Archive for January 2021
This is the best time of year to get a mortgage
A new study shows that home buyers can save a lot of money by timing their mortgage application right. If you’re playing the waiting game with mortgage rates, you may not want to wait much longer. A new study from Haus, the home-finance startup created by Uber UBER, +5.36% co-founder Garrett Camp, examined what role seasonality, loan size, credit…
Read MoreExisting Home Sales Finish 2020 at Highest Levels Since 2006
Existing home sales finished 2020 with the strongest performance in 14 years, the National Association of Realtors reported on Friday. The report said total existing home sales increased 0.7% from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.76 million in December. Sales in total rose year-over-year, up 22.2% from a year ago. Single-family home sales rose…
Read MoreWhat will Joe Biden do to mortgage rates? See what experts say
When that big change happens at the White House this Wednesday, on Inauguration Day, what will it mean for America’s other houses — and the mortgage rates used to finance them? As the country entered 2020, 30-year fixed-rate home loans were averaging 3.72%. Since then, mortgage rates hit historic lows more than a dozen times,…
Read MoreDecember New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Up 42% From Year Ago
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Builder Application Survey data for December shows mortgage applications for new home purchases edged up by just 0.2 percent from November but improved by 42.2 percent from a year ago. The survey does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns. By product type, conventional loans composed 73.3 percent of loan…
Read MoreMortgage refinance demand spikes 20% as borrowers fear missing out on record-low rates
After setting more than a dozen record lows last year, mortgage rates began 2021 on an upward climb, and that lit a fire under borrowers, fearing they might miss the last of the lowest rates. Mortgage applications to refinance a home loan spiked 20% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage…
Read MoreVeros: Home Prices Set to Increase Nearly 6% in 2021 as Nation Emerges From Pandemic
Veros Real Estate Solutions, Santa Ana, Calif., released its Q4-2020 VeroFORECAST data, projecting home price appreciation will increase significantly during the next 12 months in the 100 most-populated markets. The overall average forecast is 5.9% by Q4 2021, an additional increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to 5% just a quarter ago. This level of change from one…
Read MoreCould 2% define mortgage rates for the next decade? Mortgage rates have fallen from 12% in the 1980s
The end of 2020 won’t necessarily mean saying goodbye to the favorable 2% mortgage rates that hit historically low levels 16 times over the past 12 months. In fact, most industry observers believe rates will remain at the same low levels in 2021 as the Federal Reserve uses low rates as a weapon to combat the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This…
Read MoreBidding Wars Strong for 7th Straight Month; Homes Selling at Fastest Pace in 8 Years
The national median home price rose 14% year over year to $335,519 in November, according to Redfin, Seattle. And in many housing market hotspots, bidding wars persist for more than half of home sales. The Redfin report (https://www.redfin.com/news/november-housing-market-update-14-pct/) said the huge jump in home prices marked the second-largest annual increase since at least 2012, bested…
Read MoreGenworth: Largest First-Time Homebuyer Purchase Market in 20 Years
Historically low interest rates, change in home preferences, flexible work schedules and increased housing affordability triggered substantial rebound in first-time homebuyer market in the third quarter, said Genworth Mortgage Insurance, Richmond, Va. The company’s quarterly First-Time Homebuyer Market Report (https://miblog.genworth.com/first-time-homebuyer-market-report) also said private mortgage insurance financed more first-time homebuyers than any other low-down payment mortgage…
Read MoreRefinance demand jumps 105% annually, as mortgage rates set 15th record low of 2020
Mortgage rates set yet another record low last week — the 15th this year and the second record in as many weeks. The drop, however, did not spark any significant change in weekly mortgage applications, but demand is substantially stronger than it was a year ago. Total mortgage application volume increased 1.1% week-to-week according to…
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