Mortgage applications set a record for the third consecutive week as lower rates drew out more refinancers and home buyers, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted application index.Total mortgage application volume rose 1.6 percent last week compared to the previous week, and applications are now 1.8 percent higher than a year ago, according to the MBA. Many of those gains have come from refinancers, but more p
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday after its March meeting that it will leave its short-term interest rates unchanged and also signaled that it likely will not raise rates for the remainder of the year. This marks a sudden change to what had been five consecutive quarters of rate increases. Not only that, the Fed also did not rule out the possibility of a future rate cut.The Fed’s key benchmark rate is now in the range of 2.25 to 2.5 perce
Different age demographics are having a significant impact on reshaping housing. Millennials—who’ve faced delays into homeownership from student debt and high prices—are finally entering homeownership and increasingly forgoing the starter homes in favor of more expensive properties. Baby boomers, on the other hand, are showing an unwillingness to downsize in their retirement years and are holding on to larger houses well into their empty ne
A growing number of Americans believe now is a good time to purchase a home as the real estate market heads into what is traditionally its busiest season of the year. In the first quarter of 2019, 37 percent of consumers said they “strongly believe” that now is a good time to buy, up from 34 percent in the last quarter of 2018, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest Housing Opportunities and Market Experience Surve
How do the 50 biggest metros stack up for first-time home buyers? A new study from Bankrate.com, a personal finance website, ranked the largest metros in the U.S. based on factors such as affordability, culture, job market, and safety.Pittsburgh landed at the top of this year’s list, setting itself apart for its affordability and safety. “This study sheds a light on places that maybe most younger buyers or new families aren’t considering,
More potential home shoppers may be getting spooked by recent news headlines about the housing market, and they may be making them skittish. Sixty-two percent of surveyed home builders say “negative media reports” have made it problematic for them in attracting buyers this year, among the top concerns they identified to attract buyers, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.Other is
Investors are still finding the single-family rental market a lucrative business. The average annual gross rental yield for a single-family home (that is, the annualized gross rent income divided by the median purchase price) was 8.8 percent in the first quarter of 2019, up from 8.7 percent a year prior, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q1 2019 Single-Family Rental Market report, analyzing 432 counties with populations of at least 100,000.“
Home sellers expecting the quickest sales may want to make sure the house is in tip-top shape for showings because a big week in the housing market is quickly coming. The best week to put a home on the market is March 31 to April 6, according to a new analysis from realtor.com®. Researchers analyzed the 50 largest real estate markets in the nation over the past three years to determine the best week to sell.During the week of March 31 to April 6
Home builders are lowering their prices to appeal to a growing number of home shoppers. In January, 66 percent of new single-family homes were priced between $200,000 and $400,000, compared with 22 percent of homes that were in the $400,000 to $750,000 range, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. A year ago, 51 percent of homes sold in the $200,000 to $400,000 range, while 29 percent sold in the $400,000 to $750,000 price points.
Americans who are self-employed and freelance or contract workers have long had to struggle to qualify for a mortgage compared with those with W-2 forms or pay stubs that lenders can use to verify their incomes. For the self-employed, the mortgage process can be time-consuming and cumbersome. Lenders often require extra paperwork, such as full documentation of tax returns from the last couple of years (not just the electronic copy submitted to th
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