Here’s what happened this week in the real estate market:
The latest results for the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed year-over-year March increases in both the 10-City Composite (4.7 percent) and 20-City Composite (5.0 percent). The national home price index showed a 4.1 percent annual gain in March, and the national index also increased by 0.8 percent month-over-month in March.
Sales of new single-family houses in April rose 26.1 percent year over year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000, according to a report jointly released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
On a monthly basis, they increased 6.8 percent in April from a revised March rate of 484,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in April was $297,300. At the end of April, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 205,000, representing a supply of 4.8 months at the current sales rate.
Zillow Mortgages numbers placed today’s 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 3.79 percent, up two points from this time last week.
The inaugural Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Luxury Market Report indicated that California home prices increased by 27 percent from 2012 to 2014. (Home prices throughout the entire U.S. increased by 11 percent during that same time period.)
Pending home sales — a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings — rose for the fourth straight month in April, hitting their highest level in nine years, the National Association of Realtors reported.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) inched up to 3.87 percent from last week’s 3.84 percent. Last year, a 30-year FRM averaged 4.12 percent. This week’s 15-year FRM averaged 3.11 percent, up from last week’s 3.05 percent. Last year at this time, a 15-year FRM averaged 3.21 percent.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that mortgage interest rates decreased in April:
- The national average contract mortgage rate for previously owned homes by combined lenders was 3.78 percent for loans closed in late April, down from 3.8 percent in March.
- The average interest rate on all mortgages was 3.78 percent, also down from 3.8 percent in March.
- The average interest rate on a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of $417,000 or less was 3.93 percent; March’s was 3.95 percent.
- The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was pegged at 3.94 percent in April, down from 3.95 percent in March.
- The average loan amount for all loans in April was $310,600, a $200 decrease from March’s $310,800.
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