In an article written by Sarah O’Brien for CNBC, she quotes a National Assoc. of Realtors article that states “Inventory remains tight and prices continue to rise nationally with nearly 40% of homes still commanding the full list price.”
The highly competitive home buyers market spanning the past few years has left the majority of buyers with a notable feeling of buyers remorse. The primary causes of the regrets are a result of:
As inflation surges to levels not seen since the 1980’s, home buyers dreams are slashed. Diana Click for CNBC states “It is clearly due to the plunging affordability,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors.
Home purchase mortgage applications were 19% lower than the same week in July last year, and 6% lower than the prior week. Those numbers are a direct reflection of the impact inflation is having on our economy.
Volatility is a word commonly used this year to describe the mortgage rate pace over the past year. In an article titled Mortgage Rates Hit 6%. World is Not Ending. May Just Be Beginning, written by Matthew Graham for Mortgage News Daily, he provides notable details and graphs that provide insights into what has prompted this volatility.
Inflation pace is the fastest it has been in more than 40 years. Unprecedented, historical, and painful. It is a pain that everyone is feeling, however some more than others.
In a recent CNBC interview, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George noted that the Fed is looking to tighten financial conditions, of which equity markets are a component, in an effort to tamp down price increases running at their fastest pace in more than 40 years.
In a recent article submitted by Diana Olick on CNBC, she reports that weekly mortgage demand from homebuyers tumbled 12%, as higher interest rates take their toll. She makes these key points:
If you have kept an eye on mortgage interest rates as they climb to the highest point in years, it’s no surprise to read this article on MortgageNewsDaily state “The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest weekly mortgage application data shows an ongoing and unsurprising decline in refinance applications.” In light of increased prices and rising rates it is interesting to note that purchase application volume is only seeing a slight decline.
This spike is a result of rising inflation and Federal Reserve rate hikes. The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 8.5% which is the highest level since 1981. The Federal Reserve starting rate hikes in March was the first increase since 2018. It is expected that the Federal Reserve will continue with rate hikes due to current aggressive inflation.