Record low mortgage rates last week may have offered up plenty of incentive for home buyers, even in a pandemic. Mortgage applications for home purchases increased 7% this week, which follows a 12% uptick last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. Mortgage applications are viewed as a gauge for upcoming home sales.This marks the third week in a row that purchase volume in mortgage applications has increased. The strongest grow
Homeowners seeking a premium when selling their home should eye the months of May and June, a new analysis from ATTOM Data Solutions shows. The study is based on 33 million single-family home and condo sales between 2011 to 2019; it does not take into account the effect of the current COVID-19 pandemic on home sales this spring or summer.Over the nine-year period in the study, home sellers typically find that warmer months offered the best times
Mortgage rates have fallen to record lows, and low APRs are helping potential home buyers and refinancers net even more savings to their monthly payments. The average annual percentage rate offered to borrowers looking to purchase a home dropped by 17% over the past year, from April 2019 compared to April 2020.The APR reflects the true cost of borrowing by including the interest rate, points, and fees charged by a lender. As such, it is high
At 87 million images and counting, interior design pictures are a popular trend on Instagram. Angie’s List recently studied which interior styles are featured most often across different regions.Overall, the most popular design style in the U.S. is "coastal living." Eighteen states use the #coastalliving hashtag more than any other to describe an interior of a home. Not surprisingly, the states that tend to share this style the most tend to be
New listings are down nearly 45% in April compared to March as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed housing inventory to a new April low, realtor.com® reported Tuesday.The housing market—already starved for new listings prior to the pandemic—now faces an even tighter supply. The Northeast saw the largest drop in new listings, down 59.4% in April, realtor.com® reports. The Midwest saw a 49.5% drop, while the West posted a 44.1% decrease and the Sout
Financial institutions have been tightening up on lending in recent weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and home equity lines of credit have become the most recent target. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are the latest bank giants to announce that they will no longer be accepting applications for new HELOCs.“The decision to temporarily suspend the origination of new HELOCs reflects careful consideration of current market conditions and uncertain
Mortgage rates reached a new record low this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage falling to its lowest average ever since Freddie Mac began tracking such data in 1971. “The size and depth of the secondary mortgage market is helping to keep rates at record lows,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “These low rates are driving higher refinance activity and have modestly helped improve purchase demand from their extremely
The Federal Reserve voted Wednesday to keep its benchmark interest rate near zero due to the COVID-19 pandemic, showing little interest in reversing course anytime soon. The Fed’s benchmark rate does not directly impact mortgage rates for home buyers, but it can influence them.The Fed’s Federal Open Markets Committee voted to keep the range of its benchmark interest rate between 0% to 0.25%. It had called two emergency meetings during the cus
It was a good time to be a homeowner in the first quarter of this year. Home sellers nationwide saw home price gains average $67,100 on a typical sale, up from $59,000 a year prior, according to a report released Thursday from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate research firm.The $67,100 home seller profit represented an average of a 33.7% return on investment compared to the original purchase price, the report shows.The median price for single-f
Consumers want to hear more about how homes can help the environment and also save them money. Sixty-one percent of REALTORS® surveyed say residential consumers were “very” or “somewhat” interested in sustainability. REALTORS® report finding it valuable to promote energy efficiency features in their listings.Sustainability conversations with clients may best be centered around utility and operation costs, indoor air quality, efficient u
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