Category Archives: Mortgages

Home prices finally dip (a little)

From CNN: US home prices fall by largest amount annually since December 2011 US home prices fell in May at the largest annual rate in more than a decade, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Thursday. The … Continue reading

Posted in Crisis, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 55 Comments

Could be worse, we could be the UK

From the Guardian: Millions are facing soaring mortgage rates. How did we leave them so vulnerable? There is a cross-party consensus that Britain as a property-owning democracy should promote home ownership. To that end, 7.5 million people hold a record £1.7tn … Continue reading

Posted in Crisis, Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, Philly | 76 Comments

Past Peak Mortgage?

From CNN: Mortgage rates tick down for the second week in a row Mortgage rates ticked down this week for the second week in a row, as investors absorbed the Federal Reserve’s expected pause on raising the federal funds rate after 10 … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 33 Comments

Fed presses pause

From CNN: The Fed holds rates steady, pausing its rate-hiking campaign The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would pause its historic rate-hiking campaign as it waits for the effects to trickle further through the economy, but signaled that additional rate hikes are … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Employment, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Politics | 93 Comments

Something’s going to give

From Seeking Alpha: Mortgage Rates Re-Spike To 7% Range As It Sinks In That Fed Won’t Cut Rates ‘Anytime Soon,’ Mortgage Applications Plunge To 1995 Levels Spring selling season was a dud. But what comes next may be worse, that’s … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 72 Comments

Why would they?

From the WSJ: The Home Buyer’s Quandary: Nobody’s Selling Many Americans who want to move are trapped in their homes—locked in by low interest rates they can’t afford to give up.  These “golden handcuffs” are keeping the supply of homes for … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 140 Comments

Gridlock

From the NYT: Home Buyers Are Eager but Sellers Are Scarce, Creating ‘Real Gridlock’ The housing market typically comes to life in spring, when buyers emerge in the warmer weather. This year, the market appears stuck in a deep freeze, and the … Continue reading

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate | 68 Comments

Do we go negative now?

From Redfin: Home Prices Fell 3% in March—Biggest Annual Drop in Over a Decade The median U.S. home sale price fell 3.3% in March to $400,528, the largest year-over-year drop since 2012. That follows February’s 1.2% dip, which was the first annual … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 139 Comments

Locked in is the new priced out

From DS News: Fannie Mae: ‘Lock-in Effect’ Amplifying Housing Shortages While the annual rate of increase in home prices slowed dramatically as a result of inflated interest rates, single-family home prices increased at a non-seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.7% from … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 73 Comments

Back in the pool!

From CNBC: Homebuyer mortgage demand jumps after interest rates drop to two-month low Today’s housing market is so pricey that homebuyers are highly sensitive to any distinct moves in mortgage rates. And that’s what happened last week. Rates dropped, and … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Bubble, Mortgages | 122 Comments

Don’t worry about commercial real estate…

From Insider: Most of Wall Street is panicking about commercial real estate – but Goldman Sachs says there’s little chance it triggers a financial crisis It seems like there are three words on the lips of every investor now that … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 24 Comments

Heating up!

From CNN: Mortgage rates fall for the fourth week in a row Homebuyers benefited from another week of falling mortgage rates, with the average rate dropping for the fourth week in a row, according to data from Freddie Mac released … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 59 Comments

Spring doesn’t matter this year?

From Money: Why Seasonality Doesn’t Matter in the Housing Market This Spring The housing market usually has seasonal ebbs and flows. Spring is historically a very strong season for the real estate market, and home sales tend to peak during the warmest … Continue reading

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate | 93 Comments

Why wouldn’t they?

From CNBC: More home sellers are sitting out of the spring housing market It might seem like a great time to list your home for sale. Buyers are flooding back into the market, mortgage rates have fallen off their recent … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 111 Comments

Home prices continue falling

From CNBC: Home prices cool in January, even falling in some cities, S&P Case-Shiller says Home prices cooled in January, up only 3.8% nationally than they were a year earlier, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 80 Comments