Zillow

The actions taken by the Federal Reserve to calm the financial markets was key to the drop in mortgage rates this week, according to Freddie Mac.

With ambiguity surrounding the length of the COVID-19 outbreak and damage it will cause, consumers are becoming diffident in taking out a mortgage for a major purchase, according to Zillow.

For Central Texas' long-sizzling housing market, 2020 is the year the unexpected catastrophic global event — the typical caveat in the region's otherwise ongoing rosy market forecasts — has actually come calling.

Mortgage rates rose sharply this week as originators looked to manage the overwhelming demand from consumers, according to Freddie Mac.

Paradoxically, mortgage rates actually increased this past week, even as the 10-year Treasury yield plumbed new depths, likely because lenders are too busy to handle the influx of applications.

To help the housing crunch, a growing consensus of economists believe adding homes on lots where one already exists would benefit affordability and incrementally boost supply, according to Zillow.

Mortgage rates hit their lowest point since Freddie Mac began tracking this data in 1971, as the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 1% after the Federal Open Market Committee's surprise short-term rate cut.

Mortgage rates slipped this week, as the stock market sell-off resulted in investors moving into bonds which drove the 10-year Treasury yield down, according to Freddie Mac.

Southern California home prices shot up in January from a year earlier, as buyers fought over a meager supply of homes for sale across the six-county region.

With inventory tight, roughly 80% of housing markets had purchase bidding competition in January and value appreciation is expected to increase in the coming months.