Eye On Housing
The Federal Reserve has been supporting the housing market during the virus crisis, the 2020 recession, and the subsequent, ongoing recovery via asset-backed purchases (among other tools), including $40 billion a month of mortgage-backed security (MBS) purchases. These MBS purchases have held interest rates lower than they otherwise would have been. Today, the Fed moved closer to announcing a tapering… Read More ›
As tight inventory continued to push up prices, existing home sales fell in August but remain above pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Though the median existing home prices has increased 34% since January 2020, housing demand remains strong thanks to low mortgage rates and buyers are waiting for more inventory. Total existing home sales, including… Read More ›
In the second quarter of 2021, interest rates on three of the four categories of loans tracked in NAHB’s Survey on Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) Financing continued the downward trend that has prevailed since the third quarter of last year. The average effective rate (based on rate of return to the lender over the assumed life of the loan… Read More ›
Builders and developers responding to NAHB’s Survey on Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) Financing continued to report declining interest rates in the first quarter of 2021. The average effective rate (based on rate of return to the lender over the assumed life of the loan taking both the contract interest rate and initial fee into account) decreased from 7.27 to… Read More ›
While home buyers were benefitting from low mortgage rates at the end of 2020, builders and developers were also experiencing lower interest rates and improved credit conditions, according to NAHB’s survey on financing for Acquisition, Development and Construction (AD&C). The net tightening index derived from the NAHB survey was -17.0 in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to -3.3 in… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that conventional loans financed the most new home sales in a fourth quarter since 2006 (see red bars in the chart below). However, the share of sales backed by conventional loans in the fourth quarter was down 2.2 percentage points (quarter-over-quarter)… Read More ›
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Weekly Application Survey shows that, for the week ending November 27, 2020, mortgage application activity decreased by 0.6% from the prior week on a seasonally adjusted basis, as indicated by its Market Composite Index. One of its two constituent indexes, the Purchasing Index, increased by 9% from the previous week while the other, the… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve’s latest Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices addresses changes in the standards and terms on, and demand for, bank loans to businesses and households. The lending data show a tightening of standards across all purposes , but sufficient demand-strength for gains in residential real estate. For the third quarter, significant net shares of banks… Read More ›
While lenders continued to report tightening in the third quarter, builders and developers responding to NAHB’s survey on financing for Acquisition, Development and Construction (AD&C) reported a near-neutral change in credit availability. The net tightening index derived from the NAHB survey was -3.3 in the third quarter of 2020, compared to 12.0 in the second quarter. The index is constructed… Read More ›
The last weeks in August finished with subdued mortgage activity, per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Weekly Application Survey. However, demand remains strong: Overall mortgage activity was 35% higher than what it was the same week one year ago. For the week ending August 28, 2020, the Market Composite Index decreased 2% from one week prior on a seasonally adjusted… Read More ›