The Federal Reserve voted Wednesday to leave its benchmark interest rate alone, citing signs of a slowing economy between the January-to-March quarter. The benchmark rate will stay low, near 1 percent. However, the Fed cautions that it expects that a strengthening economy and job market in the coming months will justify a higher rate later this year.Mortgage rates aren’t directly tied to the Fed’s benchmark rate but are often influenced by th
Home buyers are returning to the mortgage market, undeterred by rising mortgage rates.Mortgage applications to buy a home, viewed as a gauge of future home-buying activity, climbed 4 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Purchase applications are now nearly 5 percent higher than a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.“More prospective home buyers returned to the market after two weeks of decreases in purchas
Cash sales made up about 30 percent of all single-family and condo sales in the first quarter of this year, according to ATTOM Data Solutions' First Quarter 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report. That is well below their peak of 44.7 percent in the first quarter of 2011 but higher than the prerecession average of 20.4 percent from 2000 to 2007."With a stronger market and overall sales increasing, we are seeing a decrease in foreclosure sales across the mar
Strong buyer demand this spring is pushing home prices up at double the rate of increase in income growth, The Wall Street Journal reports. The median price of an existing home for all housing types was $236,400 in March, up 6.8 percent from a year ago, when it was $221,400, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Incomes, meanwhile, increased 3 percent in February from a year earlier, according to the Labor Department."Bolstered by
Home buyers who don’t gather more than one quote when shopping for a mortgage may be losing out on some savings to their monthly payments.Lenders can offer a wide dispersion of rates, up to 50 basis points or 0.5 percent, after controlling for factors like the borrower’s down payment and credit score. That could be the difference between a 3.5 percent versus a 4 percent mortgage rate, according to a recent study by two economists at the Consu
For the first time in five weeks, average mortgage rates reversed course and edged up.“The 10-year Treasury yield rose about 10 basis points this week,” notes Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year mortgage rate moved with Treasury yields, rising 6 basis points to 4.03 percent. Despite recent swings in mortgage rates,t he housing market continues to show strength—both existing- and new-home sales in March exceeded
Total mortgage activity—which includes applications for refinancings and home purchases—rose 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis as homeowners rushed to take advantage of lower mortgage rates.The refinance market was what drove last week’s increase, rising 7 percent week over week as mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level since November 2016. Still, refinance activity remains about 34 percent below where it was a year ago, the Mo
Results from the composite of single-family home price indices calculated every monthKey Takeaways The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.8 percent annual gain in February, up from 5.6 percent last month and setting a 32-month high.February’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index numbers set a fourth consecutive all-time high — the highest HPI seen in a wh
With adjustable-rate mortgages resetting to a lower rate, homeowners with these loans are seeing more money in their pocket and are increasing their overall spending, according to a newly released report by JPMorgan Chase Institute. Borrowers with ARMs have increased their spending by 15 percent relative to their baseline, which equates to about $488 per month, according to the report.Further, these homeowners spent 9 percent more ahead of the ex
Mortgage rates have dropped below 4 percent for the first time since November, and home buyers likely will want to take advantage of the lower borrowing costs. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.97 percent for the week ending April 20, according to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage market survey. "We are in the spring, and people are out looking to buy homes," says Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac. "These low rates are
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