Tag Archives: Housing Affordability

Weak economic news out of Europe and comments from the Federal Reserve chairman last week conspired to keep interest rates for mortgage loans near all-time lows ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and flat ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô for another week. Real estate Web site Zillow found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovering at 3.81 percent, down from 3.88 percent last week. The 15-year loan averaged 3.04 percent, even while the 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages hit 2.57 percent. The Web site found mortgage rates zigzagging in states across with the union, with those in California and New York each falling furthest at a clip of 11 basis points.

Scheduled increases for government premiums and springtime for a still-steady recovery helped drive up mortgage application volume by 4.8 percent last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. The trade group also found mortgage applications headed up by 5 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis. The Refinance Index ticked up 4 percent from last week, with the refinance share of mortgage activity on a decline to 71.2 percent of total application volume, down from 71.9 percent from the week before.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac entered federal conservatorship in 2008, as lawmakers and presidents stepped in to stymie a freefall for the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós largest mortgage companies, just as words like subprime and systemically important institutions gained traction for the public. Four years and roughly $180 billion in taxpayer funds later, old hands, regulators, and freshman lawmakers alike struggle with a vexing riddle. How can a system polarized by politics safely shrink companies responsible for more than $11 trillion in mortgages without blowing the recovery ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and what will it mean for mortgage finance?

Higher gasoline prices and concerns about Chinese growth fed bond investments, driving down mortgage rates once again amid worrying signs about the economy. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac found rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage falling from 4.08 percent last week to 3.99 percent this week. The company said the 15-year loan fell from 3.30 percent last week to 3.23 percent this week, a change of pace from 4.09 percent seen year-over-year. Five-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages meanwhile slid from 2.96 percent and 2.84 percent to 2.90 percent and 2.78 percent, respectively.

Housing lingered in the doldrums of a recovery last year but may pick up by 2014 as the U.S. economy generally improves, analysts and economists said Wednesday. The Urban Land Institute polled 38 real estate analysts and economists to signal their expectations for "broad improvements" in the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós economy and real estate markets in 2012. The survey revealed that transaction volume in commercial real estate markets could reach as much as $312 billion in 2014, up from a projected $250 billion in 2012. The news is welcome for an industry that has stayed under a cloud since the crisis.

A climb for mortgage rates last week cooled mortgage applications, leading overall volume to edge down by 2.7 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association found in a weekly survey that the refinance share of mortgage activity also continued a six-week streak of declines, with a deflation from 73.4 percent of total applications to 71.9 percent last week. The Refinance Index accordingly ticked down by 4.6 percent from the week before, falling to the lowest figures since December last year. The MBA attributed the dip in a statement to a 12-percent decline in government refinance activity.

Referrals from real estate agents guide about one-third of mortgage-financing decisions for today├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós homebuyers, according to a recent survey. Campbell Surveys and Inside Mortgage Finance polled about 1,800 Realtors in January to learn that agents recommended about 60 percent of the business for mortgage lenders. The survey inferred from the results that real estate agents influence or shape some 34 percent of mortgage-financed home purchases. Recommendations by many agents came about as a result of pre-existing relationships with lenders.

Job and employment figures may keep homeowners near the sidelines, but more Americans still value homeownership and consider it an investment worth making, according to a recent survey. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae polled some 3,000 respondents during the fourth quarter and revealed the figures in a Quarterly National Housing Survey Tuesday. More Americans prefer homeownership to the alternative ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô renting ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and see it as an investment in their futures. The belief in homeownership also extended to respondents across all education levels.

The Lone Star State once again boasted signs of strength in housing in February, with single-family home sales ticking up 6 percent in the fourth quarter last year. The Texas Association of Realtors revealed a blend of varying averages for home sales and values in a quarterly housing report it released this week. Citing several sources, the association found home sales lifting by 12 percent in February, with average prices declining 0.7 percent. It said that sales in Houston and Dallas each rose and fell by 1 percent.

Economists redrew their expectations for home prices for 2012, slashing forecasts from 0.2 percent to 0.7 percent. Real estate Web site Zillow.com partnered with Pulsenomics LLC to project prices in a Home Price Expectations Survey it released earlier Wednesday. More than 100 economists and real estate experts said in their survey responses, with the more optimistic saying that prices could lift 1.4 percent next year, down from 1.8 percent. Drawing on a Standard & Poor├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós/Case-Shiller Index, Zillow projected that home prices would climb by 1.39 percent next year.