Overall housing starts clocked in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,382,000, 1.4% below levels recorded in November, according to new data released Thursday by the US Census Bureau Housing starts, permits and completions all posted declines in December with increased production of single-family homes the lone bright spot for the month, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.Housing star
Mortgage applications rose 27.9% in the latest week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said As mortgage rates dropped across the board, demand for both purchases and refinancing increased. That pushed the market composite index up, a measure of mortgage application volume, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday. The market index rose to 238.7 for the week ending Jan. 13, up 27.9% from a week earlier. A year ago, the index st
After 2 months of declines, mortgage rates are now at their lowest level since September with potential to spur spring homebuying: MBA economist Two months of declining mortgage rates have finally got the attention of homebuyers, with demand for purchase loans jumping 25 percent last week as rates continued to descend toward 6 percent, according to a weekly survey of lenders by the Mortgage Bankers Association.“Mortgage application activity reb
Rents jumped nationwide over the past year, but these big U.S. cities remain comparatively affordable for apartment dwellers.Not that it's easy. The housing market might be cooling off a bit these days, but average home prices are still substantially higher than they were a year ago. Rents have risen too, and only at a slightly slower pace. Put it all together and the perennial question of renting vs. buying(opens in new tab) is as pressi
Mortgage rates are likely to hover in the 6% to 7% range as market volatility continues, economist says Mortgage rates dropped back down again last week and even though it was slight, the decrease had an impact on homebuyer demand, according to Freddie Mac.The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.33% for the week ending Jan. 12, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. This was a decrease from the p
A dip below 6% has become a distinct possibility, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.Inflation has been dropping over the past six months, and consumers can expect mortgage rates to soon follow, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage could even drop below 6%, Yun adds. That would be welcome news to home buyers who were shell-shocked by the surge in rates above 7% this fall
After rising at the end of the year, mortgage rates dropped sharply last week. That drove demand from current homeowners hoping to save on their monthly payments, but it did little to excite potential homebuyers.As a result, total mortgage application volume rose just 1.2% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate
The once-frantic pace of consumer price growth has been slowing for months, which may bode well for buyers' budgets — and financing, according to new data from Bureau of Labor StatisticsInflation continued to decelerate from its once-worrying heights to close the year, with prices actually dropping slightly in December.Consumer price growth cooled to a 6.5 percent annual increase last month, down from the 9.1 percent year-over-year gr
While the nation continues moving away from the pandemic-era lows, it's doing so very slowly and well below rates seen during the Great RecessionForeclosure activity more than doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year but remained well below historical norms, according to Attom, a provider of information on virtually all properties nationwide.The run-up in prices during the COVID-19 housing market gave borrowers so much equity that
Mortgage rates are still twice what they were a year ago, but home prices have been falling since June, and that’s finally making consumers feel better about what had been an overheated, highly competitive housing market.A monthly housing sentiment index from Fannie Mae showed sentiment improving from November to December. The index is still lower than it was a year ago and just slightly off its record low set in October and November.The share
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