Data

Year-over-year pending home sales indexes are down across the country in April for a second straight month due to a lack of inventory and an increase in prices. However, home sales activity still remains historically high, even during the downturn. Experts believe the market is still on track to post end-of-the-year increases, especially once real-estate investors decide to unload their rental properties.

New data shows defects on loan applications are up across the country—both for the month and over the year. The culprit? Riskier lending practices on both purchase loans and refinances. North Dakota, Montana, and Vermont had the highest defect frequency at the state level, while McAllen, Texas, and Knoxville, Tennessee, took the cake in terms of metro markets.

On Tuesday, the S&P Dow Jones published its data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, a trio of indexes that measure change in the prices of residential homes on a national composite average, a 10-city composite average, and a 20-city composite average. March’s data shows a slow but steady rise in the price of homes on all three of the indexes measured, a trend which David Blitzer, the Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones, thinks will continue in the months ahead.

New data shows that Baby Boomers may be just as saddled with student loan debt as millennials—maybe even more. Between 2005 and 2015, people aged 60 or older saw their student debt increase eight times, while debt for those under 30 increased just twice. Many Boomers are taking out loans and refinancing their homes to either return to school or help their children and grandchildren with college tuition.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has released its monthly index on mortgage interest rates, surveying 17 lenders and a total of 4,437 loans closed during the last 5 business days of April. Lenders report a decline of 14 to 15 basis points on all loan interest rates as well as a slight decline in the average loan amount. April marks the second straight month the FHFA’s survey has reported a drop in interest rates.

According to the Redfin Housing Demand Index, the amount of customers requesting home tours and writing offers is on an incline. This large demand has lead to housing price increases and shortages in inventory, which has caused experts to wonder if the result will be a cooling of the market. Of the 15 markets Redfin covers, Seattle is currently on track to be the metro with the least inventory.

After the 59th straight month of appreciation, home prices have hit a new peak of $272K. They also reached a new peak in eight states, including Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington. Fifteen metro markets also peaked, with San Jose, California, seeing the biggest jump year-over-year.

Houston, Chicago, and San Antonio are ranked as the top domestic markets for incoming movers. Its job opportunities and diverse industries keeps Houston at the top of the list for the eighth year in a row. Data trends also list the other top 10 cities movers are headed to.

On Wednesday, Zillow will release data on the effects international buyers have on the higher end of the housing market. A related report said foreign born homebuyers helped ...

Black Knight Financial Services launched its Municipal Lien Search solution Wednesday to help uncover property debts and reduce risk associated with liens not included on property reports or outside of the scope of title insurance coverage. County debts; code and force violations; waste, water, ...