The Week Ahead; Studying Millennials in the Housing Market

Ellie Mae will release its millennial tracker on Wednesday, July 3. Last month’s report revealed that millennials were taking advantage of falling mortgages rates, as 30-year notes for millennials fell to 4.61% in April. 

April’s rate is a slight decrease from 4.75% in March, and the percentage of refinance loans increased 4% month-over-month, rising from 11% in March to 15% in April, which is the highest share since February 2018.

“Interest rates continued to drop in April and millennials jumped on the opportunity to refinance,” said Joe Tyrrell, EVP of Strategy and Technology at Ellie Mae. “The significant drop in time to close shows homebuyers were motivated to close refinances while rates were low, and that Millennials are showing increased maturity as a homeowning demographic. On top of external factors, an increased investment in technology by many lenders is creating a more efficient mortgage process.”

A survey in May from SunTrust found that Millennials are eager to enter the housing market, as 48% of millennials who been married say they, or their spouse, owned a home before marriage.

"People are choosing from many different paths and reaching common life milestones at a wider age span than before, changing when they decide to purchase a home," said Sherry Graziano, Mortgage Transformation Officer at SunTrust.

The survey also found that an increasing number of couples are entering marriage where both individuals own a home. According to the survey, 25% of unmarried women and 21% of unmarried men said, if faced with this decision, they would prefer to sell both places and buy a new one after getting married.

Overall, first-time buyers such as millennials continue to reshape the mortgage market. According to the latest First-Time Homebuyer Market Report from Genworth Mortgage Insurance, first-time buyers make up 38% of single-family homebuyers and 57% of new purchase borrowers.

“First-time homebuyers are typically different from other homebuyers, having less income and savings, but also are more likely to buy because they are starting a family versus changing jobs, retiring, or upgrading their home,” said Genworth Chief Economist Tian Liu. 

 

Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:

Census Bureau Construction Spending Report (July 1)

Black Knight Mortgage Monitor (July 1) 

CoreLogic HPI (July 2)