Housing markets

Mortgage rates, whose movements until now had not reflected gains in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, rose 14 basis points this week, according to Freddie Mac.

Industry watchers make their wildest guesses (more or less) about developments in real estate finance that could rock the industry in the upcoming months.

Falling interest rates more than canceled out median home listing prices, reaching an all-time time high during the month, Redfin said.

With coronavirus inoculations underway and government stimulus likely to come, the outlook for next year’s housing market and lending environment grew more optimistic in December.

The head of the Federal Housing Administration said Congress should consider whether to continue allowing the loan floor and ceiling to remain tied to changes in the conforming mortgage limit.

The price increase illustrates the extent to which federal rescue programs and a supply-demand imbalance have been counterweights to economic pressures from the pandemic.

The center’s annual study shows the extent to which larger multi-unit properties are insulated from distress.

Weaker consumer spending data coming into the holiday season, as well as a resurgence of the COVID-19 spread, pushed mortgage rates to a new low, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates moved off of their all-time low this week as a result of reports that Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine was potentially 90% effective, according to Freddie Mac.

The overall mortgage delinquency rate improved in the third quarter as the economy got healthier while late-stage delinquencies hit a decade high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Growing equity levels increased the share of equity-rich and pulled borrowers out from underwater in the third quarter, according to Attom Data Solutions.

The race enters a complicated phase that could impact financial markets.

With a dearth of inventory, September generated the largest price growth in the housing market since May 2014, according to CoreLogic.

Mortgage application fraud risk dropped drastically from 2019 with the spike in refinances, but the fallout from the coronavirus means next year could come with more risk, according to CoreLogic.

But an expected drop in refinancings as mortgage rates rise should more than cancel that out, resulting in declining overall volume through 2023.

While overall mortgage delinquency rates slowly descend, serious delinquencies — especially loans past 120 days due — jumped in July, according to CoreLogic.

Mortgage rates remained flat this week, a sign that the bottom has possibly been reached, but the housing market looks to remain strong for the near future, according to Freddie Mac.

Low mortgage rates and strained supply drove the housing market price growth to a 26-month high in August, according to CoreLogic.

Three nonprofits look to create or preserve 10,000 units, vowing to fight off firms like Blackstone and Colony Capital, which bought up foreclosed homes after Great Recession.

Mortgage rates fell back toward their all-time low this week, increasing purchasing power for homebuyers. But the lack of homes for sale drives up prices and reduces affordability, according to Freddie Mac.