Inflation is at a 40-year high, and the average consumer is spending $500 more a month on living expenses than a year ago. As such, home buyers may need to lower their budgets to keep pace. House hunters would be smart to search for a home that is about $40,000 cheaper than they would have a …
Category: News
Apr 24
Mortgage Rates
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to a 5% average this week, the first time it’s been that high since 2011. Since the beginning of the year, mortgage rates have jumped by 1.8 percentage points and added about $400 to the average monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of …
Apr 23
Calmer Market Ahead
The past two years have been quite exceptional for real estate. Home sales boomed. Home prices rose at the fastest rate in modern times. However, such a strong housing market created growing pains. Inventory shrank to its lowest count ever. Even through the recent winter months, the inventory that has made it onto the market …
Apr 22
Mortgage Rates Rise
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.11% this week, continuing its rapid rise, Freddie Mac reports. The higher borrowing costs are forcing home buyers to expand their budgets. With higher rates and home prices, house hunters need to earn about $25,000 extra if they want to buy the typical home now compared to a year earlier, …
Apr 19
Housing Affordability Is Stressing Out Buyers
High home prices and mortgage rates are serving as a wake-up call to potential home buyers this spring that their budgets just aren’t going to go as far as they would have a year ago. In the first quarter of this year, 81% percent of consumers said they could afford less than half the homes …
Apr 18
Buyers Must Budget Extra For Closing Costs
Average closing costs for a single-family home rose by 13.4% in 2021, according to a new analysis by CoreLogic, a real estate research firm. That equates to about $6,905 including transfer taxes and $3,860 when transfer taxes are excluded. Home buyers also are facing higher borrowing costs from mortgage rates and higher home prices. The …
Apr 17
Demand Doubles for ARMs
The share of mortgage applications with adjustable-rate mortgages doubled last week when compared to three months ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. ARMs, which start at one rate and then fluctuate after a set period, comprised more than 9% of loans and 17% of the dollar volume. ARMs were blamed for contributing to the …
Apr 15
Mortgage Rates This week.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage barely budged this week, but it’s still stressing home shoppers feeling concern about being priced out. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10%, down slightly from 5.11% last week, Freddie Mac reports. But it is one week before the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates further, Nadia Evangelou, National Association …
Apr 12
Mortgage Payment Nearly 50% Above a Year Ago
There’s reason talk of sticker shock has grown increasingly common in real estate: Home prices and mortgage rates have significantly increased home buyers’ costs in just one year. Mortgage rates have risen at the fastest pace in four decades. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10% this week, Freddie Mac reports. A year ago, rates averaged …
Apr 11
Misperceptions Persist Over VA Loans
Mortgage loans backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs can help make homeownership more attainable for military families with its offers of zero-down-payment loans. But many vets or service members may not know what’s required to use one or how they work, a new study shows. A new study of 1,000 active-duty service members and …
Apr 10
The Impact of High Mortgage Rates
The sharp rise in mortgage rates this year has added hundreds of dollars to new monthly mortgage payments. In fact, climbing rates have caused the monthly amount of a new mortgage payment to increase by an average of $258.57. That equals an average of an extra $3,102.84 per year and an average of $93,085.20 over the …
Apr 09
Deciding to enter the home buying market?
Deciding to enter the home buying market? Here are some tips on what NOT to do during the homebuying process. Century 21 All-Elite and lender Ken Jordan, NMLS 183317 of Princeton Mortgage are experts on guiding buyers through this process and answering any questions you have. #homebuyereducation
