The New York Times did a classic the economy is awful story by highlighting the fact that 1.3 million homeowners might not be moving because of the large gap between current mortgage rates and the rate they would have to pay on a new mortgage. While this is clearly a problem, the flip side is More
“It seems increasingly likely that mortgage rates are not going to come down anytime soon,” Bright MLS chief economist Lisa Sturtevant said.
LOS ANGELES >> Prospective homebuyers are facing higher costs to finance a home with the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate moving above 7% this week to its highest level in nearly five months.
Ever since mortgage interest rates jumped in 2022, some Californians have had a strategy: Buy now and, once rates drop, refinance to save hundreds of dollars each month. The idea — pushed by some real estate agents — was supposed to be a trade-off. The buyer could pick up a home in a slower market, and though interest costs would be high, they wouldn’t stay that way. The strategy may still work, but so far, high borrowing costs are here to stay. In recent weeks, rates have climbed higher,...
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage crossed over 7% on April 1, according to Mortgage News Daily, and it just kept going. It now sits right around 7.5%, the highest level since mid-November of last year. Rates hit their highest level in a few decades last October, causing home sales to grind to a halt. Builders jumped to buy down rates for their customers and managed to do better than existing home sellers. Rates then fell through mid-January to the mid-6% range and held there...
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage sits around 7.5%, the highest level since mid-November of last year, according to Mortgage News Daily.
The number of mortgage applications, including refinancings and additions, increased by 16 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter last year. Applications for the purchase of a home increased by 19 percent, De Hypotheker reported on Wednesday. Half of these applications were from young home buyers under the age of 35.
Mortgage interest rates have fallen across a range of products in recent weeks
LOS ANGELES >> The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level since late November, another setback for home shoppers in what’s traditionally the housing market’s busiest time of the year.
Existing home sales shrank in March as consumers respond to continuing price increases and rising mortgage rates. Sales for existing homes fell 4.3% in March compared to the previous month and 3.7% year-over-year, to an annual rate of 4.19 million, according to a press release from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached 7.10% this week, a substantial jump from 6.88% last week, depressing Americans’ desire to switch homes and possibly...
London markets have been spooked by worse-than-expected economic data across the pond that has raised uncertainty over when central banks will start lowering interest rates. So what does this mean for mortgages?