“The U.S. housing market is stuck, and we are not convinced it will become unstuck anytime soon,” economists at Bank of America Global Research say of ongoing affordability issues.
Category: economy
Homebuyers jump at lower mortgage rates, but will they last?
Purchase loan applications have surged for two weeks in a row, but rates for conforming mortgages are inching back up toward 7 percent this week as investors weigh the odds of Fed rate cuts.
Mortgage rates are spiking on Friday’s blowout jobs report
Employers added 272,000 jobs in May, far exceeding the consensus view among economists that payrolls would rise by 180,000 and the average of 232,000 over the past year.
Hot inflation data sends mortgage rates to new 2024 highs
Bond market investors who fund most mortgage loans are increasingly convinced the latest inflation numbers mean the Federal Reserve won’t cut rates in June.
Fed preparing to slow the pace of ‘quantitative tightening’
In addition to anticipating three rate cuts this year, Federal Reserve policymakers are considering whether to taper the pace at which they unwind the central bank’s $7 trillion balance sheet.
Tale of 2 housing markets will linger into 2024, Zonda economist warns
With listings still in short supply, homebuyers are “dealing with an affordability shock” and new homes will play an outsize role in housing markets, Zonda Chief Economist Ali Wolf said at ICNY.
Falling mortgage rates should boost home sales: Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae economists no longer expect a recession and are considerably more optimistic that mortgage rates have additional room to come down below 6 percent.
Mortgage rates poised to drop as Fed projects 3 cuts
Federal Reserve policymakers anticipate three rate cuts by the end of next year, but many think the central bank may cut faster and harder.
Homebuyer sentiment tallies record low amid falling rates
Fannie Mae economist warns that, while mortgage rates have retreated, the primary drivers of housing pessimism are persistent affordability challenges and worries about household finances.
Economists agree rates have peaked. But will they come down?
Two closely watched forecasts agree that mortgage rates have probably peaked, but diverge sharply on how quickly they’ll come down over the next two years.