Mortgage lenders roll out a new wave of home affordability loans; Today’s live mortgage rates and the 5-day trend; FHA mortgage rates move past conventional ones.

This page updated and accurate as of 05/06/2019.

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When you’re buying a home, where you buy affects your home affordability. Your access to mortgage loans does, too.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the most affordable metro areas for home buyers remains in the Midwest.

Homes on the West Coast are least affordable.

The data comes from the trade group’s Housing Opportunity Index, a quarterly report tracking home values, median income levels, and mortgage rates in various metropolitan areas nationwide; and, turning them into a rankable list.

Affordable areas are ones in which local incomes are relatively large when compared to local home valuations, and the list includes cities such as Springfield, Ohio; Elmira, New York; and Cumberland, Maryland near the West Virginia border.

The least affordable places to live are in California.

Of the 236 tracked metropolitan areas in the study, the bottom 19 are each in California, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose.

But, just because an area is “less affordable”, that doesn’t mean it’s “unaffordable”. How much home you can afford can’t be summed up by a survey.

An affordable home is a home on which you can make payments each month and still have money left over for saving, investing, and spending. And, there are mortgage programs designed to help keep homes affordable — regardless of where you live.

Two examples of home affordability products are Fannie Mae’s HomeReady and Freddie Mac’s Home Possible home loans. Both loans offer reduced mortgage rates, cheaper mortgage insurance, and minimum down payments to borrowers.

The programs also all

The Federal Reserve votes on whether to raise the Fed Funds Rate; Today’s live mortgage rates and the 5-day trend; NAR reports on contracts for home sales.

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The Federal Reserve adjourns from a 2-day meeting today and mortgage rates are expected to move.

Eight times annually, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets to discuss the current U.S. economic climate, and whether the group should change its monetary policies to guide the economy ahead.

The Fed’s most-used monetary tool is the Fed Funds Rate, an prescribed overnight borrowing rate between banks.

The Fed Funds Rate doesn’t affect home buyers directly, but changes to the benchmark figure ripple throughout the housing market.

When the Fed votes to lower the Fed Funds Rate, its goals is to speed economic growth and boost inflation rates. And, when the group votes to raise the Fed Funds Rate, its goal is to slow economic growth and reduce inflationary pressures.

Inflation rates and mortgage rates often move in a similar direction, so the Fed’s actions change mortgage rates indirectly.

The Fed’s words affect mortgage rates, too, and this is today’s risk to buyers and refinancing households because the Fed is expected to vote “no change” to the Fed Funds Rate.

When the FOMC adjourns from its 2-day meetings, the group releases a statement in which it identifies strengths and weaknesses in the economy, and present-day threats.

Inflation is mentioned always.

If the FOMC statement suggests that inflation rates are rising more quickly than expected, consumer should expect mortgage rates to rise as well.

Whenever the Federal Reserve meets, mortgage rates can be erratic.

Protect yourself from rising mortgage rates by shopping and locking prior to the Fed’s 2 PM ET adjournment.

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Millennials just set an all-time record for homeownership; Today’s live mortgage rates and the 5-day trend; New Home Sales slow through June, maybe temporarily.

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Millennials moved into homeownership at the fastest rate of any age group at any time in recorded history last quarter

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vacancies and Homeownership report, homeownership rates among people aged 35 and under jumped 3.4 percent between April and June 2018.

The data point marks the largest one-quarter jump in homeownership among any age cohort since the Census began tracking such data in 1994, and counters common myths about Millennials and their desire to own homes.

Millennials want to buy homes like everyone else does. And, despite commonly-cited hurdles to getting mortgage-approved including student loan debt, irregular and gig income, and the high cost of living, today’s first-time home buyers are skilled at getting it done.

Many first-time buyers are using low- and no-down payment mortgages because they’ve recognized you don’t need a twenty percent down payment to buy a home.

Buyers can use any one of the six commonly-used, government-backed mortgage programs that allow down payments of 3.5 percent or less.

There are also the HomeReady and HomePossible mortgages which offer discounted interest rates and reduced mortgage insurance rates for people with average credit or better; and, the Conventional 97 program which allows three percent down.

A mortgage lender can help you decide which low-down payment program fits your needs be

Buyers should see fewer new homes for sale this fall; current mortgage rates and the 5-day trend; and, what to do when you receive a cash gift for down payment.

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Buyers should expect fewer new homes for sale through fall, and into 2019.

According to a joint report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, home builders pulled back on new home construction last month, pressuring an already-tight supply of new homes for sale nationwide.

The New Residential Construction shows housing starts down 9 percent in June as compared to the month prior.

A housing start is when a home builder begins construction on a new home, and June’s reading is the fewest housing starts for any calendar month this year.

As builders build fewer homes, the supply of new homes drops, too, which means that buyers can expect new homes to come with higher price tags later this year.

Today, though, home supply is stable. Buyers have a window.

The government’s New Residential Construction dataset also showed that home builders finished 76,000 homes in June, and put them for sale. It’s the most new homes that builders have listed for sale in a month since late last year.

There are also a half-million homes in various stages of completion nationwide, which helps to stabilize the national supply of new homes.

Once builders complete those homes, though, home supply should fall; builders are starting fewer new homes.

For buyers whose plans include a new construction purchase later this year, consider moving up your timeline. You’ll likely find more homes available for sale, at lower prices overall.

Home builder confidence puts its strongest July reading in thirteen years; today’s mortgage rates and the 5-day trend; and, making your best offer for a home.

This page updated and accurate as of 05/06/2019.

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U.S. homebuilder confidence is at a 13-year high for July.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and its monthly Housing Market Index , U.S. homebuilders feel good about the future of housing.

Three questions comprise the homebuilder confidence survey:

The trade group compiles builder replies for each question, then scales them as a composite value between 1-100. The highest recorded value is 77 (June 1999).

The lowest recorded value is 8 (January 2009).

For July 2018, home builder confidence reads 68. It’s the highest reading for a July since 2005, and for buyers of new construction, the most recent Housing Market Index signals that builders may be less willing to negotiate on price between now and 2019.

Buyers can expect fewer free upgrades to kitchens and bathrooms as well.

If your housing plans include the purchase of a newly-built home between now and early-2019, either as a first-time buyer or repeat buyer, consider that the best deals in new homes may be the ones you find today.

Because, with mortgage rates up and builder confidence rising, the costs of homeownership can climb.

Don’t overpay for your home. Click here for today’s live m

The most popular mortgage rates in the U.S. aren’t actually real; today’s mortgage rates and the 5-day trend; and, pre-approvals matters but pre-qualifications do not.

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Consumers can’t actually lock those weekly Freddie Mac mortgage rates.

Each week, government-backed Freddie Mac publishes its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), an update on interest rates available to U.S. home buyers and refinancing households.

Surveys are compiled using data from more than one hundred U.S. lenders, and the most recent results show mortgage rates down from recent weeks.

These rates aren’t available for locking, though, because they’re not actual mortgage rates. The Freddie Mac rates are composites based on a narrow borrower segment that likely does not include you.

Freddie Mac’s mortgage rates assume the borrower has top-tier credit, is financing with a conventional mortgage loan, and is buying a standalone, one-unit home to live in as a primary residence.

It also assumes the borrower is making a down payment of twenty percent, at least, and is paying discount points plus mortgage closing costs to the lender as part of the transaction.

An otherwise-solid June 2018 jobs report is offset by weakening wage growth, affecting mortgage rates; current interest rates and the 5-day trend; and, the many ways home buyers can purchase a home with little or no money down.

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The June 2018 Non-Farm Payrolls report pushed mortgage rates lower, closing out a better-than-expected week last week for buyers of homes and refinancing households.

Released on the first Friday of each month, the Non-Farm Payrolls report details the size of the U.S. workforce, the national rate of unemployment, and average worker wages.

Commonly called “the jobs report”, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly issuance is closely watched by Wall Street, policy-makers, and the Federal Reserve. Non-Farm Payrolls is a barometer for the health of the broader U.S. economy, and a window into upcoming inflation.

Inflation affects mortgage rates and home affordability, so Non-Farm Payrolls matters in housing.

The June jobs report showed 213,000 net new jobs added to the U.S. economy last month which is in-line with the average of the last six months; it’s a figure that’s neither strong nor weak.

The report also showed the U.S. Unemployment Rate increasing two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.0 percent, which also made no effect on rates.

However, one area of the Non-Farm Payrolls report — Average Hourly Earnings — caused mortgage rates to retreat.

Hourly earnings are what employees earn for doing their jobs and, in June, wage growth slowed; employees aren’t getting the same raises and payroll checks as compared to May.

Less money earned is less money spent, and that makes inflation less probable.

When inflation rates drop, mortgage rates drop and that’s what happened Friday. Get a look at today’s live rates by getting a free rate quote now.

Home sellers are starting to reduce list prices, a trend which typically continues through Thanksgiving week; today’s mortgage rates and 5-day interest rate trends; and, mortgage rates have dropped for 3 straight weeks, says Freddie Mac

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Homes listed for sale may soon drop in price.

New data from Altos Research shows the U.S. housing market entering its repeating, summer-to-fall cycle of slowing sales and falling prices.

34 percent of sellers reduced their home’s list price in June, a three-tick jump from the month prior and a reading that’s in keeping with recent trends.

The real estate research company’s data shows that home sellers begin to reduce home prices more aggressively beginning in late-Spring and that the number of price reduction increase through the summer and fall months.

Home price reductions typically peak in late-November.

For today’s home buyers, the data from Altos Research offers leverage in negotiation. Sellers with homes for sale may feel pressure to match a neighbor’s price reductions; or, may worry that a buyer will never come along.

Real estate is a transactional business. It’s also an emotional one. And, even when markets are strong, sellers can get nervous about the future.

Buyers can use this information to make a better offer.

Not all homes will drop in price between now and the start of 2019; and, the Altos Research data isn’t a reason to delay a home purchase. However, it highlights trends in pricing that buyers can use to their advantage.

A local real estate agent can help you identify homes likely to drop in price. You’ll save on your monthly payment, and you’ll get to make a smaller down payment, too.

Homeowners are ditching their 15-year fixed-rate mortgages at the fastest pace in a decade; current mortgage rates and the 5-day interest rate trend; and, with the year half-over, what experts say about the future of U.S. mortgage rates.

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A growing number of U.S. households have ditched their 15-year loans.

New data from Freddie Mac shows 37 percent of homeowners who refinanced 15-year fixed-rate mortgages during the year’s first quarter opted to replace their existing fifteen-year loan with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage instead.

The figure marks a sharp increase from recent quarters and represents the highest percentage of refinancing homeowners switching out of 15-year loans since the start of the decade.

Rising home values may be a contributing factor.

Since 2012, national home values are up more than twenty percent with many markets returning 40 percent or more to local owners of homes. Home equity has built up and consumers are using cash-out refinances to convert their growing assets into money to be spent or invested.

Two-thirds of today’s refinances are cash-out mortgages.

A cash-out refinance does what its name infers — it takes cash out from your home. And, in doing so, cash-out loans increase the size of your mortgage. Payments go up.

One way to reduce the bite of a new, higher mortgage payment is to change the term of the underlying loan, lengthening from fifteen years to thirty years.

30-year mortgages get paid back over a longer period of time and less money is due to the lender each month.

Overall, however, thirty-year loans require as much as sixty-five percent more interest to be paid to the lender which means that converting a 15-year mortgage to a thirty-year one could be a money-losing proposition.

Refinancing is a personal choice and there’s no best path to fit everyone. Make sure to talk with a loan officer for advice that meets your needs, and to get a live rate quote.

The mental block that keeps renters from buying homes; today’s mortgage rates and the 5-day interest rate trend; and, the Pending Home Sales Index dropped for the fifth straight month.

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Renters underestimate their ability to get approved for a mortgage.

A new study from government-backed mortgage group Fannie Mae shows two-thirds of today’s renters think it makes good financial sense to own home.

That’s not enough to give renters confidence to buy their first homes, however, because the same study shows renters staying put because the same percentage — approximately two-thirds of consumers — think “it would be difficult” to get mortgage-approved by a lender.

Renters want to stop renting, but don’t believe buying a home is possible. And, those renters are wrong.

Today’s home loan market is home buyer-friendly. Data proves it.

According to Ellie Mae, a mortgage technology company whose software processes millions of loan applications each year, mortgage lenders approved 75.0 percent of all mortgage applications received in May.

For buyers using FHA loans, conventional loans, VA loans, and USDA — approval rates are at or near all-time highs. Renters think it’s “difficult” to get approved. The opposite is true.

You can’t know what’s possible unless you talk with a lender. Check today’s rates to get started.

Click here for a free mortgage rate quote.