Quiet Week for Mortgage Rates as Markets Watch for Fed Minutes, Commentary
Mortgage rates inched higher over the past week after dropping last Wednesday, returning roughly to where they stood early last week. They remain below their mid-June highs.
Market Trends
Homes With Central Air Command $5,486 More on Average
Nationally, 66.1 percent of homes listed for sale over the past year have central air conditioning, selling for 2.5 percent -- or $5,486 -- more than comparable homes without central air. In Las Vegas, the share is 99.1 percent.
When Rent Growth Signals Stability, Not Stress (May 2018 Market Report)
Median rent is growing faster this spring compared to last spring nationwide and in 27 of the nation’s 35 largest markets, according to the May Zillow Real Estate Market Report. But in 25 of those same 35 markets, rent itself was down somewhat in May compared to recent highs.
Mortgage Rates Flat in the Face of Trade Worries, Stock Market Gyrations
Despite an escalating trade battle between the United States and China that has sparked stock market gyrations over the past week, mortgage rates remain flat – continuing to hover slightly below their highest levels in years.
April Case-Shiller Results and May Forecast: The New Normal
The U.S. National Case-Shiller Index rose 6.4 percent in April from a year ago, largely in line with expectations. April was the eighth straight month of annual appreciation of 6 percent or higher, and the longest such streak since a stretch of 19 months of breakneck appreciation that began in December 2012 as the housing market began to bounce back in earnest from the depths of the recession.
Sellers in Competitive West Coast Markets Saw Six-Figure Gains on Home Sales Last Year
Home sellers in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Seattle earned the most. Sellers in eight of the top 35 markets, including New York and Chicago, lost money after adjusting for inflation.
Rapid Reaction: May New Home Sales
Today's very strong May new home sales data is a welcome surprise and is a strong continuation of the kind of consistent growth the new home market has exhibited for roughly the past half decade since the housing market bottomed out. And there's still plenty of room to grow.
Investors With an Eye on Geopolitics Send Mortgage Rates Lower Despite Fed Hike
Rates fell despite Fed rate hike, largely due to comments from European Central Bank officials and escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.
Buying a Home Is Less Affordable Than It’s Been in Almost a Decade
A combination of rising mortgage rates and strong home value appreciation led to one of the largest quarter-over-quarter increases in the mortgage burden for homebuyers since the Great Recession.
May 2018 Existing Home Sales: Stuck
Increasingly what had been characterized as a flat plateau is starting to resemble a gentle downward slope: Month-over-month and year-over-year declines in sales have accelerated over the past three months.
