Stocks Drop, Rates Rise, Home Sales Strengthen Overview: The stock market dropped sharply over the past week. Normally, this would result in investors shifting assets to bonds, and the added demand would push yields lower. However, that was not the case this week, and mortgage rates ended at the highest levels in four years. Several big-picture factors negatively affected mortgage rates over the past week. Investor expectations for future inflation increased. Investors also raised their outlook for the pace of tightening by the Federal Reserve, meaning that they now view four rate hikes this year as more likely. The supply of
Read more →Archive for the Economic News Category
Builder confidence for new, single-family homes fell slightly as 2018 began, but overall remains strong. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently released the results of their monthly joint report with Wells Fargo, which support the continuing strength of the market for new homes. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) dropped 2 points in January to 72 after reaching an 18-year high in December 2017. So what’s behind the robust state of the newly built, single-family homes market? Proposed tax reform is one factor, along with steady demand for new housing as existing real estate inventory remains sparse. “Builders are
Read more →
According to an article published in National Mortgage News, the trend of owning a homeownership being a cheaper option than renting is starting to change. Attom Data Solutions, the company who conducted the study, found homeownership was more affordable than renting in 54% of the top 447 US cities, down from 66% a year ago. The 14 most populated counties, and in 30 of 39 counties with a population at or above 1 million, renting is more affordable than buying a home. “Although buying is still more affordable than renting in the majority of U.S. housing markets, that majority is
Read more →
Equal Housing Lender | © 2024 Schmidt Mortgage Company / Click n’ Close Inc.