Due in large part to the persistent decline in mortgage rates throughout 2019, housing is now more affordable than it has been at any point in the last three years. That’s according to a new analysis of the nation’s housing market from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo. As the latest data from Freddie Mac shows, mortgage rates now sit at 3.69%, more than a full …
Excerpts from Houston Chronicle article: “Houston area ranks No. 1 for construction job growth” Houston is hiring construction workers at a fast clip, and there’s plenty of work to keep them busy. The Houston region led the nation for construction job growth over the last 12 months, adding 25,600 jobs through October, the Associated General Contractors of America said Thursday. …
Mortgage rates recently dropped in response to global uncertainty, helping to keep buyer activity strong toward the close of the homebuying season, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The results of the survey found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.04 percent, and the 15-year FRM averaging 3.20 percent. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged …
Realtor.com® recently revealed that millennials have become more positive when it comes to taking the plunge into home ownership and are primed to gain market share in the second half of the year, based on the results of its consumer behavior survey of more than 12,000 respondents conducted from Jan. 1, 2015 to June 15, 2015.
After a notable run-up, both fixed and adjustable mortgage rates are taking a breather, reports Bankrate.com. Mortgage rates moved down slightly with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate slipping to 4.13 percent and the average 15-year fixed mortgage sliding to 3.35 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) have lowered as well, with the 5-year ARM down to 3.22 percent, and the …
Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 5.9 percent in March 2015 compared with March 2014 according to a recently released CoreLogic® Home Price Index (HPI®). This change represents 37 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 2 percent in March 2015 compared with February 2015. …
A recently released TransUnion survey shed light on consumer confusion when it comes to credit scores. In fact, nearly half of all consumers falsely identified rental (45 percent) and cell phone (47 percent) payments as those that directly affect their score; however, these are not regularly reported to credit bureaus.
Contrary to popular belief, Millennials think buying a home is a good investment. Checkout these numbers from Millennial home buyers in 2014.
CMD recently announced that January’s $22.5 billion of construction starts, excluding residential activity, was 10.1 percent lower than in December. The decline all but disappears, however, when allowance is made for seasonality. CMD’s long-term average December-to-January moderation, due to obstructionist winter weather, has been 8.5 percent. (Despite making the foregoing allowance, the figures referred to throughout this report are not …
