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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 78 March 2024 J O U R N A L rejections is credit history. Encouraging initiatives that focus on improving access to credit-building and down payment assistance, enacting zoning reforms, and creating and maintaining affordable housing in flourishing commu- nities are essential. Among the 50 largest metros, the housing markets where Black families are least likely to be mortgage-ready are: » San Jose, CA (0.00%) » San Francisco (0.3%) » Los Angeles (1.1%) » Denver (1.3%) » San Diego (1.7%) » Sacramento, CA (2.1%) » Seattle (2.3%) » Providence, RI (2.3%) » New York (2.6%) » Portland, OR (2.8%) Low-Income Families Have a Smaller Chance to Be "Income-Ready" to Pur- chase a Home Compared to white families who rent, Black renters are less likely to be mortgage-ready due to lower family earnings. While unfortunate, data showed that this disparity has been closing. Across the United States, some 73% of non-Hispanic white households and 44% of non-Hispanic Black households report being homeowners. The disparity is com- parable for families. Compared to 42% of non-Hispanic Black households, 69% of non-Hispanic white families nationwide are homeowners. The racial disparity in mortgage readiness is significantly less, despite the significant homeownership gap (27 percentage points) between non-Hispan- ic white and Black families. In 2022, there was a differential of about 4.7 percentage points compared to over 8 percentage points a decade earlier between Black and non-Hispanic white households regarding income mort- gage-ready status. Specifically, 7.8% of Black families and 12.5% of non-Hispanic white families did not own their home. This is because, throughout the same period, the percentage of white families who are prepared for a mortgage has dropped more sharply, from 34.6% in 2012 to only 2.9%. Data revealed that the shift was not due to a disproportionately higher rise in white family homeownership, which would have led to a more notable decline in the mortgage-ready share of white families. For both groups, the rise in the percentage of homeowners has been about the same. In contrast to Black families, whose ownership proportion climbed by 1.4 percentage points, white families' share increased by barely 1.5 percentage points. Rather, a more significant rise in Black family income might have been a major factor. While rising costs and borrowing rates are bad for everyone, Black renters' median family income increased more than white renters' throughout that period. COMPETITION RAMPS UP AS MORE SELLERS RETURN TO MARKET A ccording to a new Bright MLS report, the service area's total closed sales for January were greater than they were a year earlier, sug- gesting that homebuyers took advantage of declining mortgage rates at the end of 2023. Still, there weren't many recent pending sales or showing activity. The reduced activity can be partially attributed to the wintery weather, while the limited supply in the Mid-Atlantic, which continues to remain at historically low levels, was the other reason. In the report, an estimated 26,962 active listings were recorded (as of the end of January 2024). Although there is a 1.7% shortfall in inventory compared to a year ago, the difference has been closing for the past eight months as the inventory has decreased over the previous year. Bright MLS January 2024 Housing Re- port Highlights » The median sale price in the Bright MLS service area increased by 5.7% in January. Prices in the Mid-Atlantic have been rising for 143 consecutive months (with one exception last April when the median price was flat). » Falling mortgage rates at the end of last year encouraged more closed sales activity in January compared to last year. The number of closed sales in the Mid-Atlantic was up slightly, though sales were up more strongly in more affordable regions. » New listing activity continues to be very low. Overall, new listings in the Bright MLS service area were 9.9% lower in January 2024 than they were in January 2023. » Active listings have been declining for eight consecutive months. The year- over-year gap has narrowed, down to a 1.7% difference in January. 2024 Kicks Off With Higher Home Prices in the Mid-Atlantic "Demand outpaced supply in 2023, and the trend will continue in 2024," said Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, Chief Economist for Bright MLS. "More sellers should be joining the market this year, and addition- al new listings will be a welcome sign for buyers, but it will still be a very competitive market." Although the number of new listings increased seasonally in December, Janu- ary experienced 9.9% fewer new listings than the previous January. However, it is expected that the market will strengthen in spring, providing more inventory and giving consumers more choices. Early in 2024, mortgage rates will likely fluctuate before declining later in the year. The market will remain competitive, and buyers will have to act quickly. Market Forecasts by Metro Area: No. 1: Philadelphia—No Relief in Prices to Start 2024 Inventory remains limited, impacting activity in Pennsylvania's largest city. » In January, home prices were up in all counties, with the metro area medi- an price up 8.3% year over year. The