Mortgage Application Volume Rises 8.5%
The week ending March 4th saw mortgage application numbers increase by 8.5%. This increase was also in line with the first average mortgage rate decrease in about three months. Compared the same time last year, mortgage application volume overall was down 35.8% with the largest drop in applications coming from refinance applications specifically (49.9%). Refinances made up 49.5% of new mortgage applications this past period. The FHA share of mortgage applications increased to 8.7% from 8.6% this past period. The VA share of mortgage applications increased to 10.4% from 10.2% this past...2021 Q4 Home Price Trends
According to the national home price index, there was a 18.8% growth rate between December 2020 and December 2021. In the 34 years this data has been tracked, this is the highest calendar year increase ever. In the final quarter of 2021 housing prices still increased quite a bit, but not as quickly as they had in the earlier quarters of the year. During 2021 all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia house prices rose. The top five states with the highest annual appreciation were Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Florida, and Tennessee. Specifically, the area with the highest annual price increases in the country was the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area with a 34.6% increase according to the FHFA’s House Price Index. Home buyers in entry and mid-level markets can expect to see the biggest effect of these home price increases with the low level of inventory even as mortgage rates continue to tick...Mortgage Application Volume Sees 12% Spike on Demand for Refinances
This past week, mortgage application volume increased 12%. This increase was led by a somewhat surprising uptick in demand for refinances according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey. When you compare these numbers to last year, mortgage applications dropped 37% overall with refinances specifically seeing over a 50% decrease. Refinance applications made up 57.3% of total applications this past week. With rates creeping up, seeing more refinance inquiries is definitely interesting. The FHA share of total applications decreased from 8.6% to 7.7% this past week. The VA share of total applications decreased from 9.9% to 9.1% this past...New Lending Guidelines Threaten Some Condo Sales
Starting in December, lenders enacted new condo financing guidelines in regards to the condo questionnaires filled out by management companies. New questions were added to the condo questionnaire that generally relate to the possibility of “deferred maintenance” to the subject building. These questions must be answered by the condo associations management company or condo boards in order for lenders to approve the condo for financing. We have been seeing pushback from several management companies’ legal teams since these questions are highly subjective and aren’t black and white. Some lenders do have possible workarounds such as meeting minutes, inspection reports, and engineering reports, but in general the new documentation needed to finance condos has been tedious to gather and confusing for all parties involved. These new condo guidelines are still temporary in nature and we are optimistic for improvement to this process in the future. When financing a condo, it’s more important than ever to work with someone who understand the guidelines and knows what is required to get the financing approved. Please call us with any condo...After a Month of Mortgage Rate Increases, Rates Drop This Week
According to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey, the average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate declined one basis point this past week. This drop comes after nearly a month of consistent increases. The expectation is that mortgage rates will continue to move in concert with the 10-year Treasury yield. If the Federal Reserve continue to raise interest rates, there is a good chance mortgage rates continue to rise...Connect With Us
