Housing markets

Despite signs of inventory returning, prices and loan amounts are trending higher this year, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But the pace of home price growth between January and February was nearly double the level seen prior to the pandemic.

Higher costs than expected, not just for the mortgage but for repairs and more, have recent buyers' regretting their purchase, Clever RE and Redfin found in separate reports.

Affordability challenges also have some aspiring homeowners taking second jobs or looking to draw from retirement savings, according to Redfin.

Mortgage payments rose 10% year-over-year to an all-time high for March, Redfin said.

The Midwest was the main driver of the increase in pending sales, with a 10.6% jump, while contract signings in the South edged up 1.1%.

State and local governments borrowed nearly $9 billion for affordable housing so far this year — the most for the period in at least a decade.

But home prices declined from December, both the Federal Housing Finance Agency and S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller found, a possible precursor to a cooling market.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage, the movements of which have been volatile in recent weeks, is expected to stay in the range of 6.5% for the first half of the year before trending down, Freddie Mac said.

Changes resulting from a recent case settled by the National Association of Realtors could encourage sellers to negotiate lower commissions. But the industry is rife with speculation that agents will find ways to discuss commission splits through other methods.

In the four years since February 2020, rents have risen overall by approximately 28%, Corelogic found.

Texas' largest markets saw the least amount of profit gained from flipped homes last year, with Austin even posting a loss, according to Attom.

The figures indicate the resale market is breaking out of a protracted slump due to high mortgage rates that discouraged homeowners from moving.

The program backed by Mayor Brandon Scott will offer more than 200 city-owned vacant properties to residents who commit to repairing and living in them.

A trio of Republican Congressmen stated they will investigate how the program got fast-tracked by the Biden Administration.

Industry veterans are wary of prospective borrowers who can't pay for agents, and of compensation guidelines clashing with government mortgage lending programs.

Fannie Mae's latest forecast now predicts rates to be half a percentage point higher, and volume to be $1.5 trillion lower than previously expected in 2024.

U.S. residential starts increased 10.7% in February, the largest since May, to a 1.52 million annualized rate, government data released on Tuesday disclosed.

Even with the recent pickup, builder sentiment may remain below its longer-term average until borrowing costs fall more significantly.

Listings of existing homes rose 12% in February compared with a year earlier, and one in five of them are seeing price cuts, according to Zillow Group Inc.