“Mortgage rates fell below 3 percent for the first time in 50 years" Sam Khater (Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist)

• MCLEAN, Va., July 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) 
• Freddie Mac(OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), 
• showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.98 percent, 
• the lowest rate in the survey’s history dating back to 1971.

Full article: https://freddiemac.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mortgage-rates-fall-below-three-percent

New construction home sales are up 55%, the highest pace since the housing boom.

• Sales of newly built homes jumped 55% annually in June, according to a monthly survey by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which has historically mirrored the U.S. Census report.

• It was the largest annual gain since homebuilding began again following the epic housing crash a decade ago. It is also the highest pace since the height of the unprecedented housing boom in 2005.

Top 50 Metropolitan Areas With the Strongest Rebounds Since Lockdown

See if your Area made the list:

Consumer Views On Buying and Selling a Home (2nd Quarter)

Full Article:  https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/home-sales-outpace-projections-in-june-but-coronavirus-clouds-outlook?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=natmortgagenews-tw&utm_medium=social&utm_content=socialflow

Remote Online Notarization Laws 2020

Source:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHkeJOyp0Pb3dJSt4iXjPQA

Home Flipping Rate Increases to 14-Year High (1Q 2020)

• Flipped Home Sales hit its highest level since 2nd Quarter 2006!
• However, Profit Margins on flipped homes sit at the lowest level since 3rd Quarter 2011.
• Home Flips Purchased with financing dip, while those purchased with cash climb. 

Much more information here in the Full Article:

https://www.attomdata.com/news/market-trends/flipping/attom-data-solutions-q1-2020-u-s-home-flipping-report/

Mortgage Credit Availability at lowest level since April 2014 (Mortgage Bankers Association)

Press Release:

"The overall credit availability index decreased 3.3% to its lowest level since April 2014, with all of the sub-indexes falling to lows not seen since 2014-2015," Joel Kan MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

Full Article:  https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/mortgage-credit-availability-fell-over-30-in-four-months-mba?utm_campaign=natmortgagenews-tw&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=socialflow&utm_medium=social

We're not even thinking about raising rates: Fed chair Powell

"We are not even thinking about, thinking about raising rates" 
(Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell)
Video Discussion on The Fed's next move if the U.S. economy recovers better than expected:

Source:
https://youtu.be/iGRuY2XwK4k

Continued Onslaught of Mortgage Demand From Homebuyers (CNBC's Diana Olick)

Source::
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/06/10/purchase-mortgage-applications-rise-for-eighth-straight-week.html

Residential Housing Crisis Unlikely (Goldman Sachs Mike Swell on Bloomberg TV)

No Foreseen Housing Crisis Based on: 

• Job improvement, "true unemployment under 10%" 
• No "oversupply of housing inventory."
• Not having "too much leverage in the system" in regards to LTV, and interest only loans...

VIDEO:

Source:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-06-08/housing-crisis-unlikely-as-long-as-jobs-improve-goldman-s-swell-says-video

Housing Cost and Income Changes

Full Article:

https://urbn.is/2XGxurg

Update: Existing and Pending Home Sales April 2020 (NAR).

• Significantly fewer transactions Nationwide due to certain states Covid virus regulations which hindered property showings. 
• Some sellers took their homes off the market and some are holding back until the Covid situation settles. 
• More For Sale inventory is needed, from sellers and builders, to satisfy the current demand. 
• "Prices rose to a record high"  +7.4% since last year  (98 straight months of year over year gains).
• Buyers are still "facing record low mortgage rates!"
• Mortgage applications are up. "shows buyers are ready!"

New Home Sales 21% higher than Estimated

New home sales strongest in homes priced below $300,000 from CNBC.

Borrowers in forbearance can defer all missed payments until the end of their loan...

A new payment deferral option for borrowers in forbearance

(Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced) 

• The new program is for borrowers who took forbearance due to a coronavirus-related issue, and will not have to repay their missed payments until the borrower sells their house, refinances their current mortgage, or their mortgage matures.
• Borrower starts making their mortgage payments again when they’re able, and missed payments are deferred to the end of their loan.
• The CARES Act stipulates that a borrower whose mortgage is backed by either the government or the GSEs who is experiencing a COVID-19-related hardship can request and must be granted forbearance of up to 180 days, which then may be extended for another 180 days. Aka shift as many as 12 months of mortgage payments to the end of their loan (including escrow advances... without accruing any additional interest or late fees).
• "...the maturity date, remaining term, interest rate and payment schedule of the borrower’s mortgage remains the same as it was before" (Freddie Mac).
• Servicers are to begin offering this option to borrowers on July 1, 2020 (According to the GSEs and FHFA)

Full Article:

https://www.housingwire.com/articles/fannie-mae-freddie-mac-borrowers-in-forbearance-can-defer-all-missed-payments-until-the-end-of-their-loan/

Number Of Zombie Homes Drop During The Coronavirus Ban on Foreclosures.

Nationwide:

• Foreclosures are down 9%
• Zombie Homes/Foreclosures are down 12%.
• However, this seems to be a primarily due to the current federal restrictions.
• "It is very possible that there will be a large increase in zombies and foreclosures after the CARES Act moratorium expires on June 30."
• "When the foreclosure ban is lifted, we should start to see the real impact of the pandemic on homeowners..."

Full Article:

https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/amid-coronavirus-ban-on-foreclosures-number-of-zombie-homes-drops

April Real Estate Market Statistics (Missouri)

https://www.youtube.com/user/JordaanSieben

U.S. mortgage applications rise for sixth straight week

• “U.S. applications for home mortgages jumped last week, in a sixth straight weekly increase, suggesting the housing market could lead the economy’s recovery from the novel coronavirus crisis even as high unemployment is expected to linger.”

• “The sustained gains in mortgage applications suggest a jump in first-time buyers of both new and previously owned homes in April was probably not a fluke. Homebuilder sentiment also improved in May.”

Full Article:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-housing/u-s-mortgage-applications-rise-for-sixth-straight-week-idUSKBN2331IX

Home purchase applications have risen 54% since early April

Home purchase applications have risen 54% since early April from CNBC.

Understanding Your Credit Report

Here is a simple friendly FYI video from Freddie Mac's Youtube page:


https://www.youtube.com/user/JordaanSieben
CLICK HERE to see what type of Mortgage you might qualify for!

Florida Housing Market Update: April 2020

MARKET UPDATES: CLICK PLAYLIST