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The MReport Webcast: Monday 11/17/2014

Despite a dip in long-term fixed mortgage rates, the number of buyers looking to tour homes cooled off last month, according to Redfin. The latest report from the national brokerage shows the number of clients requesting tours with the company slipped 1.6 percent in October compared to September. The decline reflects a downturn in Americans interested in house hunting as the market starts its annual cold-weather slump.

At the same time, a drop in interest rates to their lowest level in more than a year triggered a slight pickup in signed offers from home shoppers. Most of the increase came from a late-month jump of 11 percent as buyers rushed to lock in at low rates. While the jury is still out on November, the company reports signed offers have already started to fall off, which is consistent with what the company observed last year.

Just one day after the National Association of Home Builders reported a slight decline in housing affordability throughout the third quarter, finance site Interest.com released its own grim findings on home affordability nationwide. According to Interest.com's annual Home Affordability Study, middle-income families can afford a median-priced home in fewer than half of the country's 25 largest metros as house prices and mortgage rates outpace wage growth. There was a silver lining, however:  While some of the biggest markets are likely to remain on the pricey side for the foreseeable future, analysts expect the ongoing slowdown in price growth will help level things out in the rest the country.

About Author: Jordan Funderburk

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