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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 58 January 2024 J O U R N A L Nearly two-thirds (63%) of these homeowners said owning a home is one of their greatest personal achieve- ments—more than raising a family (50%), being in a committed relationship (32%), and/or overcoming a significant challenge (25%). Respondents continue to see home- ownership as a reflection of significant achievement and a driver of wealth creation that can help them build equity over time: » An estimated 91% of respondents say they perceive their home more as a valuable investment than as a financial liability. » Approximately 89% of respondents say they think about the financial security, rather than the financial risk, of owning a home. » Some 90% of respondents say home is a place to make memories and share experiences rather than just a place to live. » Roughly 81% of respondents say they think of owning a home as liberating rather than confining. "There's a clear desire for homeown- ership, but for some, it has become more challenging to achieve due to current market realities," Vernon said. "That's why we are committed to offering afford- able homeownership solutions, which include grants to help homebuyers with their down payments and closing costs, with no repayment required." PENDING HOME SALES SURGE, BUT CLOSED SALES LAG BEHIND A s Americans continue to settle into the New Year, the mar- ket seems to be cooling and improving in more ways than one. New listings and pending home sales both climbed to the highest level in roughly a year in November as homebuyers and sellers grew tired of waiting on the side- lines and mortgage rates ticked down. That's according to a new report from Redfin, which showed home prices also jumped, posting the biggest year-over- year increase since late 2022. New listings rose 1.3% month over month to the highest level since October 2022—on a seasonally adjusted basis— and increased 0.1% from a year earlier. While this is a small gain, it is the first in a year and a half. Active listings grew 3.9% month over month, representing the biggest increase since July 2022, although they fell 7.9% from a year earlier. "Buyers and sellers are learning to live with uncertainty," said Shay Stein, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Las Vegas. "They've realized no one has a crystal ball that can predict exactly when mortgage rates will fall back to 5%, so they're making moves now because they can only wait so long to be near their grandkids, live in an RV like they've al- ways dreamt of, or finalize their divorce." While rates aren't back to the softer 5% rate, they have fallen in recent weeks, which has motivated homebuyers, Stien said. In many cases, their monthly payment is $200 less than it would've been had they locked in a rate three weeks ago when they started looking, she explained. The average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate declined every week in November after hitting a 23-year high of 7.79% at the end of October. It ended November at 7.22% and currently stands at 6.95%; though, that's still higher than the 6.3% rate of a year ago. Pending home sales rose 2% month over month in November to the highest level in a year on a seasonally adjusted basis and fell 0.1% from a year earlier. "Another reason sales are ticking up is that buyers and sellers are finally living in the same reality," Stein said. "A year ago, sellers had trouble understanding why they weren't getting $20,000 over the list price like their neighbor did during the pandemic homebuying boom. Now, they understand that to sell their home, they need to price it fairly and, in some cases, offer the buyer concessions like money toward closing costs or mort- gage-rate buydowns." Home Prices Posted the Biggest Increase Since October 2022 The median U.S. home sale price was $408,732 in November. That's up 3.7% from a year earlier—the biggest jump since October 2022—and down 1.1% from a month earlier. Annual home price growth seems