midwest region, which has the most affordable homes, was the only region to notch a gain in the last month,” Yun says. “Some buyers from the expensive cities in the West and Northeast, who have the flexibility to move and work from anywhere, could be opting for a larger-sized home at a lower price in the Midwest.”

© National Association of REALTORS®

Bidding wars have become the norm, but the bigger dilemma buyers face is how much higher the asking price will be in that competitive offer situation.

In Marin County, Calif., a recent listing for a 1,305-square-foot home with a single bathroom sparked an intense bidding war. The home was listed at $1.298 million. The real estate pro set a deadline for accepting offers and received 18 bids. The home sold for $2.057 million—58% over asking price, Liz McCarthy, the seller’s agent for the property, told The Mercury News. McCarthy also recently had a listing for a 107-year-old home in a flood zone that fetched nearly 45% over the list price after 147 showings and just seven days on the market.

More home buyers are waiving appraisals to ensure the sale doesn’t fall through, too.

According to a recent housing report from Redfin, half of all homes sold above asking price during four weeks ending on May 16. The median existing-home price for all housing types in April was $341,600—a record high, the National Association of REALTORS® reports.

Eighty-eight percent of the homes sold in April 2021 were on the market for less than a month, NAR’s latest data shows.

Buyer’s agents are growing frustrated with their house hunters who are unable to compete against the frenzy. “All my colleagues and I don’t love this market,” McCarthy told The Mercury News. “The poor buyers—I’m heartbroken for buyers. And it’s not fun writing offer after offer after offer for buyers who are bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars over asking—and getting beat out.”

The average number of offers REALTORS® reported receiving on a closed sale jumped to five in April, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest “REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey,” a survey of more than 3,500 real estate pros about their latest transactions.

Real estate pros surveyed feel confident that home prices will continue to climb. On average, they expect home prices over the next three months to increase nearly 6% from a year ago. Here’s a state-to-state breakdown from the REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey of price expectations:

Consumers’ email inboxes are constantly being flooded with messages. How do you make yours stand out? Use effective subject lines that make them take notice.

A recent consumer survey from ActivePipe, an email marketing firm, found the following subject lines generate the most opens on emails that are sent from real estate professionals:

1. “Just Sold in Your Area”
2. “Real Estate Market Snapshot for Your Area”
3. “Have You Been Wondering What Your Home Is Worth?”
4. “List Now or Later—Why the [enter season] Market Pays Dividends”
5. “Six Steps to Get Your Home Ready for a Listing”
6. “Thinking About a Vacation Home?”

The ActivePipe survey found that regular electronic communications via email tends to deliver the highest level of client loyalty. Clients are more likely to open and follow up on electronic communications if there is an existing relationship and some level of trust with the sender before, too.

Once an agent has landed a client, what keeps clients engaged without feeling pressured? The survey found the information with the highest engagement among buyers tended to be current listings and comps. Among sellers, market trends for the area landed at the top, while “recently sold” data interested both buyers and sellers.

After a transaction, consumers say they prefer to be contacted by the agent with monthly emails and newsletters, quarterly phone calls, emails or texts on special occasions, such as birthdays or holidays, and a telephone follow-up after the transaction to verify satisfaction and success, the survey finds.

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Major power grid failures and blackout events, such as the one in Texas after a winter storm in February, have more homeowners and builders interested in self-powered properties. As a result, more new construction and retrofitting projects are taking the effects of climate change into account, adding layers of protection to structures beyond energy-efficient considerations like solar panels.

“Houses can be built in much more efficient ways, so not just solar but they can have their own water filters, other sources of electricity generation, and a number of other efficient ways to manage their utilities,” Ben Keys, associate professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told CNBC.

Recent weather events have made the need for resilient homes clear. About 10 million Texans were left without power after the ice storm this year. In fact, blackouts affecting 50,000 or more people have climbed more than 60% in the U.S. since 2015, according to research published in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology. Climate change also presents other threats to homeowners as wildfires and flooding events increase. During California’s last wildfire season, more than 10,000 structures were destroyed, causing $10 billion in property damage.

Climate change is increasingly a factor in homebuying decisions, according to a Redfin survey conducted earlier this year. About 75% of respondents say they would be hesitant to buy a home in an area with climate risk. Furthermore, nearly half of those who plan to move say natural disasters and extreme temperatures are factors in their decision, the survey shows. Respondents between the ages of 35 to 44 are most likely to say that natural disasters, extreme temperatures, and rising sea levels play a role in their decisions about where to live. Respondents 45 or older are least likely to say the same.

Dvele, a small California-based builder, is constructing homes in a factory that come with solar, battery, and other elements to use less energy and operate longer off the grid. Such a home continuously monitors its own energy output and can identify ways to save more. If the power goes out, the home can continue to operate like normal.

The homes at highest risk for weather-related catastrophes are in California, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska as well as along the Mississippi River and in the Gulf and Atlantic coastal areas, according to CoreLogic’s Catastrophe Report. “It’s not just for extremists,” Keys told CNBC about designing homes to be more self-sufficient. “I think we’re going to see more and more people looking for ways in which they can protect themselves as there are increased risks from storms, more utility disruptions, and more need for resiliency.”

But the costs may get in the way of initial adoption, experts say. Adding this technology, particularly when retrofitting an existing home, can be pricey.

As the economy continues to strengthen, mortgage rates are heading upwards. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from its 2.94% average last week to 3% this week, Freddie Mac reports.

“Mortgage rates are more likely to continue to rise than fall throughout the rest of 2021,” Nadia Evangelou, National Association of REALTORS® senior economist and director of forecasting, writes on the association’s Economists’ Outlook blog. “The economy is growing faster than expected as Americans get vaccinated against COVID-19 and resume traveling, going to restaurants, bars, events, and shows.”

Despite the uptick, mortgage rates remain historically low, averaging 3%, down from 3.24% a year earlier. Home buyers are unlocking greater savings. For example, in 2008, mortgage rates averaged more than 6%. But when a rate is 3% lower than that, as it is this week, it decreases monthly payments by $525 for the typical home buyer, Evangelou says.

However, higher home prices are offsetting those lower rates. Home prices are significantly higher than they were in 2008.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending May 20:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3%, with an average 0.6 point, rising from last week’s 2.94% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.24%.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.29%, with an average 0.7 point, increasing from last week’s 2.26% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.70%.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.59%, with an average 0.3 point, unchanged from last week’s average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.17%.

Freddie Mac reports average commitment rates along with points to better reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining a mortgage.

Freddie Mac