Thanks to consistently low mortgage interest rates, demand for mortgages has been elevated for the last 18 months, leading to the mortgage industry having its best quarter since 2000 two quarters in a row. However, that demand took a big step back at the end of June.
At a time when the housing market has never needed more homes to be listed for sale, there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel.
It hasn't been a great few months for home sales, with existing home sales falling for four straight months. New home sales haven't been much better, declining in both April and May. But the home sales slowdown looks like it will be ending very soon.
Prior to May, new home sales had bounced back and forth between rising and falling in each month. But things changed in May. For the first time this year, new home sales fell for the second month in a row.
Those looking to buy a home these days are finding that the pickings are mighty thin. That scarcity of available homes is driving house prices higher and higher, to levels not seen before.
The Federal Housing Administration announced recently that it is changing some of its rules surrounding student loans to make it easier for borrowers with student loan debt to qualify for a federally insured mortgage.
The new home construction rollercoaster continued in May with housing starts bouncing back up after falling in April, but a lack of available building materials could soon lead to a protracted decline in homebuilding.
California's housing market was hotter than it's ever been in April, and it appears that intensity may have been a little too much for the Golden State's residents. Read about California home sales cooling off while prices are at record highs.
Thanks in large part to the rise of remote work over the last 18 months, vacation homes exploded in popularity last year. That trend is continuing in earnest in 2021. Read about increasing vacation home sales.
With rates so low, you may have wondered what the cost to refinance your mortgage is? The answer is that every refinance is unique, depending on your credit score, your income level, and whether you have a low loan-to-value ratio.
Smart Moves Start Here.