William "Tuck" Keating, Realtor with William Raveis - Greenwich, CT

07/11/2023

All real estate is local but there's no end in sight for many markets until mortgage rates improve and owners who feel locked in by their current low rate are comfortable listing their home and becoming buyers.

After falling for much of last year, home prices nationally are setting new highs in some markets.

07/09/2023

Rates rose for the second week in a row amid renewed inflation concerns and a stubbornly strong economy that's likely to result in multiple rate hikes by the Fed in the coming months. The average conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ($726,200 and below) rose 10 basis points to 6.81% last week (through Thursday). The average rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed ($726,200 or higher) currently stands at 6.95%, according to Mortgage News Daily.

At 6.81%, the rise is being driven by

07/07/2023

As rates continued to move higher last week, the number of mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 5% from the week before and was down 22% year-over-year. The number of homeowners looking to refinance declined 4% for the week and was down 30% from a year ago. Adjustable-rate loans accounted for 6.2% of total applications, up from 6.1% the previous week.

Rising interest rates had a direct impact on mortgage demand, which had been rising for weeks.

07/02/2023

Rates broke a streak of three consecutive weekly declines, with the average conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ($726,200 and below) rising 4 basis points to 6.71% last week (through Thursday). The average rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed ($726,200 or higher) currently stands at 6.90%, according to Mortgage News Daily.

Though borrowing costs have doubled from two years ago, home buyers have avenues to offset higher interest rates, says NAR Deputy Chief Economist Jessica Lautz.

06/30/2023

U.S. pending home sales, a measure of signed contracts to buy existing homes, declined 2.7% from April to May and 22.2% from a year earlier as scant inventory continues to handicap homebuyers. Regionally, sales in the Northeast climbed 12.9% month-over-month but fell 21.9% annually.

In May 2023, pending home sales surged in the Northeast; the other three U.S. regions posted month-over-month losses. All four regions saw year-over-year declines in transactions.

06/29/2023

Despite rates ticking slightly higher last week, the number of mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 3% from the week before but was down 21% year-over-year. The number of homeowners looking to refinance also rose 3% for the week but was down 32% annually. Adjustable-rate loans accounted for 6.1% of total applications, down from 6.3% the previous week.

While applications for mortgages to buy a home rose week to week, they were still down more than 20% compared with a year earlier.

06/28/2023

Sales of newly-built single-family homes, which accounts for approximately 10% of all transactions, increased 12.2% from April to May and 20% from a year ago. It marked the sixth consecutive annual gain. Regionally, in the Northeast, sales surged 17.6% for the month and 110.5% from the year before. Nationally, the median new-house price fell 7.6% on an annual basis.

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes surged to the highest level in nearly 1-1/2 years in May, benefiting from a dearth of previously owned homes available for sale.

06/27/2023

U.S. home prices eased 0.2% year-over-year in April, down from March's 0.7% annual gain, according to the highly-watched S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices report. It marked the 12th straight month of decelerating annual home price increases. Prices rose 1.3% month-over-month. Miami again led the way in annual price gains among all major metros with a 5.2% rise.

06/25/2023

Rates eased slightly for the third straight week, with the average conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ($726,200 and below) declining 2 basis points to 6.67% last week (through Thursday). The average rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed ($726,200 or higher) currently stands at 6.72%, according to Mortgage News Daily.

Rates are still above 6.5%, a key affordability threshold.

06/23/2023

Existing home sales, including single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses, and co-ops edged up 0.2% from April to May and were down 23.2% versus a year ago. In the Northeast, sales slid 2% month-over-month and dropped 25.4% on an annual basis. Meanwhile, the median home price among all housing types nationwide declined 3.1% year-over-year.

Existing-home sales rose 0.2% in May 2023, with gains in the South and West and declines in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. Sales in all four regions fell year-over-year.

06/22/2023

The number of mortgage applications last week to purchase a home rose 2% from the week before but was down 32% from a year ago. The number of homeowners looking to refinance declined 2% for the week and was down 40% annually. Adjustable-rate loans accounted for 6.3% of total applications, down from 6.5% the previous week.

The average rate on the most popular mortgage, the 30-year fixed, fell for the third straight week

06/21/2023

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders improved for the sixth consecutive month in June, jumping 5 points to 55. Anything above 50 is considered positive sentiment, and it's the first time that the measure has been in positive territory in 11 months. The index component tracking current sales conditions increased 5 points to 61, while sales expectations over the next six months climbed 6 points to 62. Buyer traffic rose 4 points to 37. Regionally, on a three-month moving average, sentiment in the Northeast added 2 points to 37.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in June rose five points to 55, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. This marks the sixth straight month that builder confidence has increased and is the first time that sentiment levels have...