Tag: mortgage interest rates

Plunging Australian Home Values Break 40-year Record

The Reserve Bank’s aggressive rate-hiking cycle has triggered the housing market’s biggest decline in more than four decades. The 8.4 percent drop between May 2022 and January 2023 is the deepest peak-to-trough fall on CoreLogic’s records, which go back to 1980. It surpasses the previous record-breaking slide between 2017 and 2019, as well as the…


Buying or Selling a Home When Mortgage Interest Rates Are High

During these days when mortgage interest rates are high and the future of refinance rates unpredictable, you may be wondering whether you should buy or sell a home—or wait until better economic times. It may surprise you to know that now could be a good time for either move. Advantages of Selling Your Home When…


‘Housing Recession’ Is Here as Homebuilder Sentiment Plunges: NAHB

Homebuilder confidence fell for the eighth straight month in August, with experts blaming elevated mortgage rates and construction expenses for the crisis. According to data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), builder confidence for newly built single-family homes declined by six points, to 49, this month, the first…


US Housing Sentiment Drops to Lowest in Over a Decade

Housing sentiment in the United States, as measured by the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), has fallen to its lowest level in more than 10 years. In July, the HPSI declined by two points, to 62.8, the lowest level since 2011 and far below the all-time high set in 2019, according to an…


Drastic Drop Unlikely for US Housing Market, Economist Says

As the U.S. real estate market slowly cools and sales volumes decrease significantly, whether housing prices will plummet has become a major concern for many. But one economist has predicted there will not be an abrupt collapse as experienced after the previous U.S housing bubble. Due to the FED’s interest rate hike and rising mortgage…


US Housing Affordability Index Drops to Worst Measurement in 16 Years

Housing affordability in the United States declined in May 2022 according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), falling to its lowest level in 16 years. NAR’s Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was recorded at 102.5 in May, down from 108.1 in April and 148.2 in May 2021, data from the organization shows (pdf). This is…


Mortgage Rates Fall as Recession Fears Mount

U.S. mortgage rates fell for the second consecutive week after a rapid rise in June, the latest data from loan mortgage company Freddie Mac shows. The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 5.3 percent for the week ending July 6, down from 5.7 percent on June 29, according to Freddie Mac’s data. In the…


SoCal Home Sale in May: Lowest Since 2020 Amid Rising Interest Rates

Southern California’s home sales fell by double-digits for the first time in two years as mortgage interest rates continue to rise, according to the latest data released by the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.). Home sales in Southern California dropped by 14.3 percent while the median home price increased by 11.9 percent in May, compared…


SoCal Home Sale in May: Worst Slowdown Since 2020 Amid Rising Interest Rates

Real estate experts are saying a slowdown in Southern California home sales—by double-digits for the first time in two years—are the result of recent hikes in interest rates for home loans, indicating a cooling in the market. Sales dropped by 14.3 percent while the median home price increased by 11.9 percent in May, compared with…


Housing Starts Fall to Lowest Level in 13 Months, 7 Percent Monthly Fall in Building Permits

U.S. homebuilding fell to its lowest level in 13 months in May, according to the latest monthly new residential construction data released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Privately‐owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,549,000,” a June 16 press release…