Mortgage Rates Archives

May 10, 2024May 10, 2024

Buyer’s Market in Dallas? It’s All Relative.

Lately, the homes for sale in Dallas stay on the market a little longer. Little by little, sellers are lowering their price expectations, and Dallas home buyers are getting deals.

Homes in Dallas stayed on the market, on average, for 37 days in April 2024. That’s up 8% compared to last year. Some (about 12%) have lingered on the market longer than three months.

Not only in Dallas but also in Austin and Houston, today’s sellers have to negotiate and really work with buyers. That said, homes that aren’t moving in these cities tend to be the pricey ones. Those priced under $300K continue to attract buyers.

March 29, 2024April 25, 2024

Can’t Wait to Move. (If Only We Could Pack Up Our Low Mortgage Rate and Take It With Us!)

Some people wish they could move, but hesitate to sell their current homes. They might be thinking:

“I’d gladly sell my home right now, if only I could shift the remaining 25 years of my 4%-interest mortgage to the next house I buy! (Oh, well.)”

“Giving up our 3% rate and getting a new mortgage at 6.9% is bumming us out. Why can’t U.S. homeowners have portable mortgage options?”

Who can blame them for wishing? Indeed, Canada, Britain, Australia and some EU countries offer portable mortgages as an option. These loans can be peeled off a borrower’s current home, and applied to the purchase of a different property.

March 27, 2024April 25, 2024

Time for a Move? Sellers Are Perking Up.

Home sellers are back. It’s an important sign of confidence in the U.S. housing market.

Fannie Mae keeps tabs on people’s feelings (“sentiment”) about the market. And people are feeling better about it — if they happen to be potential sellers. Two-thirds of the people surveyed told Fannie Mae this is a good time to sell.

Then there are the would-be buyers. With the median U.S. listing price hovering close to $400K, just 17% of the survey’s respondents think now’s a good time to buy. Home buyers have to deal with elevated home prices and mortgage rates.

But spring is in the air. And springtime sellers are placing homes on the market. That’s pressing the number of 2024 mortgage applicants up, too.

March 22, 2024April 25, 2024

It’s Election Year. How Will This Affect Sellers and Buyers?

As we enter an election year the current administration points to how strong the economy is. But there’s a disconnect between these regular public assurances and people’s life experiences. So many are either locked into their current mortgages or just completely sidelined from the market.

This is no joke: High mortgage rates. Wages lagging while housing prices soar. The whole environment where homeownership is treated as a privilege rather than a norm. Recently, Fortune highlighted a daunting challenge for prospective U.S. real estate buyers: to afford a home in today’s market, they need an annual income increase of almost $50,000 compared to their pre-pandemic earnings.

So, will the runup to the election bring any opportunities to current owners and hopeful buyers?

March 15, 2024April 25, 2024

State of the Home Buyer: White House Promotes New Set of Tax Credits

Housing affordability remains out of reach for many in the U.S. population today. What’s the matter?

Mortgage interest rates haven’t eased in any kind of significant way so far this year. Maybe in June…

More than half of U.S. renters report struggling to pay for housing every month.

Some would like to buy their own homes, but at this point call that a dream.

Joe Biden’s March 2024 State of the Union address laid out the latest plan to help. Here’s an update on the issue, and how the administration intends to deal with it.

March 1, 2024April 25, 2024

Core of the American Dream? Three-Fourths Call Buying a Home Goal #1

The U.S. population has all sorts of goals. But of all that we strive for in our lives, seems we place the highest priority on owning a home. In recent surveys, three-fourths of respondents said owning a home is “the leading component of the American dream.”

And yet, just about the same percentage of people say housing is too expensive to buy. With each year, it feels like fewer can afford to buy a home. It’s almost like buying a home is a wealthy person’s thing.

Homeownership is still the centerpiece of the American dream, but affordability issues such as high home prices, income that is too low or not being able to afford the down payment and closing costs are holding back nearly 3-in-4 aspiring homeowners.

—Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate LLC

You said it, Greg.

February 23, 2024April 25, 2024

Do I Have to Pay Off My Student Loans Before Buying a Home?

This month, 150,000+ people received emails that say some of their student loan debt will be forgiven. The latest $1.2 billion worth of debt forgiveness is a ray of sunshine for many potential first-time homebuyers. It impacts a person’s access to mortgage loans, and therefore the ability to acquire property deeds.

But what about the student debt that the borrowers still have to pay? Some graduates pay off their loans, and must (or choose to) delay home buying to do that.

Others say: Forget waiting. If it’s possible, let’s buy a home today. Yes, having the student loan done and gone would be great — but there’s a lot to be said for putting a foot on the homeownership ladder now.

Each person has to do what’s best in their circumstances. But looking at some specific parts of this question can help readers come to their own sound decisions.

February 21, 2024April 25, 2024

Ready, Set…Here Comes a Real Spring Home Buying Rush

Seasonal trends have an impact on home selling and buying success. Whether you’re receiving a real estate deed for the first time, or conveying your deed to a new buyer, having a sense of the market is helpful for planning.

The housing market stalled in 2023. Can this new Spring season reactivate it? Anything can happen. But one thing is already clear. Home buyers are back. And sellers are there to meet them.

January 12, 2024April 25, 2024

Buying a Home While Interest Rates Are Still High? The Case for “Yes”

For too many years, the U.S. housing market has been out of reach for too many people. But giving up might not be an option.

Those able to get a foothold in this market often do it to attain a viable financial future. A homeowner’s wealth goes up along with home values. So, owners accumulate home equity month by month. And property inflation helps them do it.

In this context, a recent NBC News segment featured financial advisers who urge people to become homeowners — in spite of the current high interest rates. From their perspective, not owning is unaffordable.

After all, the gap between the haves and have-nots of real estate widens with inflation. Fear of missing out, a.k.a. FOMO, is a totally reasonable response to this reality.

Or you can…

December 14, 2023April 25, 2024

Update! Fed Signals 2024 “Pivot” on Interest Rates. What Should Home Sellers and Seekers Know?

As we’ve all noticed, deed transfers really got stuck in a rut in 2023. Too few owners are selling their homes. Supply is down. Prices are up.

A core issue? The Federal Reserve. Over the past two years, the Fed has hiked rates in order to banish inflation and to tighten up the economy. So, if you think it’s a terrible housing market out there, interest rates have absolutely factored into your frustration.

But finally, the Fed has announced it will not hike interest rates again in the coming year. The “signal” from the Fed is that sometime in 2024 it will even cut those high rates.

Time to buckle up? Let’s take a look.