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Mortgage Loan Applications Increase As Rates Fall
According to The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell for the third straight week, dropping to 4.76 percent from 4.80 percent the week before. The drop in rates fueled a 6.0...
Young Adults Drive Household Formation To Fastest Rate Since 2007
As the job market recovers, young adults are moving out on their own and creating new households, which has driven the household formation rate to its fastest pace since 2007. Economists and industry experts are predicting the trend will lead to between 750,000 and 1...
Homeowner Vacancy Rate Falls In First Quarter
The number of privately owned, vacated homes fell in the first quarter. The Department of Commerce's Census Bureau reports that the national homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6 during the first three months of 2011, down from 2.7 percent in the previous quarter and...
Housing More Affordable Than Anytime In Past 35 Years
Buyers in today's market can expect to pay about 17 percent of their gross monthly income on their mortgage. The average, since 1975, has been 25 percent and at times, such as the early 1980s, mortgage payments were as much as 45 percent of gross income. Zillow.com...
Pending Home Sales Rise 5.1 Percent
The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index rose 5.1 percent in March, the sixth increase in the past nine months. The Index is a forward-looking indicator that tracks contract signings but not closings. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said...
Average Interest Rate Falls to 4.80 Percent
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.80 percent last week from 4.83 percent the week before. Despite the drop in rates, the Market Composite Index,...
More Desparate Sellers……..
A few days ago I offered information on the Fannie Mae HomePath program. HUD/Fha and Freddie Mac offer similar progams. There are literally hundreds of thousands of homes that are owned by the Government right now and they would love to unload them. I suggest that...
Declining Mortgage Default Rates Help Maintain Recovery
Data through March, released by the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices, shows mortgage defaults fell to 2.33 percent from 2.45 percent in February. It was the fourth consecutive month of declines in mortgage default rates and puts them 41 percent below...
New Home Sales Jump 11.1 Percent In March
According to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sales of new single-family houses rose 11.1 percent above the revised February rate. The better than expected increase follows three consecutive months of...
Home Prices Show Signs of Stability
The FNC Residential Price Index shows national home prices remaining relatively flat in February, a month known for large seasonal price movement. The Index indicated that home values declined just 0.7 percent from the month before. The better-than-expected report...