Eye On Housing
Following 4 consecutive monthly increases, results from the Mortgage Interest Rate Survey (MIRS) released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indicate that mortgage rates fell in March 2017*. Over the month, contract rates on mortgages used to purchase single-family newly constructed homes declined by 6 basis points to 4.12 percent. Despite the decline, rates remain above the low of 3.54 percent in… Read More ›
A recent NAHB study tracks trends in loans for new construction obligated under the USDA Single-family programs, the Section 502 Direct Loan Program and the Section 502 Guaranteed Loan Program. The report finds that, similar to the Federal Housing Administration’s single-family loan program, the USDA programs supported homeownership at a time when obtaining a conventional loan became increasingly difficult. However,… Read More ›
Smaller banks, those with assets of less than $10 billion, hold the majority of residential construction loans, according to NAHB analysis of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) data. Unlike mortgages, a larger proportion of residential construction loans at FDIC-insured institutions are held by banks with assets between $100 million and $10 billion. In addition, a greater proportion of mid-sized banks… Read More ›
Information provided by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indicates that the loan amount relative to the purchase price of the home, leverage or the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, rose in 2016 to 79.2 percent, 140 basis points above the rate in 2015, 77.8 percent*/**. The increase over 2016 largely reflected growth in the LTV ratio on purchases of previously occupied… Read More ›
Results from the Mortgage Interest Rate Survey (MIRS) administered by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indicate that mortgage rates rose in February 2017*. Over the month, contract rates on mortgages used to purchase single-family newly constructed homes increased by 16 basis points to 4.18 percent. Since reaching a low of 3.54 percent in October 2016, contract rates reported by the… Read More ›
According to the Federal Reserve Board’s fourth quarter of 2016 release of its Financial Accounts of the United States report, household holdings of real estate, measured on a not seasonally adjusted basis, totaled $23.102 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2016, $1.535 trillion higher than its level in the fourth quarter of 2015. Home mortgage debt outstanding, $9.754 trillion in… Read More ›
The total amount of consumer credit outstanding rose in January 2017 reflecting growth in non-revolving credit, auto loans and student loans. Meanwhile, the outstanding amount of revolving credit, largely composed of credit cards, shrank. According to the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Credit release, the total outstanding amount of consumer credit climbed by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.8 percent in… Read More ›
Results from a survey administered by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indicate that mortgage rates rose in January 2017*. Over the month, contract rates on mortgages used to purchase single-family newly constructed homes increased by 24 basis points to 4.02 percent. Although the monthly change reported by FHFA contrasted with a report by Freddie Mac, the results of the… Read More ›
Builders and developers continue to report easing credit conditions for acquisition, development, and construction (AD&C) loans according to NAHB’s survey on AD&C Financing. However, the pace of easing slowed somewhat from the second quarter. In the 4th quarter of 2016, the overall net tightening index based on the AD&C survey was -7.3. The 4th quarter reading indicates slightly less easing… Read More ›
Serious delinquency rates on 1-4 family mortgages rose over the 4th quarter of 2016 from the previous quarter. According to the National Delinquency Survey (NDS) released by the Mortgage Bankers’ Association (MBA), the proportion of mortgages seriously delinquent, those that are 90 or more days delinquent or starting the foreclosure process, rose 17 basis points to 3.13 percent. Despite the… Read More ›