The housing market is becoming more balanced and it’s putting home buyers in better position. Buyers are benefiting from a rising number of homes for sale, which has caused home price increases – and the overall market – to slow. Perhaps that’s why sales of previously owned homes saw a 2 percent month-over-month increase in July. According to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors, sales were up in the Northeast, South, and West, while falling 1.1 percent in the Midwest. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief … [Read more...]

Demand for loans to buy homes continues to outpace last year’s level, according to new numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s weekly applications survey found purchase application demand was 23 percent higher than year before levels last week, despite only increasing 0.1 percent from the week before. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says demand from buyers has persisted, despite economic and affordability challenges. “Purchase applications were little changed over the … [Read more...]

A few years back, it wasn’t unusual for an attractive home to be listed for sale on a Thursday and sold before the end of the weekend. The market was frenetic and home shoppers didn’t have much time to deliberate. Buyers had to move fast if they hoped to get an offer submitted before the seller had multiple competing offers already in hand. These days, the market has slowed down. In fact, according to one recent analysis, listings sold in July were on the market an average of 24 days. That’s six days longer than … [Read more...]

Each month, the National Association of Home Builders takes a survey of builders and scores their answers on a scale where any number above 50 means more builders view conditions as good than poor. Flat now for several months, the NAHB’s Housing Market showed little change in August, with builder confidence down one point from July to 32. Since May, the index has been holding between 32 and 34. Buddy Hughes, NAHB’s chairman, says buyers and builders are both waiting for change. “Affordability continues to be the … [Read more...]

A new study from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website shows why homeowners benefit from living in an area with good schools. The study looked at the 50 most popular school districts by metro area and found that, in more than half of them, median list prices averaged $1.21 million, which is 135 percent higher than in surrounding metros. That’s a big benefit. Danielle Hale, the website’s chief economist, says schools have always been a factor for buyers. “School quality has long been a driver of … [Read more...]

A prospective borrower’s chances of being approved for a loan aren’t fixed. There are times when lending standards are looser and getting a loan is easier. There are also times when there are fewer available loan programs and tighter conditions mean borrowers will need to be more financially secure if they hope to get approved. In other words, mortgage credit availability matters. That’s why the Mortgage Bankers Association tracks it each month with its Mortgage Credit Availability Index. In July, the index rose … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week from the week before. Rates were down across most loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with conforming balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says the decline pushed refinance activity to a four-month high. “The 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined … last week, which … [Read more...]

Just because the vast majority of us say we’d like to be homeowners doesn’t mean we necessarily understand what it takes to get there. The buying process can be stressful – and the challenges don’t end once you’ve closed and have keys to your new place. Just ask recent first-time buyers. According to a new survey, first-time home buyers say they found the process stressful, even more so than finding a job or planning a wedding. They also reported challenges. Among them, almost half said understanding the full scope … [Read more...]

Saving enough money to buy a house has always been a challenge. These days, coming up with a substantial down payment can seem almost impossible – especially for first-time buyers who don’t have the benefit of home-sale proceeds to help fund their purchase. Fortunately, though, buyers don’t have to come up with a full 20-percent down payment in order to qualify for a mortgage and purchase a house. Home buyers with lower down payments can still buy with the help of private mortgage insurance. What is PMI? Well, it’s … [Read more...]

Each month, Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey asks Americans how they feel about the housing market, economy, and their personal financial situation. The survey is a good gauge of home buying sentiment and tracks whether participants think it’s a good time to buy or sell a home, whether they think mortgage rates and prices will go up or down, whether they worry about losing their job, and whether they believe their personal finances will improve or not over the next year. According to the most recent results, … [Read more...]