Mortgage applications have been on the rise in the last few weeks, and a housing report from the National Association of REALTORS® on Wednesday finally saw that translate into higher sales—in a big way. NAR reported that existing-home sales surged to a record pace in June, increasing nearly 21% compared to May.For the ninth consecutive week, mortgage applications posted annual gains, and those increases are widening too. This signals that
Existing-home sales rebounded at a record pace in June, following three consecutive months of sales declines, the National Association of REALTORS® reported on Wednesday. Each of the four major regions of the U.S. posted month-over-month increases in June, with the West posting the largest jump.Total existing-home sales—completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—increased 20.7% from May to a season
Landlords are finding little room to raise rents on single-family homes. Single-family rents increased 1.7% annually in May nationwide, their slowest rate in nearly a decade, according to a new report released by CoreLogic, a real estate research data firm.Single-family rentals comprise 35% of all rental housing in the U.S.Prior to the pandemic in February, rent growth for single-family homes was at its highest pace in four years.“Single-family
Foreclosure filings—including default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions—dropped 44% in the first six months of 2020 from the same time period a year ago. They are also at a record low, despite the global pandemic and skyrocketing unemployment, ATTOM Data Solutions reports in its Midyear 2020 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.A total of 165,530 U.S. properties received a foreclosure filing in the first six months of this year.But
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.98% this week, the lowest rate in Freddie Mac’s records dating back to 1971.“The drop has led to increased home buyer demand and, these low rates have been capitalized into asset prices in support of the financial markets,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “However, the countervailing force for the economy has been the rise in new virus cases which has caused the economic recover
Empty nests no more: Millions of college students returned home as college campuses closed in the spring during the outbreak of COVID-19. And many of those college students say they’ve enjoyed being back home.On average, students said at first they expected to stay at their family’s home for four months, according to a survey of about 1,200 college students conducted by CollegeFinance. But 41% acknowledged they were unsure how long they’d s
Home buyers may face stricter credit score requirements and larger down payment or higher cash reserve requirements if trying to qualify for a supersized mortgage. Lenders reportedly are growing stricter about granting jumbo mortgages, CNBC reports.Jumbo mortgages, also known as “nonconforming loans,” allow buyers to qualify for higher loans to purchase homes, typically in more expensive areas. In many areas, for 2020, the lending cap is $510
As cities locked down while the COVID-19 outbreak began, many housing markets came to a standstill. But it was a short-lived one. As states and cities have begun to reopen, buyers have reemerged in some markets—in some cases growing their footprint from even a year prior.Clever Real Estate recently examined national housing market trends to pinpoint which metro areas have seen the largest rebounds in buyer demand. The service’s Housing Demand
Entire industries are being forced to reconsider their business models in the COVID-19 world. Unemployment has skyrocketed during the pandemic, but some industries are more likely than others to weather the storm and even grow after the pandemic eases.Keeping a pulse on employment is key in real estate, as new job centers can spawn new demand for housing in an area. But real estate itself is among the top five industries cited by MarketWatch as m
More home buyers are applying for loans, and they’re ready to close. Mortgage applications to purchase a home increased 5% last week and are now 33% higher than a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.Record low mortgage rates last week prompted a spike in activity. Home buyer demand has proven strong since mid-May as some states started to reopen after sheltering in place to slow the COVID-19 outbreak. Buyers reemerged
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