Demand for purchase loans picks up for the 4th straight week as mortgage rates continue to retreat from 2023 highs, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association survey on WednesdayHomebuyer demand for purchase loans picked up for the fourth week in a row last week as mortgage rates continued to retreat from 2023 highs, according to a survey of lenders by the Mortgage Bankers Association released Wednesday.The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications S
The cost difference between owning a home and renting an apartment has reached its widest gap in more than 15 years as home prices rise and interest rates on home loans soar, according to a recent industry analysis.On average, owning a home costs $1,176 more per month than renting from a professionally managed apartment complex, according to an analysis published this month from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). That's th
Nineteen cities out of 20 tracked by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Schiller Index posted monthly declines in January, with the biggest decreases seen in San Francisco, Seattle and San DiegoU.S. home prices cooled in January, marking the seventh-consecutive month of declines, according to new data released Tuesday.The U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, tabulated by S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller, reveals a 0.5 percent month-over-
Rates below 6.5% are lifting home purchase demand at the start of the spring homebuying season.Mortgage rates continued to slide this week, even after recent bank failures failed to stop the Federal Reserve from hiking its benchmark interest rate for the ninth consecutive time. Mortgage rates are following the downward trend of 10-year Treasury yields, which is helping to lift homebuying demand. While the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42
Prices fell in February for the first time in 131 months, which could bring more buyers to the market just in time for spring, according to NAR’s latest housing report.Existing-home sales ended a yearlong decline in February, posting gains for the first time in 12 months, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Tuesday. Existing-home sales increased 14.5% month over month—which marked the largest monthly gain since July 2020—reachin
The real estate industry got 2 kernels of good news in the latest jobs numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics The latest jobs data contains a couple kernels of good news for the real estate industry, pointing to less pressure on mortgage rates and an eventual boost in home demand.For one thing, payrolls in real estate continue to come in stronger than in the U.S. at large, with 16,300 new jobs added on a seasonally adj
After dropping to a 28-year low the previous week, mortgage demand recovered slightly, even though interest rates marched higher.Total mortgage application volume rose 7.4% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index.This happened even as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) increased to 6.79% from 6.71%, with points
Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey shows Americans were feeling less secure about keeping their jobs in February, and nearly 8 in 10 think it's a bad time to buy a home Americans are feeling less secure about keeping their jobs, and nearly eight in 10 think it’s a bad time to buy a home — sentiments that don’t bode well for the spring homebuying season, according to a monthly survey by Fannie Mae.After three consecutive months of improvem
AUSTIN, Texas — Real estate developer Douglas Gilliland believes the future of housing lies underground.Amid the unseasonal heat of late February — as neighborhoods across the state hummed with the sound of condenser units struggling to cool homes — the Whisper Valley community Gilliland is developing was all but silent.That’s because the houses he is building in the new master-planned community, which rises from the Texas prairie half an
Could slowly climbing borrowing costs hamper the upcoming spring homebuying season?Strong economic data and stubbornly high inflation pushed mortgage rates up for the fourth consecutive week, giving buyers whiplash after weeks of declines prior. The 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 6.65% this week, according to Freddie Mac. “Higher mortgage rates have a direct impact on borrowing costs, hurting affordability,” says Nadia Evangelou, senior eco
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