The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced it would be increasing upfront fees on second-home mortgages and on mortgages that finance homes with balances that exceed standard conforming loan limits. The fees are expected to increase the purchase cost of second homes and homes in high-cost areas.

The new fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will take effect on April 1.

Upfront fees for mortgage loans on second homes will rise between 1.125% and 3.875%. Most buyers finance their fee through their mortgage, which adds from 0.225% to 0.75% to the annual mortgage rate. For other certain high-balance loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, upfront fees will increase between 0.25% and 0.75%, or roughly 0.05% to 0.15% added to the annual mortgage rate, the FHFA said.

“These targeted pricing changes will allow [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] to better achieve their mission of facilitating equitable and sustainable access to homeownership while improving their regulatory capital position over time,” Sandra L. Thompson, FHFA acting director, said in a statement.

The National Association of Home Builders said that a buyer of a second home with a $300,000 mortgage loan amount and a loan-to-value ratio of 65%, for example, will pay an additional fee of $4,875 if their mortgage is purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Prior to this change, such buyers would have to pay no additional fee for a comparable mortgage.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will face greater risks as the market is waned off of the extraordinary federal support during the pandemic, and these changes may help them to support the maximum access and affordability possible for the market in a sound manner,” said NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith. “However, we are concerned that any fee increases that exceed necessary levels in the current environment will harm affordability and access for consumers. REALTORS® believe any excess revenues gleaned from the fee increases must be used to support homeownership opportunities in underserved communities, expanding affordability and access in a safe manner.”

“With the nation in the midst of a housing affordability crisis and many more workers electing to telework, this is exactly the wrong time for federal regulators to be raising fees on homeownership and second homes,” Chuck Fowke, chairman of the NAHB, which has spoken out against the fee increases.

Seventy-one percent of moving companies reported delays in 2021, blaming high demand and a labor shortage, according to a new survey of 63 moving firms conducted by moveBuddha, a moving company resource.

Buyers planning a move will want to plan ahead. Nearly half of companies are booked out at least three weeks further than in previous seasons, the survey shows. Sixteen percent of firms say they’re booked up more than six weeks out than in previous peak seasons.

What’s more, customer complaints about cancellations jumped 250% in 2021 compared to a pre-pandemic period in 2019.

“With so many Americans on the move, 2021 [saw] an unprecedented surge in the need for relocation services,” moveBuddha says of its research data. “Moving businesses across the country are reeling to meet demand in an economy plagued by worker shortages, rising fuel costs, and health concerns. And customers are hurting as well.”

The moving supply and demand issues are increasing costs for moves too, says Ben Heller, CEO of PricePoint, a moving price platform for movers.

Seventy-six percent of moving companies say they’re charging more than they used to.

“With so much demand, moving and freight companies are incentivized to take jobs that are more profitable now,” Heller told moveBuddha. “The result: There are more corporate moves with delays or no availability from partners, large delivery spreads, and more annoyed transferees.”

About 70% of moving companies report higher rates of delivery delays in 2021 compared to previous years. Delays are most prevalent for individuals moving as part of an employer-sponsored relocation contract, the survey shows.

Moving companies say among their biggest challenges are driver shortages, delivery delays, labor shortages, increased damage claims, and rising fuel costs.

The states reporting some of the biggest issues in servicing customers are in California, Illinois, and Washington, according to the survey.

Conforming loan limits for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have jumped in most of the country to $647,200, an increase of $98,950 from 2021’s limit of $548,250. The higher levels are in response to rising home prices over the past year.

The new loan limits took effect Jan. 1.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index shows that home prices rose 18.05%, on average, between the third quarters of 2020 and 2021. The 2022 conforming loan limits increased by the same percentage, the FHFA reports.

However, in areas where the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit, the limits have risen more, the FHFA says. In higher-priced locations such as San Francisco and New York, the conforming loan limits for 2022 increased to $970,800. In 2021, that baseline was $822,375.

Find out the conforming loan limit for 2022 in your area at FHFA.gov. You can also view the interactive map below on the site.

Find out the conforming loan limit for 2022 in your area at FHFA.gov. You can also view the interactive map below on the site.

Mortgage rates stayed low for the final week of 2021, but housing analysts largely predict rates will be heading up in the coming weeks.

“Mortgage rates have been effectively been moving sideways despite the increase in new COVID cases,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This is because incoming economic data suggests that the economy remains on firm ground, particularly cyclical industries like manufacturing and housing. Moreover, low interest rates and high asset valuations continue to drive consumer spending. While we do expect rates to rise, the push the first-time home buyer demographic that’s been propelling the purchase market will continue in 2022 and beyond.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Dec. 30:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.11%, with an average 0.7 point, rising from last week’s 3.05% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 2.67%.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.33%, with an average 0.7 point, up from last week’s 2.30% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.17%.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.41%, with an average 0.5 point, increasing from last week’s 2.37% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.71%.

Freddie Mac reports national commitment rates along with average points to better reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage.

Long-distance, state-to-state moves saw an increase this year, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data. Some states came out clear winners as they gained more new residents over the year.

MoveBuddha analyzed more than 400,000 relocation queries in 2021 to compile its 2021–2022 moving migration report to see the top growing and declining states and cities across the U.S.

Florida continues to post significant gains in new residents. It had the largest year-over-year growth for the ratio of inbound to outbound moves, jumping 43 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. In other words, more than twice as many people moved to Florida than left it, researchers note.

But in 2021, it was Montana that had the highest net inflow of moves per capita, with 73% of inbound moves. Billings, Mont. was the number one destination, according to MoveBuddha’s analysis.

Researchers note that, in general, Americans appear to be fleeing states with extremely high populations and close quarters in favor of areas with more space to spread out and those that have looser COVID protocols, such as Florida and Texas.

On a city-to-city basis, MoveBuddha researchers looked at the cities with the most inflow of new residents in 2021. These are cities that are keeping existing residents while attracting new ones at some of the highest rates.

Homeowners who face rising property taxes are often tempted to appeal. But in 2022, The Ascent, a Motley Fool publication, says that homeowners may not be as successful at lowering their bills as they may have in the past.

To be successful in a tax appeal, homeowners must prove that their home is overassessed. With rapidly rising home prices, that may be tougher to prove.

Property taxes are calculated by taking a home’s assessed value—the amount a local assessor thinks it could sell for—and multiplying it by the area’s local tax rate.

An appeal could prove more challenging next year because home prices have risen in many parts of the country. The National Association of REALTORS® has reported double-digit annual percentage gains in existing-home prices for the past year. In November, existing-home prices were up 13.9% compared to a year earlier.

Still, some homeowners may have success with an appeal. If they feel an assessment has risen by too much, they can appeal and show comparable sales at lower price points.

The amount that property taxes are expected to rise due to higher home prices will vary greatly across the country. Changes even in a home’s assessed value are not completed at the same time everywhere; some local assessors may do it in a cycle of one year or even five years.

“It depends on where you live as to when those changes in property values that we are seeing take place,” Marc Pfeiffer, senior policy fellow and assistant director at the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J, told Barrons.com.

Brokers were busy helping to prepare their agents to navigate a competitive housing market in these top-read articles of 2021 at REALTOR® Magazine.

Prepare buyers for steep competition and what they may need to include in their offer.

As kitchens get a robust workout due to more people cooking and working at home, design professions have responded with chic, functional updates.

Real estate pros can share this information with their sellers to ensure their estate sale runs smoothly.

Inventory is bleak, but there are still ways brokers and agents can help their clients find the right home.

Whether you’re selling a house or looking to attract more business, these strategies will help.