Daily Dose

"Home buyers have persisted this spring despite daunting affordability challenges and record-low inventory," said Jeff Tucker, Senior Economist at Zillow.

MortgagePoint speaks with mortgage servicing execs from BOK Financial, Carrington, the NMSA, PHH Mortgage Corporation, and Servbank about the unusual times and unusual opportunities the industry faces midway through 2023.

Taylor Marr, Deputy Chief Economist for Redfin, recently sat down with MortgagePoint to discuss recent migration trends, the direction of the market, and much more. Click through to hear his insights on the state of the nation’s housing landscape.

According to Black Knight's Originations Market Monitor report, overall rate lock volumes were down 1% month-over-month in June, with conforming loans gaining share mainly at the expense of nonconforming loan products.

”It shows that the Fed’s interest-rate hikes are working and increases the chance they’ll only hike rates one more time this year,” said Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao.

Nearing levels last recorded in November 2022, Freddie Mac reports the fixed-rate mortgage rose 15 basis points week-over-week and edged closer to the 7%-mark.

A new State of U.S. Population Movement Report reveals that more Americans are moving to counties that have a median house value of $279,000—nearly 40% lower than the median house value of counties that are losing population.

According to a new report from Home Bay, cities with above-average home values have homeless rates about 2.5 times higher than cities with lower-than-average home values, with San Jose, California, having the highest rate of homelessness and the highest home values of any major metro in the U.S.

"The Federal Reserve has increased rates every time it has met for over a year, so the pause on rate hikes last month and the fact that we've likely reached a near peak may offer some respite for buyers," said Steve Kaminski, Head of U.S. Residential Lending for TD Bank.

“Housing inventory and affordability continue to be the top obstacles that hold back potential clients in the housing market," said Jessica Lautz, National Association of Realtors Deputy Chief Economist and VP of Research.