By Mike Colpitts Buffeted by high unemployment and weak consumer sentiment, housing markets are encountering sluggish home sales in the midst of what is typically the busiest home buying season of the year. Home sales should see an improvement towards the end of summer, but the average US home is projected to decline 7.1% in… Continue reading Huge Downgrade in US Housing Market
Category: Sales
Mortgages Dry Up As Interest Rates Drop
Mortgage applications dried-up slightly even as interest rates dropped for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey. The composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume fell 2.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis as applications fell for the second straight week. Loan applications have been on an up-and-down cycle for more than… Continue reading Mortgages Dry Up As Interest Rates Drop
Interest Rates Steady Four Straight Weeks
Lenders kept mortgage interest rates steady for the fourth week in a row as disappointing news on the economy held bond rates under 3%. The average rate on the bench mark 30-year fixed rate loan was 4.51%, up a single basis point from last week. Signs for an improvement in the U.S. economy were mixed.… Continue reading Interest Rates Steady Four Straight Weeks
Home Prices Rising in Dakotas, Alaska, Texas
By Mike Colpitts In places where jobs are more plentiful and workers are in demand local economies are doing much better than the majority of the U.S. and many housing markets are beginning to even see home prices rise. North Dakota, which now produces the fourth largest amount of oil in the country, Alaska and… Continue reading Home Prices Rising in Dakotas, Alaska, Texas
Mortgages Fall as Interest Rates Climb
By Kevin Chiu Mortgage applications fell after interest rates moved higher for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The climb in mortgage rates came with a drop in refinancing as homeowners looking to obtain new mortgages wait for lower rates. At the same time, Fannie Mae has revised its mortgage origination forecast for… Continue reading Mortgages Fall as Interest Rates Climb
Interest Rates Hold Steady as New Home Purchases Fall
By Mike Colpitts Restrained by a weak U.S. economy and lower demand for new home purchases, mortgage interest rates held steady after moving just one-basis point last week, according to Freddie Mac. The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage remained at 4.50%. The fixed 15-year loan narrowly edged up two basis points to 3.69%. New… Continue reading Interest Rates Hold Steady as New Home Purchases Fall
Miami Home Sales Go Nuts
By Mike Colpitts Condominium and single family home sales are surging in Miami, once the nation’s epicenter of the real estate crash. Condo sales jumped 46% in May and single family home sales rose 20% over a year ago. The surge in sales was led by 1,420 condominiums that changed hands during the month, which… Continue reading Miami Home Sales Go Nuts
Jumbo Mortgages to Get More Expensive
By Mike Colpitts Mortgages on the nation’s most expensive homes are about to get more costly. In October the government is expected to halt backing jumbo mortgages of more than $625,500 through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, triggering higher interest rates and down payments. The change could also send home values lower in some high-end… Continue reading Jumbo Mortgages to Get More Expensive
Mortgages Biggest Spike in 3 Months
Demonstrating that there’s pent up demand for refinances and new home purchases despite erratic highs and lows in the marketplace, applications for home mortgages spiked to the highest level in three months as mortgage interest rates continued to fall. The biggest jump in the last quarter was led by refinancing, which gained 16.5% for the… Continue reading Mortgages Biggest Spike in 3 Months
Black Hills, South Dakota All the Rage
By Mike Colpitts Nestled amid the meadows of open range land and surrounded by a national forest, Canyon Springs Preserve offers the quiet privacy that millions dream of in the back country. It’s a quiet oasis with more than 50% conservation land bordered by national forest in Black Hills, South Dakota. Long before the real… Continue reading Black Hills, South Dakota All the Rage