Cheryl Karr - Your Solid Source Realty Agent

      Economists largely predict that mortgage rates will soon rise, and anxious home buyers and homeowners are hurrying to take advantage of what could be the last dance with super low mortgage rates, intent on beating further increases. The average contract interest rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances recently increased to its highest level in a month, to 3.18% last week. The rate is 12 basis points higher than a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday. Rates jumped after the Federal Reserve’s meeting last week, where the Fed signaled that rate hikes could come in 2023. That is a year earlier than expected. Applications for refinances increased 3% last week compared to the previous week, and mortgage applications to purchase a home eked out a 1% increase, the MBA reported. Overall, mortgage application volume is down 9% compared to a year earlier. Applications for home purchase...

  Sales of newly built, single-family homes in January moved 19% higher than a year ago, as home buyers sought more options under a lean number of existing homes for sale. Newly built single-family home sales increased 4.3% last month over December 2020, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday. “Historically low mortgage rates and solid demand spurred an increase in new home sales in January,” says Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “However, rising affordability issues are looming this year, particularly increasing building material costs, including lumber, which is adding $24,000 to the price of a typical newly built home. Builders also cite rising regulatory issues as a potential concern.” As existing-home inventory remains at all-time lows, more buyers are considering new home construction, says Robert ...

  Low mortgage rates, financial assistance from parents, and personal savings are helping first-time buyers stretch their housing budgets more than they thought they could, according to a survey from realtor.com® of 1,000 prospective and recent first-time home buyers. More than two-thirds of survey respondents say they are surprised at what they can afford; 47% say their budget is larger than they thought it would be. “The dramatic decline of mortgage rates in 2020 was a pleasant surprise for many buyers,” says George Ratiu, senior economist at realtor.com®. “For first-time buyers, the drop in the 30-year mortgage rate from 3.65% in March 2020 to a record low of 2.65% in January has provided unexpected leverage. Lower rates allowed many buyers to stretch and buy more expensive homes while keeping their monthly budget the same.” Still, many first-time buyers acknowledge having to compromise on their recent purchase, and nearly half of survey respond...