Commentary

“The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run. In support of these goals, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.00% to 5.25%,” the Fed said in a prepared statement.

“Our residents deserve opportunities to build their credit from on-time rent payments that give them access to more financial services such as favorable interest rates on auto loans,” said Matt DeGraw, President, Bridge Property Management.

Overall rate lock volumes rose 14% in May from the prior month, but that number is still down 38% year-over-year and 29% compared to pre-pandemic numbers.

“Given the consistency of our survey results, we expect consumers' longstanding and highly favorable attitude toward homeownership as an investment option will continue to persist, even in the face of possible recession,” Fannie Mae authors concluded.

"Middle-income buyers face the largest shortage of homes among all income groups, making it even harder for them to build wealth through homeownership," said Nadia Evangelou, NAR Senior Economist and Director of Real Estate Research.

CoreLogic’s Chief Economist Selma Hepp said, “While homeowners in some areas of the country who bought a property last spring have no equity as a result of price losses, forecasted home price appreciation over the next year should help many borrowers regain some of that lost equity.”

“Consumers also indicated that they don’t expect these affordability constraints to improve in the near future, with significant majorities thinking that both home prices and mortgage rates will either increase or remain the same over the next year,” said Mark Palim, Fannie Mae’s VP and Deputy Chief Economist.

According to Realtor.com’s data, Western shoppers are the most likely to look for out-of-market homes, but Northeastern shoppers sit closely behind in second place. Here's what else the report reveals.

“It's crucial, especially in higher-rate environments, for Americans to talk to a mortgage advisor who can help prepare buyers for the homebuying process, work to determine how much a person can afford and clear up the misconceptions about the many paths to homeownership that exist," said Thomas Parrish, Head of U.S. Retail Lending Product Management at BMO.

A new study from LendingTree details how buying is only one part of the battle, and once purchased, buyers often face a litany of new challenges that come with being a homeowner.