12
Jun
By First Rate Financial Group
Financial Reports

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – June 12, 2023

What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week - June 12, 2023

Last week’s scheduled economic news included results from Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey and weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims.

Fannie Mae Survey Shows Lower Home Buyer Confidence in May

Fannie Mae reported lower home buyer confidence in housing market conditions in May. High home prices and rising mortgage rates challenged prospective home buyers while providing favorable conditions for sellers. 65 percent of consumers surveyed for Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index believed that it was a good time to sell their homes as compared to 62 percent of consumers surveyed in April. This was the highest consumer sentiment reading posted for the Home Purchase Sentiment Index since July 2022.

Mr. Mark Palim, a Fannie Mae Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist said: “Consumers also indicated that they didn’t expect affordability constraints to improve in the near future.”  81 percent of renters surveyed believed that it would be difficult to get a mortgage today.

Mortgage Rates Fall, Jobless Claims Rise

Freddie Mac reported lower mortgage rates last week after three consecutive weeks of rising rates. The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by eight basis points to 6.71 percent. Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.07 percent and 11 basis points lower.

Jobless claims rose with 261,000 initial jobless claims filed as compared to the expected reading of 236,000 first-time claims filed and the previous week’s reading of 233,000 filings.

What’s Ahead

This week’s scheduled economic news includes The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee Statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s scheduled press conference. The University of Michigan will release its monthly reading on consumer sentiment and weekly readings on mortgage rates and first-time jobless claims will also be released.

02
Jun
By First Rate Financial Group
Financial Reports

S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices Show Mixed Readings in March

S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices Show Mixed Readings in MarchMarch readings for the S&P Case-Shiller National Home Price Index showed that month-to-month home prices rose by 0.40 percent in March. The 20-City Home Price Index, which is considered a benchmark indicator by U.S. real estate professionals, rose by 0.50 percent month-to-month in March but posted a negative reading of -1.10 percent year-over-year. Analysts said that the slim supply of homes for sale drove up prices as demand for homes exceeded available inventory.

Homeowners took a “wait and see” position as mortgage rates rose and concerns over the economy persisted. Those who refinanced their mortgages to low rates during the pandemic weren’t looking to buy new homes or refinance at current mortgage rates near seven percent. Prospective homebuyers faced affordability challenges and concerns over buying at the top of their local real estate markets.

Southeast leads the  U.S. in home price growth

U.S. home price growth dominated the S&P Case-Shillere 20-City Home Price Index in March; the top three cities reporting the highest year-over-year home price appreciation rates were Miami, Florida with 7.7 percent growth. Tampa, Florida reported 4.8 percent home price growth and Charlotte, North Carolina held third place with 4.7 percent year-over-year home price growth.

The Western region continued to lag as year-over-year home prices fell by -1.10 percent from March 2022 to March 2023 as compared with 0.40 percent year-over-year growth in February. Data included in S&P Case-Shiller readings are seasonally adjusted. All 20 cities reported home price gains on a month-to-month basis, which indicates that housing prices continue to recover from the lows that occurred during the pandemic. Home prices will indicate further developments in the economic recovery based on how home prices and sales perform during the typically busy summer home-buying season. 

FHFA reports 3.6 percent year-over-year home price growth in March

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees government-sponsored mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reported 3.6 percent seasonally-adjusted year-over-year growth in home prices for U.S.  properties owned and sold by the two government-sponsored organizations. FHFA reported regional home price growth rates for the nine U.S. Census divisions; month-to-month results ranged from -10 percent in the Pacific division to 1.20 percent growth in the Mountain division. 

30
May
By First Rate Financial Group
Financial Reports

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – May 30, 2023

What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week - May 29, 2023Last week’s economic news included readings on new and pending home sales and inflation. The final monthly reading for May consumer sentiment was released along with weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims.

Shortage of previously-owned homes for sale directs buyers to new homes

Homeowners weren’t in a hurry to sell their homes due to the low mortgage rates they obtained during the pandemic. Current mortgage rates are higher than pandemic-era rates, which influenced homeowners to stay in their homes and keep their lower existing mortgage rates. Home buyers turned to new home developments as an alternative to shopping for a home within the slim supply of available previously-owned homes.

The number of pending home sales was unchanged from March as compared to the expected reading of an 0.80 percent increase in pending sales and the March reading of a -5.20 percent decrease in pending home sales. Rising mortgage rates and concerns over the economy sidelined some sellers and would-be home buyers. Rising inflation continued to impact consumers as prices for goods and services rose by 0.40 percent in April as compared to the March increase of 0.10 percent. Year-over-year inflation rose to 4.40 percent in April as compared to the March year-over-year inflation reading of 4.20 percent. 

Consumer concerns about inflation and recession were supported by the government-sponsored mortgage organization  Fannie Mae, which predicted a recession in the second half of 2023.

Fed forecasts a recession and raises key interest rate range

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting revealed that policymakers were divided on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision to raise its key interest-rate range to 5.00 percent and 5.25 percent. Some Fed members indicated that May’s interest rate hike may be the last for the near future as expectations of a recession rose. 

Mortgage rates and jobless claims rise

Freddie Mac reported higher mortgage rates last week as the average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose by 18 basis points to 6.57 percent. The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose by 22 basis points to 5.97 percent.

229,000 new jobless claims were filed last week; this reading fell short of the expected reading of 245,000 initial claims filed and exceeded the prior week’s reading of 225,000 claims filed.

What’s Ahead

This week’s scheduled economic reporting includes readings on public and private-sector jobs and the national unemployment rate. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims will also be released.