DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1530282
MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 76 December 2024 J O U R N A L having 1,200–8,000 inhabitants, with an average of roughly 4,000. In the third quarter of 2024, despite economic constraints, the average home value in the majority of Opportu- nity Zones was still significantly lower than the average for the majority of the country. About 80% of the zones had median third-quarter prices that were lower than the $360,500 median for the United States. That was roughly the same amount as during other times during the previous three years. Ad- ditionally, in nearly half of the zones, median prices stayed below $200,000. Significant price volatility persisted within Opportunity Zones as well, with median prices in almost three-quar- ters of those areas either declining or rising by at least 5% between the second quarter of 2024 and the third quarter of this year. Once more, that probably represented the low volume of sales in numerous zones. CONSUMERS FEELING BETTER ABOUT HOUSING MARKET DESPITE HIGH HOME PRICES T he Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) in- creased 0.7 points in October to 74.6, pushing the measure of consumer confidence to its highest level since February 2022 and significantly higher than the all-time low recorded two years ago. In October, the share of consum- ers who think it's a good time to buy a home increased to 20%, while the share who think it's a good time to sell a home declined to 64%. On net, consumers continue to expect home prices to rise and mortgage rates to fall, with the latter component hitting another survey high this month. The personal finance components also remained fairly f lat month over month, with fewer consumers expressing job loss concerns and slightly more indicating that their household income fell year over year. The full index is up 9.7 points year over year. "While we have seen significant im- provement in overall housing sentiment over the past two years, consumers' perception of homebuying conditions remains strained, with only 20% believing it a 'good time' to buy a home, primarily due to high home prices," said Mark Palim, Fannie Mae SVP and Chief Economist. "In fact, the share citing mortgage rates as the primary driver of their homebuying pessimism declined again this month; howev- er, since the fielding of the survey primarily in the first half of October, mortgage rates moved sharply higher, which may serve to suppress some of the recently observed rate optimism. One effect of the prolonged period of relatively high home prices of the past four years is that we are seeing a slowly growing preference to rent rather than buy on consumers' next move. With rent growth expected to remain modest in 2025, more consumers may be seeking—and finding—attractive deals in the rental market as they continue saving toward a future home purchase." Home Purchase Sentiment Index – Component Highlights Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) increased by 0.7 points in October to 74.6. The HPSI is up 9.7 points compared to the same time last year. Read the full research report for additional information. Household Income: The percent- age of respondents who say their house- hold income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago remained unchanged, on a rounded basis, at 18%, while the percentage who say their household income is significantly lower also remained unchanged, on a rounded basis, at 11%. The percentage who believe their household income is about the same remained unchanged at 70%. The net share of those who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago de- creased 2 percentage points month over month to 6%. Good/Bad Time to Buy: The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy a home increased by 1 percentage point this month to 20%, while the percentage who say it is a bad time to buy decreased from 81% to 80%. As a result, the net share of those who say it is a good time to buy increased 2 percentage points month over month to -60%. Good/Bad Time to Sell: The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to sell a home (64%) de- creased 1 percentage point this month, while the percentage who say it's a bad time to sell (35%) remained unchanged month over month. As a result, the net share of those who say it is a good time to sell fell 1 percentage point month over month to 29%. Home Price Expectations: The per- centage of respondents who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months remained unchanged at 39%, and the percentage who say home prices will go down also stayed steady at 23%. The share who think home prices will stay the same increased by 1 percentage point to 38%. As a result, the net share of those who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months increased 1 percentage point month over month to 17%. Mortgage Rate Expectations: The percentage of respondents who say mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months decreased from 42% to 39%. The percentage who expect mortgage rates to go up also decreased from 27% to 22%, a new survey low. The share who think mortgage rates will stay the same increased from 31% to 38%. As a result, the net share of those who say mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months increased 1 percentage point month over month to 16%, a third consecutive survey high and the high- est in survey history.