The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index unexpectedly dropped to 71.4, the second-lowest reading since 2011, a report on Friday showed.
“Consumers feel it’s a bad time to buy a home but a good time to sell – and they continue to cite high home prices as the primary reason,” said Doug Duncan.
Home loan rates are rising as inflation remains stubbornly high and bond investors react to the Federal Reserve’s plan to begin tapering its purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.
The Fed said it could begin reducing its asset purchases as early as next month, according to minutes released on Wednesday.
The last time the Fed signaled the end of a bond-buying program, mortgage rates jumped more than a percentage point in the span of two months.
The housing market is thirsty for supply, and the latest data on housing starts show there isn’t much help on the way.
The housing wealth of Americans rose to a record $32 trillion dollars at the end of 2020, according to the Fed.
Biden's first-time homebuyer tax credit is likely to be one of the first casualties as Congress pares down its $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, according to a report.
An index measuring signed contracts for existing homes rose 8.1% in August, NAR said in a report on Wednesday. That’s more than five times the 1.4% gain expected by economists.
Sales of existing homes declined 2% in August after rising for two consecutive months as buyers balked at soaring prices and the supply of homes on the market remained tight.
Core inflation, known as the Fed’s preferred gauge because it excludes volatile food and energy prices, was flat in September. The overall inflation reading rose to a 13-year high.
The U.S. economy added 194,000 jobs in September, the slowest pace in more than a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
An index measuring homebuilder sentiment rose in September, showing a more positive outlook for the new-home market, after three months of declines.
The volume of applications for mortgages to purchase homes increased last week while refinancings declined, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The number of days required to close a mortgage shrank in August to the shortest period in over a year, according to ICE Mortgage Technology.
About 4.2% of all mortgages in the nation were in some stage of delinquency, meaning 30 days or more past due, including loans in forbearance, the report said.
Homebuyers applying for a mortgage may find the credit score their loan officer sees isn’t the one they thought they had.
The idea of having a public credit reporting agency housed at the CFPB was proposed more than a year ago by President Joe Biden when he was a candidate.
Every homebuyer is hoping to get approved for a mortgage at the current, historically low rates, but experts warn that only people who have high credit scores are likely to receive them.
