Thursday – April 7, 2022
Home borrowing costs rose this week as they continue their trek higher. Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.72% this week from 4.67% last week with an average 0.8 in points and fees. A year ago the rate was 3.13%. The 15-year rose to 3.91% from 3.83%, also with a 0.8 point. A year ago it was 2.42%. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist said, “The increase in mortgage rates has softened purchase activity such that the monthly payment for those looking to buy a home has risen by at least 20% from a year ago.”
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell to a historic low last week while the number of jobs available is double to those unemployed. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell to lows seen in 1968 to 166,000. In the current jobs market, there are now a record 5 million more job openings than unemployed people in the U.S. The latest JOLTS report revealed that there were 11.3 million job openings in February, about 5 million more than the level of unemployed workers.
Fannie Mae’s March Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) shows that consumer pessimism regarding the direction of mortgage rates hits new survey high. The HPSI fell by 2.1 points to 73.2 in March, as consumers continue to express pessimism regarding the trajectory of mortgage rates and homebuying conditions generally. In March, a survey-high 69% of respondents indicated that they expect mortgage rates to continue their upward ascent. The “Good Time to Buy” component set a new survey low, with 73% of respondents reporting that it’s a bad time to buy a home. A spokesperson said,
“If consumer pessimism toward homebuying conditions continues and the recent mortgage rate increases are sustained, then we expect to see an even greater cooling of the housing market than previously forecast.”
Courtesy of Mortgage Market Guide
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Wednesday – April 6, 2022
Mortgage rates jumped last week to their highest level in more than three years for the week ending April 1, 2022, reports the MBA. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.90% from 4.80% in the previous week with 0.53 in points. The 30-year fixed-rate is the highest since December 2018. Within the data it showed that the Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, fell 6.3%, the Refinance Index decreased nearly 10% and is down 62% from the same week a year ago. The Purchase Index saw a decline of 3%.
Food price are expected to increase further in 2022 as inflation grips the nation to the highest levels seen in 40 years. The USDA’s Economic Research Service predicts a 4.5%-5% rise in food prices this year. Eating out will see the highest increase, 5.5%-6.5%. The increases are the highest in decades after grocery prices rise 9% in 2021. Overall grocery prices are expected to increase by 3% – 4% in the coming months.
Courtesy of Mortgage Market Guide
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Tuesday – April 5, 2022
CoreLogic reports that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, rose a record 20% in February 2022 compared with February 2021, up monthly by 2.2% in February 2022 compared with January 2022. Looking ahead, home prices are expected to increase monthly by 0.6% from February to March and on a year-over-year basis by 5% from February 2022 to February 2023. “Higher prices and mortgage rates erode buyer affordability and should dampen demand in coming months, leading to the moderation in price growth in our forecast,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist for CoreLogic.
Gas prices at the pumps across the nation have eased since hitting record highs in early March. The national average price for a regular gallon of gasoline is at $4.17 today down from the record high of $4.33 earlier this month. That is seven cents less than a week ago, 35 cents more than a month ago, and $1.31 more than a year ago. California has the highest price of near $6 a gallon while Missouri the lowest at $3.72.
Courtesy of Mortgage Market Guide
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