Data

In its latest survey results, Freddie Mac recorded the average 30-year fixed rate at 4.14 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending June 5, up from last week's average 4.12 percent. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.91 percent and rising. The 15-year FRM also moved up this week, hitting an average of 3.23 percent (0.5 point).

In its most recent quarterly report, LendingTree recorded a Borrower Health Score of 77.7 in the year's opening months, a decline of 4.5 points from the prior quarter. While the latest drop illustrates Americans still have some ground to make up from the financial crash, Q1's score is still 1.3 points above where it was a year ago, implying "a broader trend of improving borrower qualification levels," the company says.

A recent blog post from RealtyTrac VP Daren Blomquist found home flipping activity declined in the first quarter of 2014, though the amount of average profit per successful flip rose. According to Blomquist, the average gross profit per flip last quarter was $55,574, a 30 percent return on the initial purchase price. Gross profits increased year-over-year from $51,805 in the first quarter of 2013, a 28 percent return on investment.

Using information reported weekly by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), research firm Capital Economics calculated a 2.0 percent rise in application volumes throughout May, a reversal from April's 4.8 percent drop. The increase came despite a 3.1 percent decline in the month's final week, bringing activity to a six-week low.

In its latest Beige Book, released Wednesday, the Federal Reserve noted economic activity has expanded in recent months, with the pace of growth "characterized as moderate in the Boston, New York, Richmond, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco Districts, and modest in the remaining regions." Wednesday's summary reinforces comments offered by Fed Chair Janet Yellen recently.

According to a consumer survey conducted by Trulia, 60 percent of American adults age 18–34 say a lack of savings, poor credit, and severe debt stand between them and homeownership. As a result, 50 percent would have to ask for help from their parents or grandparents to put together enough money to clear the initial hurdle of making a down payment.

CoreLogic reported continued gains in its latest Home Price Index (HPI), though the latest growth was the lowest in the last 14 months. Including distressed sales, the company recorded a 10.5 percent year-over-year increase in its index, marking 26 consecutive months of yearly gains. Nationally, prices are expected to rise by 6.3 percent by next April, further slowing to what analysts say should be a more sustainable pace.

In a survey of 31 economists, Reuters arrived at a median forecast of price growth of 7.5 percent this year, down significantly from the 13.4 percent improvement recorded in the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index last December. The survey also found that, despite concerns from some analysts of overheating as price gains far outpace the historical average, the median judgment of economists surveyed is that the housing market is situated right in the middle between extremely overvalued and extremely undervalued.

In its second annual survey of housing attitudes, the MacArthur Foundation found 51 percent of American consumers still believe the country is in the midst of its housing crisis, while another 19 percent believe the worst is yet to come. Only 25 percent said they believe "the housing crisis is pretty much over." At least part of that pessimism stems from challenges related to housing affordability in today's economy.

A poll conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) shows 18 percent of respondents are not willing to assume the risks and obligations associated with taking out a mortgage loan. NFCC says the findings are consistent with the Census Bureau's latest household data showing a national homeownership rate of 64.8 percent in the first quarter—a 19-year low.