MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News
80
April 2025
F I N A L T H O U G H T S
"economic turning points"
Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, explained how, although homes posted in the
spring are often pricier and sell faster than the average week of the year, spring is generally a good
time for sellers to offer their homes at a time when policy and economic changes are increasing
concerns and uncertainties for many Americans.
"generational homeownership divide"
Sheharyar Bokhari, Senior Economist at Redfin, revealed how young Americans attempting to
enter expensive states like California's infamously costly housing market have difficulties because
of the limited availability, which further drives up property prices and widens the gap between
generations in terms of homeownership.
"buyers rush in"
Orphe Divounguy, Senior Economist at Zillow, revealed that the traditional spring homebuying
season has been disrupted in recent years by changes in mortgage rates, and buyers who are just
about to qualify for a loan move in and out of the market based on those changes—meaning that
when rates drop, more buyers rush in, pushing up prices.
"evolving market pressures"
Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, discussed how the increase in foreclosure filings in February points
to changing market conditions, but some rises can be seasonal. He added that the increase in
foreclosure starts from month over month and year over year also points to possible changes.
"plenty of challenges"
Mike Fratantoni, Ph.D., MBA's SVP and Chief Economist, talked about how there are still
plenty of challenges in commercial real estate, but there are also signs of stabilization, and
given the strong pickup in origination activity at the end of 2024, it appears that at least
some borrowers and lenders are ready to move.
