Existing home sales exploded up a massive 20.9 percent to 6.54 million in September 2020 based on seasonally adjusted annualized sales (SAAR) vs one year ago as reported by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). This was the greatest rate of sales seen since May 2006 on a SAAR. Raw unadjusted sales rocketed up 24.7 …Read more
The increased amount of time we are spending at home makes the residence more intrinsically valuable than at any time in people’s lives today. Coupled with record-low interest rates, new and existing home sales and refinance lending volumes continue to grow – with total residential lending now forecast by Fannie Mae to hit a record …Read more
Talk to almost any homebuyer today and ask the top hurdles facing them, it is all but guaranteed that affordability hits at or near top of their list of challenges. A strong headwind for homebuyers in the past 12-months was the 11.4 percent jump in the median sales price of existing homes when comparing August …Read more
Record-low interest rates continue to drive home sales and refinance lending volumes – perhaps two of the brightest spots of the U.S. economy today. Following is a summary of the September 2020 forecasts from Fannie Mae and the MBA for interest rates, existing and new-home sales and residential lending. Freddie Mac forecasts these also, but …Read more
As the pandemic progresses, it appears more evident that the housing sector is providing buoyancy to the U.S. economy as record low interest rates drive housing demand and reduce monthly payments for millions of households able to refinance their home mortgages. Following is a summary of the latest August 2020 forecasts from Fannie Mae and …Read more
Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) hit an all-time record low for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate residential mortgage loans, sinking to 3.07 percent for the week of July 3rd, 2020, down from 3.75 percent one-year ago. That would have reduced the month principal and interest payment on a $200,000 loan from $926.24 (3.75 percent) …Read more
Forecasting is difficult, especially the future, is a small bit of economist humor that embodies more truth than may be appreciated. While ongoing trends are easy to forecast by just continuing the line or general direction of sales-interest rates-prices-jobs or any other economic factor, the difficulty arises in anticipating or predicting the events(s) that alter …Read more
Residential interest rates have surprised almost everyone dropping to an almost three-year low and are driving an unanticipated refinance boom. Expected refinance lending volume for 2019 commenced the year at $404.0 billion and has rocketed to $715.3 billion based on the latest forecasts from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association. The impact …Read more
As the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee prepares to meet today, interest rates and where they are likely going are making headlines. Interest rates make up part of the throttle linkage for residential lending. Shown in the table is the latest forecast for 30-year conventional mortgage rates as reported by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and …Read more
For most people the housing question is either to rent or buy. Buying is not for everyone, however. It has material transactions costs, typically requires a down payment, pre-requisite for relatively good credit and an income net of existing debt service to pay the monthly principle and interest along with property taxes, insurance, homeowner or …Read more