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July 2023 » thefivestar.com 55 J O U R N A L July 2023 ers who are out there are having a hard time finding listings, with many prospective sellers staying put, hanging onto their relatively low rates: Nearly all homeowners with a mort- gage have a rate below 6%. "There are two things that would jump- start the housing market: A big drop in mort- gage rates and/or a big surge of new listings," Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr said. "Neither of those things happened this spring; instead, rates rose and new listings dropped to record lows. And with one or two more interest-rate hikes expected this year, mortgage rates are likely to remain elevated at least through the summer, continuing to limit both demand and supply." Leading indicators of homebuying activity: » The daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.9% on June 21, down from a half-year high of 7.14% a month earlier. For the week ending June 15, the average 30- year fixed mortgage rate was 6.69%, down slightly from 6.71% the week before but still close to the highest rate since November. » Mortgage-purchase applications during the week ending June 16 rose 2% from a week earlier, seasonally adjusted, marking the second straight week of increases. Pur- chase applications were down 32% from a year earlier. » The seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuy- er Demand Index was down slightly from a week earlier during the week ending June 18. It was up 11% from a year earlier, the fourth consecutive annual increase. Demand was dropping at this time in 2022 as mortgage rates rose. » Google searches for "homes for sale" were up 13% from a month earlier during the week ending June 17, and down about 11% from a year earlier. » Touring activity as of June 18 was up 14% from the start of the year, compared with a 4% decrease at the same time last year, ac- cording to home tour technology company ShowingTime. Tours increased slowly during this time last year as mortgage rates shot up. The continuing inventory shortage is bol- stering home prices. The median U.S. home sale price dropped just 1% year over year this week, the smallest decline in more than three months. On a local level, prices have started leveling off: They fell in 25 of the 50 most populous metros, compared with 29 a month ago. In San Jose, California, for instance, the median sale price is up roughly 2% year over year, marking the first increase after eight straight months of declines. "Even though there wasn't much of a spring homebuying season this year, there was a spring building season," Marr said. "That means there's hope for more listings somewhat soon, with homebuilders working to fill the inventory bucket. Builders broke ground on more single-family homes in May than almost any month in nearly two decades, which could expand buyers' options by the end of the year." Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas: » The median home sale price was $382,861, down 1% from a year earlier, the smallest decline in more than three months. Price declines have been shrinking for the last two months. » Home-sale prices declined in 25 metros, with the biggest drops in Austin, Texas (-11% YoY); Las Vegas (-9.1%); Detroit (-8%); Los Angeles (-7.1%); and Phoenix (-6.8%). » Sale prices increased most in Fort Lau- derdale, Florida (8.6%); Miami (8.5%); Prov- idence, Rhode Island (5.5%); Milwaukee (5.2%); and Virginia Beach, Virginia (5.1%). » The median asking price of newly listed homes was $397,225, up 0.3% from a year earlier. » The monthly mortgage payment on the median-asking-price home was $2,628 at a 6.69% mortgage rate, the average for the week ending June 15. That's down slightly from the record high hit three weeks earli- er but up 8% ($190) from a year earlier. » Pending home sales were down 15.7% year over year, continuing a 13-month streak of double-digit declines. » Pending home sales fell in all metros Red- fin analyzed. They declined most in Mil- waukee (-28% YoY); Providence (-26.3%); Seattle (-25.6%); Portland, Oregon (-24.8%); and San Diego (-23.4%). » New listings of homes for sale fell 24% year over year, roughly on par with the declines over the last two months. » New listings declined in all metros Redfin analyzed. They fell most in Las Vegas