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The Latest Philadelphia Region Housing Market Conditions
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Mortgage Applications Surge 13.5% as Borrowers Rush to Take Advantage of Lower Rates
Mortgage demand continues to recover sharply, after ending last year in the basement.
Total mortgage application volume rose 13.5 percent last week, compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index.
Refinance demand drove the gains, with those applications rising 19 percent for the week to the highest level since March. Volume was 11 percent lower than a year ago, when mortgage rates were 42 basis points lower.
Read more at CNBC.
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NAR's Long View for Real Estate as Shutdown Hits Record Stretch
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New Home Sales Pull Back In December
Applications for new home purchases dropped in December, falling 6.8 percent behind those a year earlier. The deficit from November was even larger, a decline of 13 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) estimates that those numbers, which do not include any adjustment for seasonal patterns, translates into new home sales during the month at an annual rate of 552,000 units, a 12 percent decrease from the estimated November pace of 627,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA says there were 37,000 new homes sold during the month, down 17.8 percent from the 45,000 new home sales in November.
"New home sales declined for the second straight month in December, from 627,000 units to 552,000 units, as factors such as a volatile stock market and economic uncertainty, both here and abroad, likely kept some prospective buyers away," said Joel Kan, MBA's Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. "This pullback in activity was in spite of falling mortgage rates and a robust job market. Looking ahead, if mortgage rates remain low, housing inventory rises, and home-price growth continues to steady, we expect to see a rebound in purchase activity this spring." Read more at Mortgage News Daily.
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What Will Affect Home Appreciation in 2019?
It might not be a crash, but home appreciation is certainly poised for a slowdown in 2019 according to the fourth quarter of 2018 VeroFORECAST.
Published by
Veros Real Estate Solutions
, the
quarterly forecast
revealed that the rate of appreciation in 2019 would drop to 3.9 percent in some of the most populous markets of the U.S. reflecting a half-percent drop from 4.5 percent that was reported in the previous quarter's report.
"This amount of change from one quarter to the next is significant," said Eric Fox, VP of Statistical and Economic Modeling at Veros. "While the market fundamentals remain solid and we still expect the overall housing market to remain healthy, there is a definite slowing down of most markets from last quarter's update."
Read more at DS News.
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NAR Survey: Homeownership Part of "American Dream"; Housing Costs Deterrent for Non-Owners
75 percent of non-homeowners believe homeownership is part of their American Dream, while nine in 10 current homeowners said the same.
Homeowners and non-homeowners both strongly consider homeownership part of the American Dream.
That is according to new consumer survey data from the National Association of Realtors®, which revealed that among those polled, approximately 75 percent of non-homeowners believe homeownership is part of their American Dream, while nine in 10 current homeowners said the same.
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Mortgage Rate Update
Mortgage Rates Hold Steady
Weaker manufacturing data and a more dovish tone from the Federal Reserve left mortgage rates unchanged relative to last week. However, interest rate-sensitive sectors of the economy - such as consumer mortgage demand and homebuilder construction sentiment - are on the mend, which indicates that lower interest rates are beginning to have a positive impact on some segments of the economy.
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We hope you enjoyed this week's Market News. For more information about how PMA can help you, please contact us.
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610.834.8700 (Main Office - Plymouth Meeting)
215.345.7600 (Doylestown Office)
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Information and analysis is obtained through third parties and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.
Philadelphia Mortgage Advisors is a licensed mortgage lender by the PA Dept. of Banking and Securities, NJ Dept. of Banking & Insurance, the state of DE, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, MD Mortgage Lender #23004 and VA State Corporation Commission #MC - 6797. NMLS #128570.
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