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Daily market update: Oct. 1, 2015

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We’ll add more market news briefs throughout the day. Check back to read the latest.

RealtyTrac’s “Why Homes Are More Affordable With Home Prices Higher” report:

  • Home prices in the first quarter of the year hit their most affordable level in two years.
  • The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped 57 basis points, or 13 percent from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015.
  • The drop in interest rates — along with wage growth outpacing home price appreciation in 32 percent of counties — meant buying a home in the first quarter required a smaller share of the average wage compared to a year ago.

U.S. Census Bureau’s August 2015 construction report:

  • Construction spending during August was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.09 trillion.
  • This is a 13.7 percent increase over August 2014’s estimate of $955 billion.
  • From January 2015 to August 2015, construction spending comprised $683.4 billion.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey:

  • The rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 3.85 percent.
  • The rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages was 3.07 percent.
  • The rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages was 2.91 percent.

Weekly mortgage rates:

Powered by MortgageCalculator.org

Powered by MortgageCalculator.org

Yesterday’s market news:

Freddie Mac’s September 2015 Insights & Outlook:

  • Home sales this year are expected to be the highest since 2007.
  • Low mortgage rates and the decline in unemployment is boosting demand for homes.
  • Freddie Mac has increased its estimate of 2015 mortgage originations to $1.53 trillion and 2016 originations to $1.40 trillion.
<a href=’http://www.freddiemac.com/finance/ehforecast.html’><img alt=’Total 1-4 Family Mortgage Originations ($ Bil) ‘ src=’http://public.tableau.com/static/images/Se/September2015Outlook/Homepage/1_rss.png’ style=’border: none’ /></a>

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