Depending on whether you are a homeowner or homebuyer, consistently rising house prices could be a good thing or a not-quite-as-good thing. And while house prices are still rising in nearly every major housing market, the rate at which they're rising is moderating a bit.
A common theme in the mortgage market over the last few months has been the number of refinances decreasing as interest rates ticked up from the previously unheard-of lows that persisted for more than 18 months. A new report shows that trend continued in October.
The purpose of the government backing loans is to ensure that certain borrowers who may not be able to obtain a Conventional mortgage for various reasons have access to mortgage credit and are therefore able to buy a home.
The Texas housing market has been incredibly hot over the last two years thanks to the flood of people migrating to the state from all over the country. However, for the first time in well over a year, home sales are slowing down.
For most of the last two years, the mortgage market has been dominated by refinances thanks to persistently low interest rates. But the market seems to be shifting back to purchases this year.
August saw the demand for new homes rise for the first time since March. However, it looks like August's increase may have been an outlier, as a new report shows that new home demand declined in September.
It was much the same song when it came to home prices in August; they just keep going up and up and up.
Traditionally, home sales tend to cool off as the calendar reaches the winter months, with some homebuyers and sellers focusing on the holidays instead of the housing market. New data shows that might be the case this year as well.
Over the last few months, new home sales have stemmed the tide that saw sales decline in April, May, and June. But the modest increase seen in July and August's continued improvement doesn't hold a candle to what happened in September.
For a housing market in need of more new homes going up for sale, relief may be on the way as a new report shows that construction of new single-family homes is still on track to see a sizable increase over last year.
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