Mortgage rates plunged this week as home prices reached new record highs. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.78%, Freddie Mac reports. “Concerns about the delta variant and the overall trajectory of the pandemic are undoubtedly affecting economic growth,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While the economy continues to mend, Treasury yields have decreased—and mortgage rates have followed suit.”

More home buyers are using reverse mortgages to purchase their next home. A new study finds that a quarter of 170 new home buyers surveyed wouldn’t have purchased a new home without using a reverse mortgage for financing.

Since the start of the pandemic, home prices have been rising twice as fast in car-dependent neighborhoods as in transit-accessible areas, according to newly released Redfin research. The trend may be only temporary as social distancing practices that made commuting by train, subway, or bus less practical begin to ease.

Mortgage applications have fallen to their lowest level since the beginning of 2020—prior to the pandemic. Both applications for refinancing's and home purchases fell last week, a decline that occurred even as mortgage rates fell, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports.

This marks the second consecutive week for a drop in mortgage demand, which is largely viewed as a gauge of future homebuying activity.

For the first time in 10 weeks, mortgage rates inched above 3%—and the era of 2% rates may be over. “As the economy progresses and inflation remains elevated, we expect that rates will continue to gradually rise in the second half of the year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “For those homeowners who have not yet refinanced—and there remain many borrowers who could benefit from doing so—now is the time.”

Mortgage rates have remained at or below 3% for nine consecutive weeks. “Many home buyers can benefit from these low rates while home prices are reaching record highs,” says, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of REALTORS®.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending June 17:

*30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.93%, with an average 0.7 point, falling from last week’s 2.96% average. Last year at this time, they averaged 3.13%.

Many remote workers have found sections of their home suddenly on display during videoconference calls, which has motivated them to spruce up their nest, a new survey shows.

Seventy-three percent of Americans say they cleaned or tidied up their homes prior to virtual Zoom calls, according to the survey from Cinch Home Services on how the pandemic has changed Americans’ cleaning habits. However, 18% of respondents say they felt some house shame and used a digital background to hide their untidy home.

Mortgage rates dropped again this week and have now remained below 3% for the last eight weeks, opening further opportunities for home buyers to lock in historically low rates.

“The economy is recovering remarkably fast and as pandemic restrictions continue to lift, economic growth will remain strong over the coming months,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending June 10:

Existing homeowners may be feeling richer since they've received a notable boost to their home equity over the last year. Homeowners with a mortgage have seen their equity climb nearly 20% year over year, according to a new report from CoreLogic, a real estate research firm.

In the first quarter of 2021, the average homeowner gained about $33,400 in equity over the past year, the study shows.

Idaho, California, and Washington saw the largest equity gains at $70,900, $69,600, and $65,800, respectively.

COVID-19 restrictions and the February winter storm in Texas—where many of the raw materials used to make most paints are found—have disrupted supply chains for home products. “In a supply chain already challenged by COVID-19, the February natural disaster in Texas further impacted the complex petrochemical network, causing significant disruptions,” a spokesperson for paint company Sherwin-Williams says. “Recovery has been significant in recent weeks and is improving—but is still far from complete.