Daily Dose

According to the Warren Group, statewide sales dropped 7.8 percent to 2,749 in March, down from 2,980 from the previous year. Home sales in the first quarter were down overall 2.4 percent to 7,557 from 7,745 in last year's first quarter. Timothy J. Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group, said, “The low inventory of single-family homes in the market is the primary cause of the decreasing sales activity. Motivated buyers, however, are eagerly bidding for the limited supply which accounts for the increasing sales prices. People want to buy homes before prices and interest rates rise further.”

The number of markets around the nation that have seen home values recover fully rose by six in February, according to data from Homes.com. “February’s rebound progress illustrates how home prices in most markets across the country are appreciating, even in the depths of winter,” said Brock MacLean, EVP for Homes.com. “This is unusual given harsh weather conditions in most markets, but a positive sign as we enter peak season.”

In March, 63.4 percent of offers written by Redfin agents across 19 markets faced competition from other buyers, the national brokerage reported. While that percentage is up a few points from February—owing in some part to more favorable weather—it’s a full 10 percentage points down compared to March 2013.

Even a slight drop in mortgage rates did both bolster February refinances through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported. Representing 21 percent of all refinances the GSEs completed in February, 26,964 HARP refinances were completed over the month, according to the FHFA's latest Refinance Report.

In a report issued earlier this week, Fitch Ratings announced it is tapering its forecast for 2014 in acknowledgement of what has so far been a “subpar spring selling season.” Sales of both new and existing homes in March fell short of expectations, dashing optimistic projections of a rebound following the end of an unusually harsh winter. Housing starts also disappointed as homebuilders remain concerned about the shape of the market.

Average down payments for mortgages are on the decline, lending a little bit of relief for affordability-challenged homebuyers around the country. According to a report released this week by LendingTree, down payment percentages for 30-year fixed-rate purchase loans fell in the first quarter to an average of 15.78 percent, down from just higher than 16 percent in the last quarter of 2013.

On Thursday, RealtyTrac released its Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, which showed modest gains in U.S. residential sales in March. The firm reported that March showed a 0.4 percent uptick in overall transactions compared to February and a full 8 percent increase over sales in March 2013. RealtyTrac’s data clashes with other reports released this week about March sales.

Despite soft housing news, mortgage rates experienced a moderate increase ahead of next week’s economic policy update from the Federal Open Market Committee. According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate came up to 4.33 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending April 24, up from 4.27 percent in the previous week.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, mortgage applications declined in the last week, though loan sizes are seeing record highs. Meanwhile, the average loan size for purchase applications has reached its highest level in the history of the survey at $280,500, coinciding with the trend in rising purchase activity for larger loan amounts.

According to Florida Realtors, the state's housing market reported higher median prices, more new listings, and a stable level of inventory in March. For 28 months in a row now, statewide median sales prices have risen annually for single-family homes and condos. "What we're seeing is a market we can live with," said Florida Realtors chief economist Dr. John Tuccillo.