A brief pause in the rise of interest rates helped buoy mortgage application volume last week, following several weeks of declines. Total mortgage applications for home purchases and refinancings rose 2.7 percent compared to the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Applications, however, are 2.4 percent lower than a year ago.The bulk of last week’s increase was driven by home buyers. Mortgage applications to purch
The average estimated tax refund is expected to be $2,840 this year, down slightly from $2,895 the previous year. First-time home buyers, in particular, often say saving for a down payment is their biggest hurdle to homeownership. As such, the tax time may be the perfect moment to remind clients that their refund may come in handy ahead of the spring market.Last year, the median down payment was 10 percent, according to the National Association
Contract signings posted a major setback in January, sinking to the lowest level in more than three years. But it’s not from a lack of interest. Buyer traffic is reportedly up in most areas of the country in January, according to the latest housing report released by the National Association of REALTORS® on Wednesday.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings—dropped 4.7 percent to a reading of
The Mortgage Bankers Association is raising issues with a new analysis distributed by an activist group that claims widespread racial disparities in mortgage lending. The MBA says the study fails to consider the real issues behind why minority lending tends to skew lower than whites.MBA President David Stevens in a blog post calls discrimination in any way unacceptable and acknowledges that members of minority communities are being denied mortgag
Homeowners may question why their property taxes keep going up, and some owners may be shocked by just how much. Property taxes are crucial funds for schools, libraries, police and fire departments, roads and parks, and more within a community. There are several factors that could cause property taxes to go up; home renovations and revaluations are the two most common reasons, according to an article at realtor.com®.If homeowners renovate the ho
Thirty-five percent of home buyers who purchased a home in November and December said they made an offer on the home without seeing it first in person, according to a newly released survey of more than 1,500 home purchasers conducted by the real estate brokerage Redfin. That is up from 33 percent in May 2017 and from 19 percent in June 2016.By age group, millennial home buyers are the most likely to make an offer on a home without visiting it fir
New-home sales plunged in the first month of the new year, and some economists blame it on rising mortgage rates that caused home shoppers to pause in January.Sales of newly built single-family homes dropped 7.8 percent in January month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000 units, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday.“The moderation in new home sales may be attributable to the interest rate environment, which could
Quicken Loans has surpassed Wells Fargo as the number one mortgage lender in the country, the company announced. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Quicken Loans garnered $25.1 billion in originations compared to Wells Fargo’s $22.9 billion, according to data from Inside Mortgage Finance. But for the entire year, Wells Fargo was still the leader, with $94.7 billion in originations compared to Quicken Loans’ $86 billion.Still, Quicken Loans may be
Salt Lake City is quickly becoming one of the hottest housing markets in the country, and researchers note that home prices there are following a similar growth pattern as in Denver, where rapid increases began in early 2015. Realtor.com® projects that Salt Lake City will have one of the strongest housing markets in the nation this year. Home prices and sales are expected to surge 4.5 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.Why is Salt Lake City b
The Federal Housing Administration is expanding mortgage relief to FHA-insured homeowners who live or work in areas that were affected last year by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as wildfires and mudslides in California. Mortgage servicers in those areas will offer additional payment options to help disaster victims remain in their homes.The FHA is launching a “Disaster Standalone Partial Claim” option, which covers up to 12 mont
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