Nov 06
Home Applications Post First Rise in Weeks Applications for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, increased 2.6 percent last week, even with a rise in interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjust index of mortgage activity, reflecting the week ending Oct. 31. The rise follows a 5 percent decrease the …
Nov 05
Home Owners Lose Out by Not Refinancing Recent reductions in the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage could net the population of borrowers big savings if they would refinance, according to Black Knight Financial Services’ latest Mortgage Monitor Report. “Before the most recent reductions in the average 30-year mortgage interest rate, approximately 6 million borrowers met broad-based ‘refinancibility’ …
Nov 04
First-Time Buyers at Lowest Level in Decades Despite an improving job market and low interest rates, the share of first-time buyers fell to its lowest point in nearly three decades, according to an annual survey released today by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers dates back to 1981. The …
Nov 03
Mortgage Rates on Real Estate, Still Below 4% Average fixed-rate mortgages inched up from last week’s lowest rates of the year but are still hovering below historical lows, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Oct. 30: 30-year …
Oct 31
Home Buyers are Predictable Are you a highly conscientious person? Then you’ll probably want a fixed-rate mortgage. Somewhat neurotic? Then you’d likely rather own than rent. A new study suggests that a person’s personality traits are predictive of his or her real estate decisions. Researchers gave more than 1,100 respondents a personality-assessment test, asking them …
Oct 29
Credit issues still and issue but home sales are still up. Pending home sales inched up slightly in September, and for the first time in 11 months, they were above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ Pending Home Sales Index. However, tight credit conditions continue to be a barrier for many borrowers, …
Oct 28
Housing’s Big Game Changer: Marriage Delays Marriage and real estate often go hand-in-hand. But a drastic decline in the number of married young adults is emerging as “one of the biggest game changers in the housing industry,” according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. The share of 25 to 29 year olds who are …
Oct 27
Mortgage Rates Haven’t Been This Low Since 2013 The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage took another dip this week, staying below the 4 percent threshold and keeping borrowing costs at the lowest rate in more than a year. It marks the fifth consecutive week that mortgage rates decreased. Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage …
Oct 24
Housing Is Missing 700K in Sales A drop in single-family home sales – both new-homes and existing-homes – over the past few years equates to a real estate market that is at least 700,000 shy in annual home sales, according to estimates by David Crowe, the chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. …
Oct 23
Buyers Aren’t Budging for Low Rates Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest level in nearly 18 months, while mortgage applications for home purchases have fallen 5 percent week-to-week and have dropped about 9 percent from year-ago levels, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. The national average on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.10 percent …
Oct 22
Banks Betting Big on Apartment Projects Lenders dished out $172.5 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units in 2013 — a multifamily lending record, according to a new Mortgage Bankers Association report. It’s an 18 percent gain over 2012 levels, and so far, lending for apartments this year looks likely …
Oct 21
The Commercial Market’s Hot Sector In the U.S. commercial market, analysts are pointing to the sizzling warehouse sector as the industry to watch. Robust leasing for warehouses the last few quarters have prompted developers to scour the nation looking for new sites to accommodate the growth in warehouse demand. The need is growing: Many markets …
