Homebuyers with good credit scores will soon encounter a costly surprise: a new federal rule forcing them to pay higher mortgage rates and fees to subsidize people with riskier credit ratings who are also in the market to buy houses.
The housing environment is so unaffordable that certain banks lost money for each mortgage they financed last year — the first time that’s happened, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes increased for a third straight month in February, raising cautious optimism that the housing market slump could be bottoming out.
Existing home sales in February jumped 14.5% to an annualized rate of 4.58 million, the largest monthly percentage increase since July 2020 and ending a 12-month slide, data from the National Association of Realtors out Tuesday showed.
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 6.57% on Monday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That’s down from a rate of 6.76% on Friday and a recent high of 7.05% last Wednesday.
Existing home sales had fallen for a record 11 straight months ahead of this morning’s print for January, which consensus expected to reveal a 2% MoM rebound. However, existin home sales for January actually tumbled 0.7% MoM (well below the 2.0% jump expected) and the record 12th straight monthly decline with December’s 1.5% decline actually revised even worse to -2.2% MoM…
Home prices are going up across the country — in aggregate. Looking at individual markets, however, some are showing prices have fallen from a year ago.
Home prices are going up across the country — in aggregate. Looking at individual markets, however, some are showing prices have fallen from a year ago.
Home flippers who pounced on recent drops in home prices now face some major hurdles — and potentially major losses.
Home sales declined for the ninth straight month in October, as higher interest rates and surging inflation kept buyers on the sidelines. Sales of previously owned homes dropped 5.9% from September to October, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is the slowest pace since December 2011, with the exception of a very brief drop at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.