Mortgages Don't Have to Be Confusing

    The most common interval for scheduled economic data is “monthly.”  That means that things like inflation, sentiment, job counts, unemployment, retail sales, and many

    Historically low interest rates may not have guaranteed historically high levels of housing activity, but exceptionally high rates have definitely muted activity in a

    It’s not entirely clear if it’s a can or the proverbial bucket.  All we know is that mortgage applications have been kicking it.  There’s

    In today’s weekly mortgage application survey from the MBA, the average 30yr fixed mortgage rate only rose from 6.73 to 6.81%.  Meanwhile, daily average

   Residential construction slowed in July. Both the rate of permitting and of housing starts were down from the prior month and starts were the worst

   Two weeks ago, we saw a sudden surge in refinancing activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that, during the week ended August 9, its

   Existing Homes (the jargon word for a home that has already been owned and occupied) represent a much larger piece of the home sales pie

   Two major home price indices show home price appreciation is still running well above historical norms. However, increases in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices and

   The mortgage market seemed to be in a wait-and-see mode last week as the Federal Reserve signaled a might, maybe, we are thinking about it,

   Home sale numbers continue to retreat and in July the National Association of Realtors’® (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell to its lowest level….

   Interest rates continued their slow decline last week while application volume is inching up almost as slowly. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports a 1.6

   While this technically signals some cooling in new construction potential, it wasn’t much more of a drop than investors expected.  Moreover, there has been a

   The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) keeps track of applications for purchase and refi mortgages every week.  Purchase apps are slower moving, less responsive to rates,

   Housing was chugging right along in early 2020, then covid happened.  Housing experienced lots of unexpected volatility with the most important development being a huge

    The record will show that today’s Housing Market Index (aka “builder confidence”) from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo fell to 39 from

    A second week of lower interest rates appeared to send homeowners scrambling to refinance their higher-rate mortgages assumed over the last few years. The

    A drop in interest rates pushed mortgage applications sharply higher last week although nearly all the gains belonged to refinancing. The Mortgage Bankers Association

    Interest rates were largely unchanged during the week ended July 26. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says its Market Composite Index, a measure of

    Signed contracts for home sales increased in June, a broad-based improvement seen in all four major regions of the country. The National Association of

    Home buyers remained on the sidelines as interest rates drifted lower, perhaps paying attention to the Federal Reserve’s musings about future cuts. The Mortgage

    Interest rates and prices continued to curtail home sales in June. The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported on