Mortgage Applications Ease as Rates Rise

Mortgage Applications Ease as Rates Rise

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2013

Mortgage applications dropped for the second consecutive week as rates ticked up slightly, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. 

The MBA’s weekly index measuring applications for home purchases and refinancings dropped 1.7 percent for the week ending Feb. 15. Broken out separately, refinancings -- which make up the biggest bulk of the index -- fell 1.6 percent during the week, while mortgage applications for home purchases dropped 1.7 percent. The gauge for applications for home purchases is viewed as a leading indicator of future home sales. 

Mortgage rates were on the rise during the week, with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 3.78 percent, up from 3.75 percent the prior week, the MBA reports. 

Source: “U.S. Mortgage Applications Fell Last Week as Rates Rose,” Reuters (Feb. 20, 2013)

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Half of all Renters Spend 30% or More Income on Housing

Half of all Renters Spend 30% or More Income on Housing

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013
Freddie Mac reports that residents of apartment communities that include five or more rental units currently make up 15 million U.S. households — a figure that is expected to climb with shifting demographics and housing preferences.

Such factors as demographic trends, household formations, and higher credit standards for home loans are driving the increase in rental housing, notes Freddie Mac senior vice president of multifamily David Brickman.  At the same time, though, affordable rental housing is becoming more elusive in certain parts of the country because of gross rent, or rent plus resident-paid utilities.

More than half of all people who rent spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing — an increase from 40 percent in 2000.  Low-income households tend to spend even larger portions of their incomes on rent, based on the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2000-2011.

Brickman asserts that Freddie Mac remains dedicated to supporting affordable rental housing.  He concludes, "Working closely with multifamily property owner/borrowers and our network of lenders, Freddie Mac Multifamily structures financings in a way that lets us offer very competitive, long-term rates.

Source: "Freddie Mac: Multifamily Affordability Is Now a Key Focus," Housing Wire (02/18/13)

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Big Foreclosure Discounts Are Fading Away

Big Foreclosure Discounts Are Fading Away

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013
During the mortgage crisis, foreclosed homes were selling, on average, for a 25 percent discount compared to original market values. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the average foreclosure discount dropped to 12.2 percent, according to the latest data from FNC’s Foreclosure Market report.

The median sales price of foreclosures is $93,000; the median price of non-distressed home is $183,000, FNC reports.

"The fact that we are seeing a combination of rising home prices and a bottoming out of foreclosure prices is a very good sign the housing recovery is taking hold," says  Yangling Mayer, FNC senior research economist. "This is the very first time in the long housing recession that the two are happening at the same time."

Source: “Foreclosure discounts no longer as steep,” HousingWire (Feb. 18, 2013)

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