Volumes

Rachel Richardson of Rent. examines several major market trends that impact a property’s day-to-day operations, and what to do about them. 

After a five-week string of declining rates, mortgage rates rose modestly for the second consecutive week, on the eve of the GSE’s enacting changes to loan-level price adjustments geared toward tackling housing affordability challenges nationwide.

While both conventional and government home purchase applications increased last week, activity remains nearly 30% below last year’s pace, as elevated mortgage rates and low supply continue to moderate the market.

“The National Composite, which had declined for seven consecutive months, rose a modest 0.2% in February, and now stands 4.9% below its June 2022 peak,” said Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P Dow Jones.

According to Fixr.com's Remodeling 2023 Cost vs. Value Report, new data shows which remodeling jobs had the biggest increases in ROI over the past year, as the home remodeling industry is predicted to reach a market size of $485 billion in 2023.

Entry-level home shoppers are most likely to face bidding wars this spring, as prices rose by 8% annually for the least expensive one-third of houses, while more expensive homes lost value for the first time in more than a decade.

Freddie Mac reports the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage took a turn upward this week, rising 12-basis points week-over-week as investors responded to more healthy economic indicators and an uptick in bond yields.

As elevated mortgage rates curtailed homebuyer demand, a lack of homes for sale also limited home purchases, according to a new report from Redfin.

“While the NFCI Credit index indicated that credit tightened in March, which reduced housing market potential, the credit tightening was modest and far from recent pandemic lows, and certainly nothing like the Great Financial Crisis period,” said Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American.

The MBA reports a near 9% week-over-week slide in mortgage applications, as cautious buyers proceed through the spring season amid continued affordability challenges and limited supply.