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RE/MAX: Monthly Inventory Rises for First Time in 33 Months
The number of homes for sale in April inched 1.6 percent higher than in March, the first month-over-month inventory increase since June 2010, according to the April RE/MAX National Housing Report.
Prices Soar at Boom Speed
March home prices rose at double digit rates-increasing faster than they have in seven years-and the outlook is nearly as good for April.
Coasts Clean up on Mortgage Deduction
By: Steve Cook; Wed, May 1, 2013
Taxpayers in states along the East and West Coasts are grabbing the lion's share of tax savings from the mortgage interest deduction, the third largest tax expenditure that saved taxpayers filers deducted about $72 billion in 2011.
Home Prices Reach 2003 Levels; Every Case-Shiller Market Posts Yearly Gain
By: editor; Tue, Apr 30, 2013
Data through February 2013, released today by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed average home prices increased 8.6 percent and 9.3 percent for the 10- and 20-City Composites in the 12 months ending in February 2013. The 10- and 20-City Composites rose 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent from January to February.
Title Business Boomed in 2012
By: editor; Fri, Apr 26, 2013
The 9.2 percent jump in home sales last year and record refinancings translated into a 21 percent increase for the nation's title industry and $504 million in profits.
Investors No Longer in the Driver’s Seat
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Apr 25, 2013
After accounting one out of four home sales in the depths of the housing recession and fueled turn-arounds in dozens of markets where waves of foreclosures and battered home values scared off other buyers, real estate investors today are playing a greatly diminished role in the housing recovery.
Renters Fade as Recovery Takes Hold
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Apr 22, 2013
With home sales reaching multi-year highs and prices outpacing expectations in the first quarter, the housing recovery is restoring public confidence in homeownership and raising questions about the future demand for expansion of single and multi-family rental capacity.
Americans Exit the Housing Crisis with New Appreciation for Renting
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Apr 3, 2013
Six years of crisis have changed forever the way Americans think about housing. It's good news for rental housing and not so good news for the home ownership industry, according to a massive new study conducted by Hart Research for the MacArthur Foundation.
Western States Drive Record Double Digit Price Increases
By: editor; Wed, Apr 3, 2013
Five Western states with the highest home price appreciation in February, Nevada (+19.3 percent), Arizona (+18.6 percent), California (+15.3 percent), Hawaii (+14.6 percent) and Idaho (+13.5 percent), led the nation to the biggest price increase in seven years.
Luxury Market Ready to Switch to Sellers
By: editor; Tue, Apr 2, 2013
The highest tier of homes for sale, which has been the last part of the market to feel the effects of the housing recovery, is on the verge of switching from a buyers' to a sellers' market for first time in years.
Inventories are Turning the Corner in Runaway California Markets
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Mar 29, 2013
The hottest housing prices in the nation at last are encourage more sellers to list their homes, promising more sales and cooler price hikes in the weeks come.
Case-Shiller: 2012 Price Hikes Matched the Boom Years
By: editor; Tue, Mar 26, 2013
Home prices increased more in 2012 than they have since have since the summer of 2006 in both of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.
Lower Rates Benefit Richer Homeowners Most
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Mar 21, 2013
The Federal Reserve's policy of buying mortgage-backed securities to keep mortgage rates low may be bolstering upper tier home values rather than helping to make homeownership more affordable for entry-level buyers.
Mortgage Approval Rates Rise 18.6 Percent, No Sign of Lower Standards
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Mar 20, 2013
Mortgage approval rates have risen nearly 20 percent over the past 12 months yet there is virtually no evidence that lenders are relaxing underwriting standards, according to the February originations report from Ellie Mae.
Experts See Home Values Outpacing the Boom
By: editor; Mon, Mar 18, 2013
A nationwide panel of 118 economists, real estate experts and investment and market professionals expects home values to end 2013 up an average of 4.6 percent and rise cumulatively by 22 percent, on average, over the next five years, according to the first quarter Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey.
Movoto: Big Drop in Days on Market
By: editor; Mon, Mar 11, 2013
Just as the clock ticks down on the launch of the 2013 buying season, the Movoto mega site reports that in February days on market has dropped dramatically in its market footprint, which is heavily dominated by California markets.
The Cost of Recovery: FSBOs are BAAAACK
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Mar 11, 2013
In the hottest markets around the nation, "for sale by owner" signs are popping up in yards as penurious owners try their hands at selling their own homes. It's another sign of recovery that's raising echoes of the real estate boom seven years ago.
Zillow Agrees: Inventory Crunch Easing
By: editor; Fri, Mar 8, 2013
Two days after rival web site Trulia announced it had detected signs that the year-long decline in inventories was slowing, Zillow said that the crunch could be beginning to ease somewhat.
Home Prices Expected to Rise at least 3.3 Percent Annually though 2017
By: editor; Mon, Mar 4, 2013
The housing recovery is expected to grow at an annualized rate 0.6 percent through the third quarter of this year, then gain momentum and prices are projected to grow 3.7 percent between the third quarters of 2013 and 2014 until settling down to 3.3 percent annual increases over the next three years according to Fiserv, a financial services technology provider using data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
It’s Official! Prices Increased a Lot Last Year
By: editor; Wed, Feb 27, 2013
The major national home price reports agree on trends but never agree on numbers because their data comes from different places and are manipulated differently to create the most accurate results. Yesterday S&P Case-Shiller announced 20012's gain was 7.3 percent. The federal government's index showed a 5.5 percent gain.
Hottest Market Sales Going for a Premium Over List Price
By: Steve Cook; Sat, Feb 23, 2013
How long has it been since you heard the words "sold at a premium over asking price?" For the past six years, sales prices ended up somewhere south od list prices by at least five percent. Now, in the markets where the recovery is hottest, sellers are increasingly experiencing multiple bid scenarios and buyers are pre-empting the competition with offers over list price that stir up memories of the boom years.
Luxury Sales Approach Sellers’ Market
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Feb 19, 2013
Top tier properties are getting close to ending their multi-year buyers' market and quickly reaching a more equal balance between buyers and sellers, catching up with less expensive homes.
Sellers Awaken and Buyers Accelerate
The percentage of customers signing offers in January increased by 12 percentage points according to a leading brokerage and 23 percent of Americans think it is a good time to sell compared to 11 percent the same time last year, according to Fannie Mae's January 2013 National Housing Survey results.
As Inventories Shrink, So Do Seller Concessions
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Feb 6, 2013
With inventories down and prices up, sellers are ending the costly incentives they have been forced to offer buyers during the six-year long buyers' market. Concession-free transactions make deal-making simply on both sides of the table.
Housing Recovery Hits a December Speed Bump
By: editor; Tue, Feb 5, 2013
Home prices in January were unchanged from December and they barely remained in the black compared to a year ago, but rebounded in January, according to the most current national market report.
Florida Markets Still the Best Places to Buy Foreclosures
By: editor; Thu, Jan 31, 2013
Hot foreclosure markets have come and gone over the past seven years but one thing seems to stay the same. The markets with the most and the cheapest foreclosures are still located in Florida.
Affordability Hangs Tough Despite Rising Prices
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jan 30, 2013
Despite the greatest price increases in years, affordability has hardly budged from six year peaks and in many of the nation's most expensive markets, it's still rising.
Case-Shiller Downplays the Doubters
Weak prices in a number of late fall markets as evident in NAR's latest pending sales index has been causing concern in the real estate circles, but Case-Shiller, the final word on prices, downplayed the doubters today.
Prices will Moderate in 2013
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jan 8, 2013
Home prices in 2012 finished the year strong, boosted off the market lows of early 2012. Hot markets in the year to come will reflect improving local economies and low price points.
Fitch Ratings Calls for Housing Price Correction
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jan 7, 2013
Home prices are overvalued and price growth is not being driven by fundamentals but by technical factors that could easily change, advised Fitch Ratings Friday. The ratings service believes national prices are 10 percent overvalued, but will likely drop by no more than 2 percent due to inflation.
Biggest Losers are Now the Biggest Winners
By: editor; Wed, Dec 26, 2012
Markets that fell hardest during the housing crash five years ago today are racking up the biggest year over year gains as the prices in the nation as a whole through October exceeded analysts' forecasts. Housing markets that were on their knees just a year or so ago from foreclosures and low employment today are seeing prides rise much faster than cities that never felt the housing crash, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.
New Home Construction is Still Only 40 Percent of Normal
By: editor; Fri, Dec 21, 2012
Single family home construction, the largest segment of the nation's home building industry, is operating at only 40 percent of its normal capacity despite a healthy improvement in starts and production over last year
Home Sellers Awake
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Dec 13, 2012
A year of record low inventories of homes for sale and improving prices may finally be catching the attention of millions of prospective home sellers. Is a seller's market in the offing?
Freddie Mac Economist Sees New Households Outpacing Apartment Boom
By: editor; Tue, Dec 11, 2012
In his 2013 forecast, Freddie Mac's chief economist, Frank Nothaft, sees more than a million new households bolstering housing starts, driving apartment vacancy rates down to ten year lows and outpacing the boom in new apartment construction.
Homeowners’ Equity Reaches Highest Level in Four Years
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Dec 10, 2012
In the third quarter, homeowners' equity rose nearly 18 percent over the level of a year ago to reach the highest level recorded since the second quarter of 2008.
CoreLogic: Prices on Track for 7.1 Percent Increase
By: editor; Tue, Dec 4, 2012
October prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 6.3 percent in October 2012, the biggest increase since June 2006 and the eighth consecutive increase in home prices nationally on a year-over-year basis, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.
Fitch: Regional Problems Hamper Recovery
By: editor; Fri, Nov 30, 2012
In addition to banks' tight mortgage lending standards that were criticized by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke two weeks ago, Fitch also said continued recovery in residential real estate prices will require regional improvements.
After Nearly Three Years, Negative Equity Refuses to Budge
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Nov 23, 2012
As the nation's real estate economy has evolved and slowly improved over the past two and a half years, the geography of almost every leading metric measuring the health of local housing markets has changed to reflect local economic trends and conditions except the one that many economists and policy makers consider to be critical to the national economic recovery.
Where Did the First-time Buyers Go?
By: editor; Tue, Nov 20, 2012
With record low interest rates and affordable prices, this was to be the year of the first-time home buyer. Instead, first-timers' market share has fallen from 39 percent of existing home sales last year to 31 percent in October. What happened?
Recovery Softens as More Markets End Year with Annual Price Decline
By: editor; Mon, Nov 19, 2012
Over the past few months, the number of markets experiencing year-over-year price declines has steadily increased, while the number experiencing list price increases has steadily declined. Compared to one year ago, a higher number of markets are ending the year with a year-over-year price decline (44 in 2012 vs. 36 in 2011) and a lower number of markets have a year-over-year price increase (71 in 2012 vs.84 in 2011).
Down Payments Fall to Three Year Low
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Nov 12, 2012
The median downpayment made by all homebuyers in 2012 was 9 percent, ranging from 4 percent for first-time buyers to 13 percent for repeat buyers. The median down payment was the lowest since 2009 but still far above the levels during the housing boom, when nearly half of first-time buyers made no downpayment at all.
Competition Drives Down Foreclosure Discounts
By: editor; Fri, Nov 9, 2012
The national average discount on foreclosures has shrunk by 1.4 percentage points over the past year as competition for foreclosures as inventories tighten is driving prices closer to full-price properties.
October Prices Lag in the Midwest
Price growth was strong in every region in October, including the Northeast where prices rose more than any other region. However, Midwest prices continued to trail the nation as the recovery is still fragile in the nation's heartland.
October Prices Seen Rising to Six Percent Annually
By: editor; Tue, Nov 6, 2012
CoreLogic's pending sales index indicates that October prices will rising by 5.7 percent on a year-over-year basis from October 2011 and falling by 0.5 percent on a month-over-month basis from September 2012 as sales exhibit a seasonal slowdown going into the winter.
Distressed Sales Reach Record Low
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Oct 26, 2012
A continuing slide in the volume of distressed properties seen in the housing market is helping to boost home prices in many parts of the country. Meanwhile, uncertainty about the impact of next month's national elections appears to be causing some would-be homebuyers to delay taking any action until after November, according to the October HousingPulse survey of real estate agents.
Housing Starts Blow Away the Experts
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Oct 19, 2012
More new residential units were started in September than any month since July 2008, blowing away expectations and making national headlines for the resurgence in home construction.
Fannie: Sales Up 9 Percent in 2012
By: editor; Thu, Oct 18, 2012
Fannie Mae’s economists expect total home sales to rise approximately 9 percent this year from last year’s depressed levels.
High Prices Still Lock Middle Class out of Top Cities
By: editor; Wed, Oct 17, 2012
A median-income household can only afford a median-priced home in 14 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to research released today by Interest.com, a Bankrate company. Detroit, Atlanta and Minneapolis are the most affordable metropolitan areas and San Diego, New York and San Francisco are the least affordable.
RE/MAX: Inventories Have Fallen for 27 Months
By: editor; Tue, Oct 16, 2012
Month-to-month inventories have now fallen for 27 consecutive months, according to the monthly RE/MAX National Housing Report. Inventory was 29.1 percent below September 2011 and may have contributed to the drop in sales from August.
This Time the Recovery is for Real
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Oct 12, 2012
Unlike the past three years, this year the price appreciation gains achieved during the spring and summer won't fade away in the fall and winter because an improved balance between supply and demand fueled by investors, pent up demand and consumer confidence is making today's housing recovery more durable than past efforts in recent years.
Five Year Forecast: Prices Will Rise 8.5 to 22 Percent
By: Steve Cook; Sun, Oct 7, 2012
Nominal house prices will continue to rise for the UFA 100, a broad based composite index of 100 US cities. Under current economic conditions commonly used house price indices will rise between 8.5 and 22 percent cumulatively over the next five years, but recovery will be slow for the larger metro areas in the Case-Shiller 10 city composite.
Homeowners Recover 13.5 Percent of Lost Equity Through Q3
Rising home values have brought homeowner equity to its highest level since the third quarter of 2008 and helped lift 1.3 million families above water. Homeowner equity jumped $406 billion, or 5.9 percent, to $7,275 billion in the second quarter of 2012, according to the Obama Administration's September Housing Scorecard.
Agents Still More Positive than Owners
By: editor; Wed, Oct 3, 2012
Real estate professionals continue to be more optimistic about the direction of home values than homeowners. Fifty-one percent of real estate professionals expect home values to increase, up from 48 percent from last quarter. Thirty-four percent of homeowners expect home values to increase, up from 27 percent last quarter.
States That Lost the Most are Gaining the Most
By: editor; Tue, Oct 2, 2012
States that lost the most home value during the housing depression, until recently largely hotbeds for discounted foreclosures and short sales, today are leading the nation in price gains.
Listings Shrink 34 Percent in Two Years and Keep Falling
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Sep 28, 2012
The unprecedented and unexpected crash in inventory that is driving the nascent recovery by bolstering prices increases began in July, 2010 when listing counts on Realtor.com topped 2.8 million, and two years later have fallen by more than a third.
Rustbelt Markets are Missing the Recovery
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Sep 18, 2012
Not all is going smoothly with the housing recovery as the summer ends. August data from Realtor.com shows that, though inventories are still falling, more and more markets are seeing prices go in the wrong direction, dropping below levels of a year ago.
Foreign Buyers are Staying Home
By: editor; Thu, Sep 13, 2012
Rising prices, disappearing bargains and economic troubles at home are quickly thinning the ranks of foreign property buyers. Who, just a few months ago, were being hailed as a major force in Florida markets and other resort destinations.
Rising Values Free 1.3 Million Homeowners
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Sep 12, 2012
CoreLogic today released a new analysis showing that 10.8 million, or 22.3 percent, of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity at the end of the second quarter of 2012. This is down from 11.4 million properties, or 23.7 percent, at the end of the first quarter of 2012. An additional 2.3 million borrowers possessed less than 5 percent equity in their home, referred to as near-negative equity, at the end of the second quarter.
Four Years Make a Big Difference for Homeowners
By: editor; Sun, Sep 9, 2012
More than 61 percent of respondents who purchased their home four years ago say they are as well or better off than they were four years ago, answering the quadrennial question asked every election season.
July Price Increase Matches Boom Levels
By: editor; Tue, Sep 4, 2012
Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 3.8 percent in July 2012 compared to July 2011. This was the biggest year-over-year increase since August 2006.
Foreclosure Price Surge Greatest in Six Years
By: Steve Cook; Sun, Sep 2, 2012
The average foreclosure-related sales price in the second quarter ($170,040) soared 6 percent from the first quarter of the year and was up 7 percent from the second quarter of 2011 - the first annual increase in average price since Q2 2010 and the biggest annual increase since Q4 2006.
State Foreclosure Laws Create Temporary Artificial Rebounds
By: editor; Thu, Aug 30, 2012
Foreclosure activity patterns are varying significantly from state to state, often hinging on the level of dysfunction that exists in each state's foreclosure process, reported RealtyTrac yesterday. Recent legislation and court rulings could lengthen the foreclosure process in some of the states with the shorter timelines, however, resulting in a temporary foreclosure lull and subsequent rebound in those states as well, said Daren Blomquist, Vice President of RealtyTrac.
Negative Equity Still Cripples Young Families
By: editor; Thu, Aug 23, 2012
Despite rising home values that are freeing homeowners from negative equity, nearly half of all homeowners under 45, many of whom have young, growing families in need of more space, are still frozen in place because they are underwater on their mortgages.
Inventories Continue to Fall
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Aug 22, 2012
Record low inventories of homes for sale, which are boosting home values and prices but depressing sales, show no signs of letting up. Though decline is normal this time of year, inventories stubbornly remain at decades-low levels.
RE/MAX: Falling Inventories Turn from Friend to Foe
By: editor; Mon, Aug 20, 2012
Dwindling inventories are now less than three-quarters the size that they were a year ago, according to the latest national report from RE/MAX. In fact, Inventories are so low that they have turned from friend to enemy of the housing recovery, limiting home sales, especially in the lower price range, where most sales are now occurring.
Economists Hop on Recovery Bandwagon
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Aug 16, 2012
Bank of America's announcement yesterday that it has significantly improved its home price forecast for the current year made headlines, but in fact the bank joins a growing list of housing economists who have seen the light and hopped on the recovery bandwagon.
California is Leading the Recovery
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Aug 14, 2012
The state that gave America Alt-A loans, Countrywide, the first tidal wave of foreclosures, the highest prices during the boom and the fastest fall during the bust now is leading the nation out of the six-year housing depression.
“Normal” Home Sales Soar Despite Obstacles
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Aug 10, 2012
While sales of distressed properties-foreclosures and short sales- have shrunk since the first of the year, a surge in sales of "normal" non-distressed properties has pushed total home sales through June 4.5 percent higher than last year even though buyers face by tight credit and low inventories.
Housing Recovery Starts to Move on Up
By: editor; Tue, Aug 7, 2012
Evidence is mounting that the steadily strengthening housing recovery is moving beyond lower priced homes, where the lack of inventory is greatest, into mid-tier and even luxury housing, according to the first market report on July sales.
Rising Values Push Nearly One Million Homeowners Above Water
By: Steve Cook; Sun, Aug 5, 2012
The number of homeowners who owe more in their mortgages than they are worth fell by 5.8 percent in the first quarter and nearly a full point from a year ago as rising values pushed nearly three quarters of a million homeowners into the black in the first quarter, and today the total may exceed one million.
Pent-up Demand Could Increase California Homeownership 1.8 Percent
By: editor; Wed, Aug 1, 2012
A new analysis of the impact of pent-up demand for homes that has been deferred by the housing crisis and recession could increase the homeownership rate by nearly 2 percent.
Realtors Return as Real Estate Recovers
In another sign that the housing economy is steadily improving, the number of Realtors has increased at a faster rate in the past three consecutive months than it has since the tax credit boom in 2009.
How Tight Credit is Strangling Home Sales
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jul 30, 2012
Negative equity, lack of consumer confidence, frozen foreclosures and a shaky economy all have received their share of blame for the dearth of sellers and buyers that keeps the housing recovery in low gear and vulnerable. No factor, however, has been as devastating to the housing economy and as difficult to improve as the inability of buyers, especially credit worthy buyers, to get financing
Frozen Foreclosures Frustrate Buyers
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jul 26, 2012
Six months after the historic agreement between 49 attorneys general and leading lenders, foreclosure and pre-foreclosure inventories are as high as they were in January, even as investors and first-time buyers fight over scarce discounted properties in the marketplace.
Mortgage Credit Lags Rebound in Consumer Credit
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jul 12, 2012
Credit is opening up for autos and other consumer purchases but purchase mortgages account for only a small percentage of the improving picture despite the fact that mortgage delinquencies are down 37 percent among first mortgages since January 2010.
Multiple Offers Return as Buyers are Back but Sellers are Not
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jul 6, 2012
Record tight inventories are making it increasingly difficult for growing numbers of buyers, who are creating multiple bid environments in markets that haven't seen buyers battle over homes in six years
Foreclosures Held Steady in May
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jun 29, 2012
Though the level of completed foreclosures remains high, it is down 27 percent from a peak of 1.1 million in 2010 according to the latest data from CoreLogic. Inventories at the national level remain the same as a year ago.
Did Phoenix Overshoot the Downside?
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jun 27, 2012
True to its name, Phoenix has risen from the ashes of its foreclosure-ridded real estate market to lead the nation in year-over-year price increases, up 32.63 percent year over year in Realtor.com's May data.
Economists See Weaker Recovery and Declining Homeownership
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jun 25, 2012
National median home prices will improve for the balance of the year and end with a slight annual decline before bottoming out by 2013, but homeownership will continue to drop over the next five years, according to a quarterly survey of housing economists and experts released today.
Lending Standards Give an Inch with Miles to Go
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jun 21, 2012
Lending standards for purchase mortgages have eased slightly since January but not nearly enough to stop renewed criticism that high standards are impairing demand.
Risk Returns to Home Values
By: editor; Wed, Jun 20, 2012
In light of the tremendous losses in equity homeowners have suffered over the past six years and the continued uncertainty surrounding the housing market, the economics of home ownership will make sense only if equity can be protected, Scott Ryles, CEO of Home Value Insurance Company, told the nation's leading real estate journalists attending the 46th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
More than a Million New Households a Year Forecast
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jun 14, 2012
Echo boomers and a moderate level of immigration will add 1.18 million new households a year through 2020, building demand for both rental and ownership housing, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Recovery Has Yet to Arrive
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jun 6, 2012
The stage is set for the nation's housing economy to recover, but the recovery has not yet begun. That's the consensus of a Webinar today from three of Standard & Poor's economists after presenting the latest data.
Improving Foreclosure Prices Drive Recovery
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jun 5, 2012
Significant price increases in bank-owned foreclosures are driving gains at the national, regional and local levels, helping home prices turn the corner with small quarterly and yearly gains.
Weaker Home Sales Seen in 2012
Record low mortgage rates are failing to generate stimulate mortgage applications for home purchases, which are down 3.9 percent below last year's level. As a result, last week the Mortgage Bankers Association lowered its 2012 estimate for home sales.
Fitch Sees No Bottom Until Late Next Year
Fitch Ratings' outlook for U.S. residential real estate prices has improved slightly in recent months, but the authoritative ratings service still sees no bottom to declining housing prices until late 2013.
FHA Foreclosures Soared in April
FHA foreclosures rose 73 percent in April, driven primarily by defaults of loans made in 2008 and 2009 vintage loans, raising new questions about the solvency of the popular government program, which accounts for about a third of all new mortgages.
Huge Foreclosure Flood Feared
By: Steve Cook; Wed, May 30, 2012
More than half of all Americans are concerned that a huge wave of backlogged foreclosures to be released by major lenders in the wake of the Robo-signing scandal will lower home values in their markets.
First-time Buyers Rebound
By: Steve Cook; Thu, May 24, 2012
First-time buyers are driving expectations that a recovery has begun. Their numbers and market share are growing despite financing roadblocks and competition with investors for entry-level homes.
Lenders Show Signs of Easing on Refis
By: Steve Cook; Thu, May 17, 2012
In April lenders loosened up slightly on the loan-to-value ratio used to make approval decisions on mortgage refinance applications. However, but the lid is still screwed down tightly on purchase mortgages used to buy homes, according to the Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report.
Listing Inventory Hits 5-Year Low
By: editor; Thu, May 17, 2012
The national for-sale inventory of single family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops fell to the lowest level since 2007 in April, providing further evidence that the inventory draw down is continuing into the spring home buying season.
Is There Really a Housing Shortage?
By: Steve Cook; Tue, May 15, 2012
It may be hard to believe, but the dramatic drawdown in inventories during this spring buying season is bringing some cries of "housing shortage" from hotter markets around the county. But is there solid evidence to support such a claim?
How Far Will Prices Fall?
By: editor; Thu, May 10, 2012
When the bottom arrives in the mythical national housing market some time later this year, how far will we be from the heady peaks of the real estate boom when prices were at their zenith?
Foreclosure Discounts Shrink in 2012
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Apr 19, 2012
The rates that foreclosures and short sales are discounted from full-price properties have declined significantly in 2012, especially discounts for higher priced properties and in some of the markets hit hardest by foreclosures in the past.
Is Chicago the Next Atlanta?
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Apr 9, 2012
Will Chicago be the next big city to witness its housing market implode, virtually without warning?
“Improving Markets” Improve Very Slowly
The list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded by just two for a total of 101 "improving" metropolitan areas in April after adding just one market in May.
Midwest Prices Sink Deeper
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Apr 5, 2012
Median home prices have continued to fall in the Midwest, now 2.4 percent below January levels, while every other region has shown improvement over the past three months.
Full-Value Home Prices Begin to Rise
In a strong sign that the housing recovery has begun, the national median price of full-value homes that are not foreclosures or short sales rose each of first two months of the year.
Oil Powers America’s Healthiest Housing Markets
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Apr 3, 2012
What three things do Dallas, Midland, Tulsa, Billings, Oklahoma City, and Corpus Christi have in common?
No Sign Yet of Accelerated Foreclosure Processing
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Mar 29, 2012
The inventory of homes awaiting foreclosure continued to grow in February as the number of new foreclosures actually declined, a sign that the recent filed multi-state AG agreement hasn't had any early impact on the backlogged foreclosure inventory.
Experts Sour on 2012
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Mar 21, 2012
As the spring buying season begins, some real estate gurus are getting cold feet about prices despite reports of record low inventories and consistent increases in sales.
Realtor.com: The Stage is set for Recovery
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Mar 16, 2012
Inventories are at historic lows, list prices have strengthened over the past 12 months and demand is healthier. The February data from Realtor.com paints a positive picture for the coming recovery.
Eight More Months of Pain
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Mar 13, 2012
Housing prices will drop four more percentage points and they won't bottom out until next fall. That's the latest forecast from Standard & Poor's housing experts, from a Webcast on the US Housing Market distributed to investors and the media.
Asking Prices Go Black in 2012
By: editor; Mon, Mar 12, 2012
For the first time in six years, sellers' asking prices tracked by the Department of Numbers have gone positive on a year-to-year basis, another sign that the housing economy is slowly healing itself.
Foreclosures Don’t Faze Top 15 Markets
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Mar 6, 2012
Despite enduring notably higher levels of foreclosures in February, three out of the nation's four regions shrugged off the uptick in foreclosures and achieved higher prices.
Mortgage Default Risk Drops to Lowest in Seven Years
By: editor; Mon, Mar 5, 2012
Low mortgage rates and monetary policy lowered the UFA Default Risk Index for the first quarter of 2012, which has now reached its lowest level since 2005, before the housing bust.
New Listings Promise Robust Prices
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Feb 15, 2012
As of February 10, new listings tracked by Altos Research have ticked upwards for five consecutive weeks, suggesting the spring home buyer season will bring the strongest prices the nagtion has seen since the tax credit briefly stimulated demand two years ago.
Finished Foreclosures Fell 24 Percent in 2011, Inventory Down 8.4 Percent
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Feb 8, 2012
Both the number of completed foreclosures and the volume of homes in the foreclosure inventory fell significantly last year, suggesting that foreclosures have peaked.
Foreclosure Markets Dominate Realtor.com Turnaround Towns
By: editor; Tue, Jan 31, 2012
Ten of the nation's local real estate markets that suffered from high foreclosure rates in recent years, eight of which are in Florida, are leading America's housing sector towards a general recovery, according to Realtor.com's Top 10 Turnaround Town Report, fourth quarter 2011.
What Does Recovery Look Like?
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jan 30, 2012
Like everything in real estate, recovery will arrive market-by-market. Is this the year recovery will come to your market? Knowing your market's bottom could be critical; how will you recognize it?
Luxury Listings Lag Cheaper Properties as Inventories Rise
By: editor; Tue, Jan 24, 2012
Sales are typically slow in winter, but this January is proving especially sluggish for luxury homes even though sales for all existing homes have increased through the last three months of 2011.
Markets Seen Stabilizing This Year
By: editor; Mon, Jan 9, 2012
Home prices this year cease their decline and gain a slight 0.2 percent across all markets as more and more individual markets stabilize in the months to come.
Homeownership Counseling Helps Keep Modified Loans Current
Just three weeks after Congress restored $40 million in its budget for homeownership counseling, a new study by the Urban Institute reports that counseling greatly increased the ability of homeowners to stay current once they cured a serious delinquency or foreclosure.
Financial Security Rebounds to Six Month High
Americans' feelings of financial security are at their highest level in six months, according to Bankrate.com's December Financial Security Index, which was released today. The overall index jumped 3.3 points to 95.8, the highest level since June.
Mortgage Defaults are on the Road to Recovery
By: editor; Mon, Dec 12, 2011
The UFA Default Risk Index for the fourth quarter of 2011 edged lower to 131 from last quarter's revised 133, which has suggests that residential mortgage default and prepayment risks are continuing their return to normalcy.
Jobs Report Lifts Rates Above 4 Percent
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Oct 7, 2011
The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected last month, and employment gains for the previous two months were revised higher-not great news considering the jobless rate is unchanged at 9.1 percent but good enough to stop mortgage rates from setting new records.
Experts’ Forecast for 2011 Prices Improves
By: editor; Wed, Sep 21, 2011
The home price picture for this year is shaping up to be a little better than it looked June, according to the September 2011 home price expectations survey of 111 leading housing economists and experts sponsored by MacroMarkets LLC.
Soaring Prices Suggest a Florida Phenomenon
By: Steve Cook; Sat, Sep 17, 2011
According to the latest data from Realtor.com, the world's largest real estate site, Florida single family home and condo prices are zooming at the same time that the rest of the nation is still recovering from the first quarter's double dip.
Summer Prices Fail to Warm the Double Dip Chill
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Sep 8, 2011
As summer days fade away into fall, the long term impact of this year's buying season on prices is coming into clear focus.
Go Figure: Record Low Rates AND Record Low Mortgage Apps
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Sep 8, 2011
The latest headlines from Freddie Mac and MBA make it clear beyond a doubt that the old assumptions about the housing economy no longer work.
Seasonal Buying Drives June Prices
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Sep 1, 2011
June home prices rose for the third consecutive month, ending the month with the largest seasonal gain year to date.
Purchase Mortgages Falling to 20 Year Low!
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Aug 22, 2011
Lenders will write fewer mortgages for home buyers this year than in any year since 1991.
June Prices Still in Red; Northeast Booms
National average home prices in June were still 7.9 percent below a year ago, which was the height of the boomlet spawned by the tax credit. However, prices are still up 4.1 percent over the first quarter.
Contract Rate Falls to 2011 Low
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jul 27, 2011
The National Average Contract Mortgage is 4.62 percent, lower than it has been all year. This is a decrease of 0.12 percent from the previous month. Many lenders use this rate in adjusting some adjustable-rate mortgages. This index was the only index rate that federally chartered savings and loan associations could use as an adjustable-rate mortgage [...]
“Normal” Home Prices are Stabilizing
By: editor; Tue, Jul 26, 2011
Prices of "normal" homes-those that aren't foreclosures or short sales-are stabilizing and the numbers of future foreclosures are falling. That "sliver of good news for consumer spending" was included in CoreLogic's July report on housing and market trends.
RE/MAX Reports Inventories Are Shrinking
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jul 15, 2011
Inventories in 53 markets surveyed last month by RE/MAX are down nearly fifteen percent from a year ago, when the tax credit boom was winding down, another indication that housing markets have recovered from the tax credit-induced sales boom and the bust that followed it.
High Rollers Move Up
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jul 6, 2011
While a third of homeowners struggle to stay above water on their mortgages, nearly a quarter of those in the upper income tiers have been trading up to take advantage of deals in the luxury home market.
Agents and Owners Turn Increasingly Pessimistic on Values
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jul 6, 2011
Half of agents and 42 percent of homeowners in a second quarter survey expect home values to decrease or stay the same through the end of the year, according a second quarter survey.
Prices Rise for Second Consecutive Month
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jun 30, 2011
Hours after NAR announced an 8.2 percent jump in May prices, CoreLogic confirmed its May numbers show a second consecutive month-over-month increase.
May Pending Home Sales Rise Above 2010 Levels
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jun 30, 2011
NAR's Pending Home Sales Index 8.2 percent to 88.8 in May from an upwardly revised 82.1 in April and is 13.4 percent higher than the 78.3 reading in May 2010. The data reflects contracts but not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.
Case-Shiller: Slight Increase in April
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jun 28, 2011
S&P/Case-Shiller's 10 and 20 city composites rose less than one percent in April over March, the first price increase the indices have measured in eight months.
Prices Perked up in April
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jun 22, 2011
U.S. house prices rose slightly in April for the first month-to-month increase since last May, according to new numbers released today by the Federal Home Finance Agency, a branch of the Treasury Department.
Agents More Bearish on Home Values
By: Will Stein; Tue, Jun 21, 2011
Half of all agents and brokers and forty-two percent of homeowners think that home values will decrease over the next six months, a huge increase in price pessimism over the first quarter.
New Index Finds April Prices Improved
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jun 16, 2011
April home prices have improved over March in the new national composite index launched yesterday by FNC at the National Association of Real Estate Editors Annual Meeting in San Antonio.
CB: Niagara Falls Most Affordable
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jun 15, 2011
Once America's favorite honeymoon destination, Niagara Falls, NY is the most affordable housing market in the nation, and Newport Beach, CA is the priciest.
RE/MAX: Home Prices Hang Tough
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jun 15, 2011
Year to year prices in May are still 7.2 percent below those of a year ago, but they've virtually the same as April's on a year to year basis. However, the number of closed transactions and price also increased from April to May.
Radian’s Mortgage Delinquencies Rose 8.6 Percent in May
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jun 10, 2011
New mortgage delinquencies reported by Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group Inc., rose 8.6 percent in May and the major mortgage insurer reported a slower pace of the decline in its delinquency inventory.
REAL Trends: May Sales Show Surprising Strength
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jun 10, 2011
A third consecutive spring market report has May home prices rising in the wake of the double dip reported by S&P/Case-Shiller in the first quarter.
May Home Prices Spring Back
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jun 9, 2011
Home sales prices continued a downward trend in May, but only half as far and half as fast as in April.
“Catfish” Recovery Outswims Case-Shiller
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jun 3, 2011
New listing prices, which lead transactions by three to six months, are already up 8.7 percentage points over the March trough, an indication that sellers are pricing more confidently, said Scott Sambucci, vice president of market analytics for Altos Research in a Webcast for customers yesterday.
Investors are Bearish on Next 12 Months
By: Steve Cook; Thu, May 26, 2011
Real estate investors are slightly more bearish than the general public about the outlook for prices in their local markets over the next six to 12 months.
Turnaround: Four Months and Counting?
By: Steve Cook; Wed, May 11, 2011
Price declines will end and average U. S. home prices will stabilize by Labor Day. Prices in even the hardest-hit markets will level out by the end of 2012.
Florida Sales Rise, Prices Fall
By: Steve Cook; Wed, May 11, 2011
Will Florida, which has been at the forefront of both the housing boom and bust, also lead the nation out of recovery?
Spring Breathes Life into Prices
By: Steve Cook; Fri, May 6, 2011
A seasonal uptick in both median prices and inventory has appeared in most metropolitan areas across the country, contradicting earlier price reports, according to Altos Research's 20-city Composite trends data in April.
Corelogic: Non-distressed Prices are Stabilizing
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Apr 8, 2011
Nationally home prices fell for the seventh month in a row in February according to the CoreLogic HPI, declining by 6.7 percent year over year after declining by 5.5 percent in January 2011 compared to January 2010.
Fewer Homeowners Have Problems Paying Mortgages
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Apr 6, 2011
A new Harris Poll released yesterday found that the percentage of homeowners having difficulty paying off their mortgages has fallen from 29 to 22 percent over the past year, a 24 percent decline.
Sellers Keep Faith as Inventories Rise
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Mar 24, 2011
Despites declines in prices through the fourth quarter and January, sellers are expecting nearly demand to be as strong as it was at the beginning of the homebuyer tax run-up in sales a year ago according to February data released today by Move, Inc.
Experts See Only Weak Recovery by 2013
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Mar 22, 2011
A panel of 111 leading housing economists, real estate experts, investment and market strategists have lowered their expectations of the housing markets and now see only a weak recovery taking place two years from now.
Prices Seen Stabilizing After Spring Fling
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Mar 7, 2011
Last month prices continued to decline in 27 key markets as listing inventories rose just in time to sweeten the coming home buying season for buyers but they should act now because small increases are appearing on the national level, according to Altos Research's Real-Time Housing Market Update.
Minorities and Young Keep Homeownership Dream Alive
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Feb 28, 2011
Fannie Mae's latest National Housing Survey found that younger Americans, Hispanics, and African-Americans are generally more positive about owning a home than the general population even though Gen Yers and minorities suffered the steepest decline in homeownership over the past five years.
Is Your Market Stabilized?
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Feb 2, 2011
It's official. Home prices in three major real estate markets have been declared stabilized by the authoritative Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes and six more are in the offing.
Challenges Face Luxury Homes
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jan 21, 2011
Things were looking up for luxury home sales during the tax credit boomlet last year. However, the credit wasn't the primary reason; after all, $4000 isn't a compelling incentive to well-heeled move up buyers in the million dollar plus housing bracket.
Private Mortgage Insurance Booms in a Shaky Market
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jan 12, 2011
Even as overall home sales soured over the past six months, home buyers and lenders are turning to private mortgage insurance (PMI) at a record rate to get into homes with a lower down payment and reduce their exposure to risk. Since July, when home sales tanked following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, the [...]
Fewer Lenders Failed in 2010
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jan 4, 2011
Fewer mortgage-related firms closed their doors during 2010 than in 2009 based on the Mortgage Graveyard from MortgageDaily.com
Economists See Slower Housing Recovery
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Dec 22, 2010
The recovery of housing prices will take at least four more years, according to a monthly survey of 110 leading economists and real estate experts, significantly longer than previously estimated.
More Homeowners Dodge Foreclosure Bullet with NFMC Counseling
By: Frances Flynn Thorsen; Tue, Dec 21, 2010
All loss mitigators are not created equal. The odds of curing a foreclosure and avoiding redefault are 1.7 times better for homeowners enrolled in the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program than for homeowners who do not receiving such counseling, according to the Urban Institute. The group released a report yesterday analyzing the NFMC program [...]
TransUnion Sees Double Digit Decline in Delinquencies Next Year
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Dec 17, 2010
Mortgage delinquencies will drop nearly 20 percent by the end of 2011 to 4.98 percent of all mortgages from an expected 6.21 percent at the end of 2010, according to the latest forecast from TransUnion, one of the three top credit rating bureaus.
Robo-Signing Scandal Dampens Housing Recovery Hopes
By: Frances Flynn Thorsen; Tue, Dec 7, 2010
Recent bank scandals involving robo-signing foreclosure documents and improprieties in the lending process have weakened consumer confidence about housing market recovery prospects. More than half of adults report that robo-signing disclosures account for less faith in mortgage lenders, banks, and government, according to a recent study by Trulia and RealtyTrac. Thirty-five percent believe the robo-signing issue [...]
Fewer Economists See Housing Recovery in 2011
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Oct 20, 2010
Hopes are sinking and uncertainty is on the rise that a housing recovery will begin next year, according to a monthly survey of housing economists.
August Sales Fall but Prices Hold Steady…For Now
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Sep 20, 2010
Home sales tumbled in August but prices held steady, at least for now, despite falling demand and rising inventories in most markets according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions.
First-time Buyers Sink Below Pre-Credit Levels
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Aug 23, 2010
Last month, first-time homebuyers' share of the housing market fell lower than it has been since 2008 when the first-time version of the homebuyer tax credit took effect.
TransUnion Reports Delinquencies Fall for Second Straight Quarter
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Aug 17, 2010
Another provider of national credit data reported today that mortgage delinquencies have been falling during the first half of the year, suggesting that the housing sector is beginning to stabilize.
Tax Credit Temporarily Checked Falling Home Values
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Aug 9, 2010
Though home values in the United States continued to decline in the second quarter of 2010, the percentage of single-family homeowners with mortgages who are underwater fell to 21.5 percent from 23.3 percent in the first quarter and 23 percent one year ago., according to the Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.
Nearly Half of Sellers Cut Prices
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Aug 6, 2010
The number of price-reduced homes on the market increased 5.3 percent in July as compared to June, according to a monthly review of MLS-listed properties within 26 of the country's largest housing markets conducted by the national online real estate brokerage ZipRealty.
Prices Rise 7.9 Percent
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Aug 5, 2010
Despite reports that sellers were dropping prices following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit April 30, a new national report found that prices rose an average of 7.9 percent in the second quarter over the first, though price increases on listings slowed in June.
RE/MAX Finds Low Rates Lift Sales
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jul 20, 2010
In the wake of the homebuyer tax credit, home sales and prices are holding their own, due largely to record low interest rates and the most affordable prices in years, according to the RE/MAX June survey of 54 metropolitan areas.
Home Prices Expected to Weaken
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jul 14, 2010
Virtually every other indicator from Pending Sales to Mortgage Purchase Applications is showing home sales headed south with the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit ended April 30.
Falling Jumbo Rates Raise High End Sales
By: Steve Cook; Sun, Jul 11, 2010
High end sales have been picking up through the spring and early summer, even in the wake of the demise of the tax credit, whose impact was felt almost exclusively at the lower end of the market.
PMI Removes 105 Markets from Distressed List
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jun 21, 2010
PMI Group, the nation's leading private mortgage insurer, has removed 105 markets effective June 18, including some of the nation's largest, from its Distressed Markets List. Homebuyers in those markets will find it easier and less expensive to obtain mortgage insurance.
First-Time Homebuyers Disappeared After Tax Credit Ended
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jun 21, 2010
Homebuyer traffic nationwide tumbled in May, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions. Most of the decline was attributable to first-time homebuyers who sharply reduced their home shopping last month.
Post Tax Credit Price Cutting Eases
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Jun 16, 2010
Price cutting of listed properties apparently has eased as real estate markets recover from the boom and bust of the tax credit. On an annual basis, price cutting declined slightly.
Growing Confidence Fuels Single Family Home Price Increases
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jun 14, 2010
Optimism that a sustainable economic recovery is underway is driving increases in home prices across many U.S. metro areas according to an analysis of fourth quarter 2009 prices in 384 metro markets by Fiserv, the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, and data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Restoring Default Risk to Pre-Bubble Levels Will Take Five Years
By: Steve Cook; Wed, May 26, 2010
The risk of borrowers defaulting on their mortgages today is much less than in 2006 to 2008, but it will take at least five years for risk to return to pre-bubble levels, a leading expert on default risk told Real Estate Economy Watch.
Lowe’s Sees 2010 as Transition Year
By: Steve Cook; Mon, May 17, 2010
Reporting a 2.7 percent rise in net earnings today for the first quarter, the nation's second largest home improvement retailer remains cautious about the balance of 2010.
New Homes Surge Heralds Future Sales Gains
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Apr 26, 2010
Last week's 27 percent surge in new home sales in March, the largest advance since April 1963, signals future increases in existing home sales, which rose only 7 percent in March, and may show the real impact of the homebuyer tax credit, which expires at the end of this week.
Spring Sales Are Slow
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Mar 9, 2010
As record snows melt away in the Midwest and East, real estate professionals are not seeing the volume of interest or which they had hoped.
Short Sales See Big Jump in Activity
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Feb 22, 2010
Short sales have jumped from about ten percent of distressed property sales during most of last year to 15.9 percent of home purchase transactions in January.
More than One in Four Homes Appreciated in 2009
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Feb 18, 2010
Despite the fact that nearly one out of four American homeowners owe more on their homes than their mortgages are worth, more than one quarter of American homes actually increased in value last year.
Home Builders Court Equity Financing
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Jan 29, 2010
An amazing event at the International Builders' Show earlier this month promises to change the industry's financing structure forever and breathe new hope into the industry.
First-time Buyers Faded in Q4
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jan 19, 2010
First-time homebuyers, the most important segment of the home purchase market in 2009, accounted for a shrinking share of the housing market as 2009 drew to a close.
Real Estate Goes Back to Print
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jan 18, 2010
Newspaper real estate ad spending is projected to rise 16 percent in 2010, to $4.4 billion, after falling 34 percent last year.
Banks Tighten Lending Standards Further
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Nov 9, 2009
One out of every four banks continued to tighten lending standards and terms for prime mortgages in the third quarter.
Mortgage Rates Near All-Time Lows
By: Steve Cook; Sat, Oct 3, 2009
In the week ending October 1, 2009, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate averaged 4.94 percent fell below 5 percent for the first time since May, nearing its all-time low of 4.78 percent reached last April.
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