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Inventory Shortage Nullifies Benefits of Low Mortgage Rates

Redfin believes that all the good work done by low mortgage rates has been nullified by inventory shortage. Low mortgage rates had increased affordability but lack of homes has fueled up prices.  "Low mortgage rates are motivating many people to purchase a home, particularly those who want more space to work from home but because there hasn’t been an increase in the number of homes for sale since rates started dropping with the onset of the pandemic, many buyers end up competing for the same homes, driving up prices,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s…continue reading →

Millennials Continue to be in High Purchasing Spirits

Ellie May reveals that the millennials have shown robust spirits in July, quite in line with their purchasing highs of May and June. Buoyed by sub-3% mortgage rates, millennials (those between 21 and 40) locked in 3.256% as the average 30-year rate. On the year-over-year chart, the rate stood at 4.186%, same time in 2019. In terms of origination purpose for loans, their purchase column showed 61%, which is higher than 56% posted in June but a lot lesser than 76% on the year-over-year chart. Contrarily, refinancing’s 38% is lower than June’s 43%…continue reading →

Forbearance Plateaus after a 10-Week Long Fall

The coronavirus-related forborne rate of mortgages plateaued between Aug. 17 and Aug. 23, says the Mortgage Bankers Association. On the heels of a 10-week long fall, the rate finally held at 7.2% for the above mentioned week. In figures, this is equivalent to 3.6 million mortgages. Over the same period, the forborne rate of mortgages fell to 7.41% from 7.43% for the independent mortgage servicers.   Mike Fratantoni, Senior VP and Chief Economist for MBA, issued in a press release that "The share of loans in forbearance was unchanged, as the decline in the share…continue reading →

Demand-Supply Rift Causes Bay Area Home Prices to Soar

Lack of housing inventory and buyer rush have created a demand-supply rift, resulting in high median prices for the Bay Area. For single homes, the Bay area median prices have risen by 8.6% (sitting at $950,000) in July, piggybacking on price surge in Contra Costa and San Mateo.  The performance is largely due to the first home buyers sitting out the pandemic and luxury buyers grabbing the high-price deals. Freddie Mac believes that the Bay Area is among the top housing markets in the country and its notable performance can be put down…continue reading →

Forborne Mortgages Fall Below 4 Million

Not since April end had mortgage forbearance dipped below 4 million. Well, it did just that for the week ending Aug 10, reports Black Knight. On August 3, the mortgage forbearance number was 1,000 over 4 million. This week, it has come down to 3.93 million, representing a fall of 71,000. Forborne conforming mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac came down by 27,000. It sat at 1.515 million on Aug 10. The drop corresponds to 1.8%. FHA and VA forbearance mortgages saw a dip of roughly 8,000.  According to Black Knight,…continue reading →

Foreclosures Fall, Starts Pick up in a Few States

The Coronavirus-related moratorium has resulted in mortgage foreclosure activity posting an 83% deficit over its performance a year ago, says Attom Data Solutions. Compared to June, the numbers reveal a 4% decline. Over the first 6 months of the current year, the mortgage foreclosure activity has been 44% lesser than the same time last year. Compared to the same duration in 2018, the fall is 54%. In numbers, what this says is that one out of every 15,337 properties in America has filed for foreclosure in 2020. This number was one in every…continue reading →

Mortgage Application Volumes Rise Again

Riding on the back of continuing low interest rates, mortgage application volumes saw a spurt after a two-week fall, reports Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey reveals that there has been a hike of 6.2% in mortgage application volumes over a week and a 37.1% rise, when compared on the year-to-year chart. The refinance index has leapt up most with 9.1% over the week, which incidentally is its best show since April. On the year-to-year chart, it has posted a 46.7% leap. The purchase index didn’t do anything phenomenal over…continue reading →

Mortgage Rates Slip Again after Making Symbolic Recovery

Having slipped below 3% for the first time in retrievable memory, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had made a symbolic return to 3.01% before slipping once again to 2.99% (for the week ending July 30). Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist believes that "It's Groundhog Day in the mortgage market as rates continue to remain near historic lows, driving purchase demand over 20% above a year ago," He further stated in a press release that "Real estate is one of the bright spots in the economy, with strong demand and modest slowdown in home…continue reading →

Fannie Mae Touches Refinancing Highs in Q2

Fannie Mae has posted its best refinancing figures in the last 17 years and its Q2 earnings have put in shade its Q1 earnings, demonstrating that it is having a decent time despite the setback faced by the broader economy. ‘Fannie’ believes that its performance can be put down to spiked mortgage purchase activity as well as its ability to tackle credit-related expenses.  Fannie Mae’s CEO Hugh Frater stated in a conference call that "Our performance during this period benefited from strong underwriting practices that we've had in place for the last 10…continue reading →

Pending Home Sales Index Posts Surprising Numbers

Riding on the declining mortgage rates, pending home sales have come around really well, beating all expectations. This further asserts that the housing market is the only silver lining in the Coronavirus-affected economy.  The National Association of Realtors  (NAR) has an index that puts the contract signings into perspective. According to it, the signings to buy previously owned houses have shot up 16.6% once again, building on the excellent show in May (44.3% rise). Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for NAR is surprised. In his statement, he suggested, “It is quite surprising and…continue reading →