Eye On Housing
Rising mortgage rates, high inflation, low existing inventory and elevated home prices contributed to housing affordability falling to its lowest point since the Great Recession in the second quarter of 2022. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), just 42.8% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end… Read More ›
Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending July 1, total mortgage activity decreased, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate reaching 5.8% on average. The latest week’s rate decreased to 5.74%, declining for the second straight week but still above pandemic levels. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 5.4%… Read More ›
Housing affordability in the first quarter of 2022 looks starkly different depending on the interest rate assumed in the calculation. The average mortgage interest rate for the quarter was 3.86%. But by the end of April, it was 5.11%. If the former is used, then housing affordability shows a modest gain in the first three months of the year, driven… Read More ›
Buyers’ expectations for housing affordability continue to sour. In the first quarter of 2022, 81% said they could afford less than half the homes for-sale in their markets – the highest share since before the pandemic. At its lowest point in the 4th quarter of 2020, 63% of buyers expected to afford <50% of the homes available. On the other… Read More ›
Supply-chain bottlenecks that put upward pressure on home prices along with rising interest rates contributed to housing affordability falling to a 10-year low. The likelihood of higher interest rates in the months ahead (as the Federal Reserve moves to tighten interest rates) along with ongoing production challenges threaten to drive housing affordability even lower in 2022. According to the National… Read More ›
An earlier post revealed that 67% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the final quarter of 2021 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. The inability to find a home they could afford once again became the most common reason (41%) these long-time searchers could not buy a home. … Read More ›
The share of prospective buyers actively trying to find a home fell in both the third (57%) and fourth quarters (52%) of 2021, after reaching a series high of 61% in the second quarter of the year. The downward trend demonstrates how falling levels of housing affordability have discouraged a growing share of potential home buyers from actively engaging in… Read More ›
According to the latest Housing Trends Report, home buyers’ affordability expectations deteriorated throughout 2021. By the fourth quarter, the share of buyers who could afford less than half the homes available in their markets was at 76%. That share had risen all year: from 63% in the final quarter of 2020, to 65% in the first quarter of 2021, 71%… Read More ›
Housing affordability held steady at its lowest level in nearly a decade, as higher home prices offset lower mortgage rates to keep the affordability rate flat in the third quarter of 2021. In the months ahead, however, supply-chain disruptions and the prospect of higher interest rates will continue to threaten housing affordability. According to the National Association of Home Builders… Read More ›
An earlier post revealed that 66% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the third quarter of 2021 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. For only the third time in this series history, the top reason these long-time searchers haven’t pulled the trigger is not because they can’t find… Read More ›