Mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac devotes its entire November Insight report to exploring the warning signs from last decade’s housing price bubble and weighs it against the current housing market. Economists, however, are quick to say today’s market is not currently overheating.“The evidence indicates there currently is no house price bubble in the U.S., despite the rapid increase of house prices over the last five years,” says Sean B
Mortgage rates were down across the board this week, lowering borrowing costs for potential home buyers and refinancers.“After holding steady last week, rates dipped slightly this week,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 10-year Treasury yield fell roughly 7 basis points, while the 30-year mortgage rate dropped 4 basis points to 3.90 percent.”Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates f
Consumers are less satisfied with mortgage lenders this year, with complaints surfacing of a slow purchase process even though more are using digital mortgage applications that were touted as being faster and easier, according to J.D. Power’s 2017 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Study. The study is based on responses from more than 5,800 customers who originated a new loan or refinanced within the past year. Still, some mortgage lenders—li
Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index receded from its all-time high set last month, as Americans showed less confidence about buying and selling in October. But the dip may be seasonal, according to Fannie Mae’s chief economist.The index, which measures consumers’ perceptions on the housing market, showed an 8 percentage point decrease month over month on the net share of respondents who said now is a good time to sell; it decreased 6
Senate Republicans released their version of a tax reform bill Thursday, and although it differs from the House’s plan, it calls for the elimination of the deductions for property taxes and other state and local taxes.“While we are still reviewing the outlines of this proposal, we are watching closely for changes to current law that might leave middle-class homeowners—and homeownership broadly—in a worse place than it is today,” NAR Pre
More households are feeling richer across the country. But in a handful of cities, residents are seeing incomes skyrocket.SmartAsset, a personal finance site, evaluated the cities where incomes are growing the fastest by analyzing median household income data from 2015 and 2016.Tech hubs have seen the biggest jumps in incomes. Five of SmartAsset’s top 10 cities with the fastest-growing incomes are in tech hub areas: Oakland, Calif.; Raleigh, N
Homes are actually more affordable now than they were in the late 1990s, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor Report by Black Knight Inc., a mortgage data and performance information provider.Interest rates have plunged by 40 basis points over the past six months. However, the bulk of the potential savings is offset by the accelerating rate of home price appreciation across the country.“Rising home prices continue to offset the majority of
Interest rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped last week, but it wasn’t enough to entice more refinancers and potential buyers to take out loans.The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday that total loan volume—which includes refinancings and home purchases—was unchanged last week compared to the previous week.Typically refinance applications perk up when interest rates drop, but the MBA reported the refi market actu
A shortage of homes for sale is now affecting the upper tier of the housing market too and prompting prices to escalate even more. The top 5 percent of homes by price sold in the third quarter saw their prices rise 4.9 percent compared to a year ago, according to a new report by Redfin, a real estate brokerage.The higher prices are due to a sharp decrease in the number of listings in the luxury sector, according to the report. The number of homes
Prices continue to accelerate at record paces in a few select markets, and investors and homeowners are seeing their equity stake surge.Realtor.com®’s research team analyzed 300 of the nation’s largest metros between September 2014 and September 2017 to find which markets have seen the largest increases in median list prices over that period. Researchers looked at the percentage change—not total dollar uptick—over one-, three-, and five-
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