Nearly half of more than 2,000 Americans recently surveyed say they plan to move soon to reduce living expenses, according to a new survey from LendingTree. Forty-six percent of respondents say they plan to relocate within the next year.
The pandemic has motivated more Americans to consider a move. Sixty-four percent of remote workers say they are considering a move. Many consumers say the COVID-19 outbreak also has led them to change their living situation.
The rates for jumbo and FHA loans dropped to all-time lows last week. Jumbo loans are for borrowers taking out larger loans while FHA loans offer borrowers’ low-down-payment loans. Their new lows fueled mortgage demand last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports.
On December 1, it’s going to get more expensive to refinance a mortgage.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will start charging a 0.5% fee on refinanced mortgages that the two mortgage giants purchase.
The reason for the fee, known as the “adverse market refinance fee,” is to cover projected COVID-19 losses.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the change will cost the average consumer an additional $1,400 than they would have paid before.
However, those refinancing balances $125,000 or less are exempt from the fee.
Fast Company is calling patio propane heaters the “new toilet paper” of pandemic sales. That’s because heaters are flying off store shelves at record speeds as homeowners look to extend their outdoor spaces amid cooler weather in many locales.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit its 11th record of the year this week, averaging 2.80%—the lowest rate ever recorded by Freddie Mac.
As October began, homebuilding starts were up more than 8% compared to a year ago. But that increase in new homes on the market is still not enough to meet demand, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS®. Housing starts in September were at a 1.42-million-unit production level on an annualized basis, but Yun says the annualized number of permits, 1.55 million homes, will better meet housing demand. Permits are considered to be a leading sign of the number of starts.
Inventory Uptick Signals More Confident Sellers
More homes are gradually coming onto the market in a hopeful sign that homeowners may finally be warming up to the idea of selling, according to data from realtor.com®’s latest Weekly Housing Report. An incremental uptick in available inventory is welcome news to home buyers struggling to find a property to purchase. Last week, homes sold a full two weeks faster than the same time period a year ago and were listed for an average of $38,000 more, realtor.com®’s report shows.
Mortgage rates fell slightly this week, setting a new record low for the 10th time this year, Freddie Mac reports. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.81%, the lowest rate since Freddie Mac began tracking such data in 1971. The previous all-time low, an average of 2.86%, was set in mid-September.
The pandemic has made Americans more interested in buying a second home. Online search traffic for vacation homes has reached a five-year high, according to a recent analysis by Point2Homes.com. We have found requests for houses for sale in our Sierra Foothills has really increased.
Shoppers seeking newly constructed homes are facing sharply increased prices as the cost of lumber has soared to record highs. Many buyers are finding themselves priced out of the new-home market, builders say.
Recent price spikes in lumber have added more than $16,000 to the typical cost of a new single-family home. The multifamily sector is also feeling the impact, with the typical apartment seeing an increase of more than $6,000, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders.
