Eye On Housing
Since its previous week’s reading, which also marked a record low in the series, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 30-year fixed-rate mortgage contract rate edged up by 3 basis points to 3.43%. The Market Composite Index, measuring mortgage loan application volume for purchases and refinancings, increased by 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week prior. The MBA cites the… Read More ›
After hitting 3-year high in February, pending home sales plunged sharply to its lowest level in March since May 2011, as coronavirus pandemic shut down most economic activity. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI sank 20.8% from 111.4 in February to 88.2… Read More ›
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Weekly Application Survey shows a 15.3% seasonally adjusted rise in loan application volume from the previous week. The Refinance index increased 25.5% from the previous week and was 168% higher than it was the same week one year ago. The Purchase Index decreased 10.8% from one week earlier. The MBA notes that buyer and seller… Read More ›
Following an 5.3% increase in January, pending home sales continued to trend higher in February, supported by low mortgage rates. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI grew 2.4% from 108.9 in January to 111.5 in February, the highest reading in three years…. Read More ›
Supported by historically low interest rates and rising demand, existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), surged to 13-year high in February after a slight decline in January. Unfortunately, this will mark the high water mark for some time due to virus concerns. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 6.5%… Read More ›
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey shows a weekly increase in the Market Composite Index by 15.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The Refinance Index soared 26.0% from the previous week and the Purchase index decreased 2.7%. Looking at the Refinance series since its inception, the latest 10-week sprint of over 160% is the largest since January 2009 when… Read More ›
Following a 4.3% slump in December, pending home sales saw a strong monthly gain in January, supported by solid job growth and low mortgage rates. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI grew 5.2% from 103.4 in December to 108.8 in January, the… Read More ›
After hitting a near two-year high in December, existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), dropped in January amid tight inventory and rising prices. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million in January. However, on a year-over-year basis, sales were 9.6%… Read More ›
Last Friday’s Eye on Housing blog post announced the release of NAHB’s “priced out” estimates for 2020, showing that—if the median new home price goes up by $1,000—it prices 158,857 U.S. households out of the market, in the sense that they would qualify for a standard mortgage to purchase the home before the price increase, but not afterward. The same… Read More ›
Pending home sales unexpectedly dropped in December as housing shortage has offset the benefit of lower mortgage rates. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI fell 4.9% from 108.5 in November to 103.2 in December, the lowest reading since March 2019. However, sales… Read More ›