Check Inman every day for the daily version of this market roundup.
Mortgage rates:
[graphiq id=”b2w6fmfIyNL” title=”30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates for the Past 6 Months” width=”600″ height=”400″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/b2w6fmfIyNL” link=”http://mortgage-lenders.credio.com” link_text=”30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates for the Past 6 Months | Credio”]
[graphiq id=”2NvK9Bl9HIF” title=”15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates for the Past 6 Months” width=”600″ height=”400″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/2NvK9Bl9HIF” link=”http://mortgage-lenders.credio.com” link_text=”15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates for the Past 6 Months | Credio”]
Home equity rates:
[graphiq id=”kPkTJrAnX5r” title=”Average Home Equity Loan Bank Rates by State” width=”600″ height=”465″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/kPkTJrAnX5r” link=”http://mortgage-lenders.credio.com” link_text=”Average Home Equity Loan Bank Rates by State | Credio”]
[graphiq id=”dP0v3iYOnH” title=”Average Home Equity Loan Credit Union Rates by State” width=”600″ height=”465″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/dP0v3iYOnH” link=”http://mortgage-lenders.credio.com” link_text=”Average Home Equity Loan Credit Union Rates by State | Credio”]
Day-by-day market activity
Friday, February 24
- Sales of new single-family houses in January 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 555,000, 3.7 percent above the revised December rate of 535,000 and 5.5 percent above the January 2016 estimate of 526,000.
- The median sales price of new houses sold in January 2017 was $312,900. The average sales price was $360,900.
- The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January was 265,000. This represents a supply of 5.7 months at the current sales rate.
First American Financial Services’ January 2017 Loan Application Defect Index:
- The frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications increased 5.8 percent in January 2017 over December 2016.
- Compared to January 2016, the Defect Index decreased by 3.9 percent.
- The Defect Index is down 28.4 percent from the high point of risk in October 2013.
Thursday, February 23
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey:
- The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.16 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending Feb. 23, 2017.
- This is up from last week when it averaged 4.15 percent.
- A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.62 percent.
Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index for Q4 2016:
- U.S. house prices rose 1.5 percent in Q4 2016 from Q3 2016.
- House prices rose 6.2 percent year-over-year in Q4 2016.
- FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 0.4 percent from November.
Wednesday, February 22
National Association of Realtors’ Existing-Home Sales for January 2017:
- Total existing-home sales expanded 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million in January from an upwardly revised 5.51 million in December 2016.
- This is 3.8 percent higher than a year ago (5.48 million).
- January also surpasses November 2016 (5.60 million) as the strongest month since February 2007 (5.79 million).
Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey:
- Mortgage applications decreased 2.0 percent from one week earlier for the week ending February 17, 2017.
- The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 46.2 percent of total applications, the lowest level since November 2008, from 46.9 percent the previous week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balance increased to 4.36 percent from 4.32 percent.
CoreLogic Market Pulse Report for February 2017:
- Home prices were up 7.2 percent in December 2016.
- The cash sales share in October 2016 was 31.8 percent.
- The distressed sales share in October 2016 was 7.7 percent.
Tuesday, February 21
First American’s Potential Home Sales Model for January 2017:
- In January, the market potential for existing-home sales fell by 1.9 percent compared with a year ago, a decline of 107,000 (SAAR) sales.
- Currently, potential existing-home sales is 328,000 (SAAR) or 13.8 percent below the pre-recession peak of market potential, which occurred in July 2005.
- The market for existing-home sales is underperforming its potential by 0.2 percent or an estimated 9,500 (SAAR) of sales, which is the smallest performance gap in the last 18 months.
Monday, February 20
February 2017 Re/Max Housing News Report:
- In the 53 metro areas surveyed, total sales were up 4.5 percent over January 2016, which was previously the January with the most sales.
- The median sales price of $208,500 was up 4.3 percent and marked the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
- The new January low of 66 days on market underscores the fact that inventory has declined year-over-year for 99 consecutive months dating back to October 2008.
National Association of Realtors’ quarterly sales pace report:
- The median existing single-family home price increased in 89 percent of measured markets, with 158 out of 178 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) showing sales price gains in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with the fourth quarter of 2015.
- Twenty areas (11 percent) recorded lower median prices from a year earlier.
- An average of 87 percent of measured markets saw increasing home prices, up from the averages in 2015 (86 percent) and 2014 (75 percent).
Attom Data Solutions Year-End 2016 Home Equity and Underwater Report:
- As of the end of 2016, there were 5.4 million (5,408,323) U.S. properties seriously underwater — where the combined loan amount secured by the property was at least 25 percent higher than the property’s estimated market value.
- This is a decrease of more than 1 million properties (1,028,058) from a year ago.
- The 5.4 million seriously underwater properties at the end of 2016 represented 9.6 percent of all U.S. properties with a mortgage, down from 10.8 percent at the end of Q3 2016 and down from 11.5 percent at the end of 2015.
Email market news to press@inman.com.