U.S. Pending Home Sales Increased For The Third Consecutive Month In October 

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U.S. Pending Home Sales Increased For The Third Consecutive Month In October. This Week in Real Estate the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose by 2% month-over-month and 5.4% year-over-year, respectively. This positive trend follows NAR’s October existing-home sales report, which recorded the first annualized increase since July 2021. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that U.S. house prices rose by 4.3% between the third quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024, with a 0.7% increase compared to the second quarter of 2024. Additionally, the FHFA announced that the 2025 conforming loan limit for one-unit properties will be $806,500, reflecting a $39,950 or 5.2% increase from 2024. Mortgage applications for home purchases surged by 12% from the previous week and were 52% higher than the same week one year ago, marking the highest level of the purchase index since February. However, it is important to note that the year-over-year comparison is against the week of Thanksgiving 2023. Below are key events from the fourth week of November impacting our business:
JUMP IN PENDING HOME SALES FORESHADOWS POSITIVE END TO THE MARKET IN 2024. Despite the recent rise in mortgage rates, early indicators suggest that the housing market is pointed in the right direction. The latest signal comes from the National Association of Realtors‘ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which shows sales in October growing 5.4% year over year and 2% compared to September.  The 77.4 reading for the PHSI is the highest mark since March and the third highest dating back to December 2023. “Homebuying momentum is building after nearly two years of suppressed home sales,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Even with mortgage rates modestly rising despite the Federal Reserve‘s decision to cut the short-term interbank lending rate in September, continuous job additions and more housing inventory are bringing more consumers to the market.” On a month-over-month basis, pending sales in the West grew the most at 9.8%, followed by the Midwest (+7.1%), the South (+6.7%) and the Northeast (+6.5%). Pending sales in the West also grew 12.3% year over year. The Northeast posted an annual growth rate of 3.3% while the Midwest and South were flat. Read the full story here.
U.S. HOUSE PRICES RISE 4.3% OVER THE PRIOR YEAR; UP 0.7% FROM THE SECOND QUARTER 2024. U.S. house prices rose 4.3 percent between the third quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (FHFA HPI®). House prices were up 0.7 percent compared to the second quarter of 2024. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for September was up 0.7 percent from August. “U.S. house price growth slowed in the third quarter, continuing a trend that started in the fourth quarter of the previous year,” said Dr. Anju Vajja, Deputy Director for FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics. “While house prices continued to increase because housing demand outpaced the locked-in housing supply, elevated house prices and mortgage rates likely contributed to the slowdown in price growth.” Nationally, the U.S. housing market has experienced positive annual appreciation each quarter since the start of 2012. Read the full story here.
MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS INCREASE IN LATEST MBA WEEKLY SURVEY. Mortgage applications increased 6.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 22, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 6.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent from the previous week and was 119 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 12 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 7 percent compared with the previous week and was 52 percent higher than the same week one year ago. “Purchase activity drove overall applications higher last week, as conventional purchase applications picked up pace and mortgage rates declined for the first time in over two months, with the 30-year fixed rate dropping slightly to 6.86 percent,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.  Read the full story here.


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