Tempted to borrow from your home equity?

* Rising home prices mean today’s mortgage holders also have record levels of equity.

* With interest rates poised to rise, many homeowners may want to tap those funds.

* But just because you can, that does not mean you should, experts say.

Record increases in home prices are also pushing up the amount of equity people have in their abodes. For many Americans, that means they can borrow more against what is often their biggest asset. However, financial experts caution you should think carefully before making such a move.

The average mortgage holder currently has about $185,000 in home equity to tap, which is the amount they can access while still retaining a 20% stake, according to mortgage research from Black Knight.

Homeowner equity is now an aggregate $9.9 trillion, according to Black Knight. That comes after a 35% gain in 2021 worth $2.6 trillion, the largest annual increase on record, beating a $1.1 trillion bump in 2020.

For some homeowners, the hot market has made it an attractive time to sell. Of course, those same rising prices, as well as high rents, can make it difficult for people to relocate.

Many homeowners have instead chosen to draw money from their homes, which they can traditionally do in three ways. That includes so-called cash out refinancing; home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs; and reverse mortgages, often offered through what is called home equity conversion mortgages, or HECMs.

More homeowners, particularly those age 62 and over, have been eager to extract equity from their homes amid current market conditions, research from the Urban Institute found. The combined number of those loans to seniors increased to 759,000 in 2020, from 647,000 in 2018.

That increase was driven mostly by cash out refinances, whereby a new, larger mortgage replaces the previous one. The median loan for those transactions rose to $205,000 in 2020, from $180,000 in 2018, according to the Urban Institute.

With borrowing costs expected to rise as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, that may increase the incentive for homeowners to make these transactions now.

“As interest rates rise in the coming year, you could see folks using more second lien products … to tap some of that equity when they need it,” said Karan Kaul, principal research associate at the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute.

“Folks already have a very low rate, and as rates rise it’s not going to be economical for most of them to refinance,” Kaul said.

As rates kick up, the market may shift from being predominantly cash out refinance transactions to more HELOCs and home equity loans in the coming years, he said.

Cash out refinances require you to refinance your entire mortgage, which may not be economical for many consumers, as their payments would likely go up. A HELOC may be a better option for someone who is remodeling their bathroom, for example, and needs to borrow only $25,000. While that may have a higher interest rate, the underlying principal on that loan is much lower, Kaul said.

“It’s an individualized, personalized calculation that has to happen at the household level,” Kaul said.

Maintain 20% equity

When deciding whether to borrow from your home, it’s important to remember that lenders typically will want you to maintain a 20% equity stake, said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

“By and large, this is not 2005, when you can pull out every last nickel of equity that you have,” McBride said.

Exercise caution consolidating debts

Current credit card rates are hovering at around 16%, according to Bankrate, while mortgage rates are around 4%.

McBride cautions against consolidating your credit card debts with a home equity loan as a permanent solution. If the debt was the result of a one-time event, like a medical bill or period of unemployment, it can be helpful. But if it’s indicative of your lifestyle, chances are you will still run up a balance under a home equity loan.

“If you haven’t solved the problem that produced the credit card debt in the first place, you’re just moving around deck chairs on the Titanic,” McBride said.

Consider improving your home

Home improvement projects may also be a reason to tap your home equity.

“If I add another bedroom and a bathroom and a pool, the value of that is instantly higher than what you can buy for, not to mention the enjoyment that you’ll get along the way,” said Charles Sachs, a certified financial planner and chief investment officer at Kaufman Rossin Wealth in Miami.

While some of Sachs’ high-net-worth clients have pursued these transactions for home improvements or even invest in higher yielding investments, these strategies are not for everyone, he warns.

You should be financially savvy and have the ability to take on risk, he said.

Moreover, it is impossible to know when the absolute bottom to borrow will be. Still, we may look back in five years and be envious of current interest rates, he said.

~ Lori Knish, CNBC

Applications for mortgages drop to lowest level in over 2 years

Total mortgage applications decreased 13.1% last week to the lowest level since December 2019

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 4.06% from 4.05%

Applications to refinance dropped 15% weekly and were 56% lower than one year ago.

Climbing mortgage rates are hitting both potential homebuyers and refinance candidates. Total mortgage applications decreased 13.1% last week to the lowest level since December 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications to refinance dropped 15% weekly and were 56% lower than one year ago.

“Higher mortgage rates have quickly shut off refinances, with activity down in six of the first seven weeks of 2022,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 4.06% from 4.05%, with points rising to 0.48 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.

Those higher mortgage rates combined with high prices and low inventory pushed applications to purchase a home down 10% weekly and 6% lower than one year ago. This was the third straight week of declines for purchase applications.

The average purchase loan size in the MBA weekly survey didn’t increase, but at $450,200, it stayed very close to the survey’s record high of $453,000, which was hit the week that ended Feb. 11.

Home prices have been climbing steadily and didn’t let up in 2021. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index was released Tuesday, and 2021 registered the highest calendar-year increase in 34 years, according to Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI. Prices nationally were up 18.8% in 2021 versus a 10.4% gain in 2020.

Rising mortgage rates will pose a challenge for some buyers, likely leading to less demand. Lazzara predicts that price growth will soon slow in reaction to higher rates.

“We have previously suggested that the strength in the U.S. housing market is being driven in part by a change in locational preferences as households react to the COVID pandemic,” Lazzara said. “More data will be required to understand whether this demand surge simply represents an acceleration of purchases that would have occurred over the next several years rather than a more permanent secular change. In the short term, meanwhile, we should soon begin to see the impact of increasing mortgage rates on home prices,” he said. 

~Lisa Rizzolo, CNBC

Housing inventory plunges in November to record low

Shopping for a new home in late November most likely gave frustrated buyers little to be thankful for as demand for homes continued to outpace supply.

The number of homes for sale hit an all-time low during the week ending November 28, according to a new report from Redfin, a technology-powered real estate brokerage. During that period, sustained demand pushed the median home price to another record high, and a third of homes sold in one week or less.

“The number of homes for sale typically declines another 15% in December,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “That means that by the end of the year, there will likely be 100,000 fewer homes for sale than there were in February when housing supply last hit rock bottom. I think more new listings will hit the market in the new year, but there will also be a long line of buyers who are queuing up right now.”

“Meanwhile, headlines and new restrictions related to the omicron variant of the coronavirus might fuel some uncertainty and volatility in the economy,” said Fairweather. “In the short term, global interest rates, including mortgage rates, could fall. In this extremely tight housing market, we would quickly see a proportional increase in competition and home prices.”

Key housing market takeaways

• The median home-sale price hit a new all-time high of $360,375, up 14% year over year. This was up 31% from the same period in 2019 and up 1.5% from a month earlier, far greater than the 0.2% increase seen during the same period last year.
• Asking prices of newly listed homes were up 12% from the same time a year ago and up 27% from 2019 to a median of $349,750.
• Pending home sales were up 8% year over year, and up 49% compared to the same period in 2019.
• New listings of homes for sale were down 4% from a year earlier, but up 12% from 2019. During the seven-day period ending November 28, active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell to a new all-time low. For the four-week period, active listings fell 23% from 2020 and 42% from 2019.
• 45% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, above the 39% rate of a year earlier and the 28% rate in 2019. Since the four-week period ending September 19, the share of homes under contract within two weeks is up 2.3 percentage points. During the same time in 2019, the share fell 3.1 points.
• 33% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, up from 27% during the same period a year earlier and 18% in 2019. Since the four-week period ending September 12, the share of homes under contract within a week is up 2.9 percentage points. During the same time in 2019, the share fell 2.3 points.
• Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 25 days, down from 31 days a year earlier and 46 days in 2019.
• 43% of homes sold above list price, up from 35% a year earlier and 21% in 2019.
• On average, 3.8% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, up 0.7 percentage points from the same time in 2020 and up 0.2 points from this time in 2019.
• The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices, was 100.5%. In other words, the average home sold for 0.5% above its asking price.

Brenda Richardson, Forbes

Is Seattle’s real estate market cooling?

After a chaotic summer that saw extremely low housing inventory, bidding wars and record-breaking jumps in median sale prices, Seattle’s tight real estate market could be showing signs of cooling off for the fall season.

A new market report form the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) found that competition for homes in Seattle eased slightly in July, with brokers adding more listings and less homes going under contract. The agency saw slightly fewer pending sales in July than in June and May.

Some of that slowdown might be seasonal, while other experts took into account that the state lifted all COVID-19 restrictions on June 30, and more people could be traveling after spending so much time at home.

“Although the local market is intense, buyers can find some relief because there aren’t as many offers to compete with compared to earlier this year,” said J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate in a news release Thursday. “August historically is the last month of the year with elevated levels of new listings before they slowly taper down in the fall and decline more substantially over the winter.”

However, inventory still remains historically low and prices are still climbing, meaning any breathing room for homebuyers might be short lived. Across all 26 Washington counties surveyed by the NWMLS, there is only 0.73 months of inventory. And only 12 counties report having more than one month of supply.

“Despite the extreme shortage of inventory and robust sales activity, there seems to be a bit of a leveling off from the market frenzy,” said Gary O’Leyar, broker owner at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Signature Properties. “In my opinion this is due to a typical mid-summer season market combined with some buyer fatigue.”

Prices also continued to climb. In June, median sale prices for homes in the region soared 30% compared to the previous year, marking a new record high. In King County, the median home sale price hit $775,000 in May, up 23% from the same time last year.

However, that growth is not just in the Seattle metro area. Many brokers said that suburban counties along the Interstate 5 corridor have seen sharp price increases, mirroring the fact that homes in the heart of Seattle are appreciating at a slower rate than homes located away from downtown.

“Prices in Lewis County are up 54.2% from the July 2019 level, Snohomish County is up 40.6%, and Island County is up 44.3%,” said James Young, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. “The search for value in the suburbs with sharp price increases suggest households are making their housing preferences known. They want to own rather than rent.”

One area of the market continues to rebound from the pandemic: condominium sales. New listings outpaced pending sales in July, and prices rose more modestly at 12.6%. In King County, where the majority of condos are sold, the median priced condo sold for $460,000.

Brokers are advising residents to make the most of the seasonal lull in the market while also warning potential sellers about overpricing.

“My advice to buyers would be to take advantage of this time before Labor Day and the fall market,” said O’Leyar. “[For sellers,] don’t get overly hyped with anecdotal information about the real estate market. Overpricing a listing in this market is still a big mistake.”

~Callie Craighead, Seattle P-I

Housing boom will end when interest rates rise

The current housing boom will flatten in 2022—or possibly early 2023—when mortgage interest rates rise. There is no bubble to burst, though prices may retreat from panic-buying highs.

The boom produced some frantic buying, bids in excess of asking prices, and plenty of worry among would-be homeowners. But this has not been a bubble. A bubble is not simply rising prices, but demand not justified by fundamental economic factors. The key to the buying boom has been low mortgage rates plus a shift in desired housing type.

Mortgage rates hit what was then an all-time low of four percent in 2011, and then remained in that neighborhood until the pandemic, when they hit three percent. The decline in mortgage rates in 2020 dropped the monthly payment on a house by 12 percent, enabling many people to buy houses now rather than later.

In addition to the low mortgage rates, some people saw a future of remote work and wanted more space, which often means moving out of an apartment into a single family house. Others found urban living less fun, so they headed into the suburbs where houses are more common than apartments.

The increased demand for houses drove prices up, quite predictably. Yet the supply could not adjust as fast as demand. Home builders ramped up production in the second half of 2020, but after a few months they ran into supply constraints. Ready-to-build lots were all bought up, labor for construction was hard to find and social distancing made workers less productive. Now rising materials prices and goods on back-order squeeze profit margins. That’s how we find ourselves in the current housing boom.

But this boom is not a bubble, because the rise in prices is easily explained by the fundamentals of cheap mortgages and supply limitations. Recent housing starts are below historical averages, though that is justified by lower population growth. But with the shift from multifamily to single family housing, recent construction levels make sense. There need be no sudden drop in new construction to maintain a reasonable equilibrium.

When will the boom end? The two keys are satisfying the new demand and mortgage rates. Low mortgage rates allowed young families to buy houses earlier than they otherwise would have. It did not change the economics of buying for people who were never going to be homeowners. Instead, low mortgage rates enabled people to achieve their dreams earlier than they otherwise would have. In this sense, the strong housing market of 2020 and 2021 has been borrowing from the future. However, the shift in preferences from urban living to suburban living by people who previously could have bought houses is permanent new demand. At least, so long as they don’t become disillusioned about home ownership.

Mortgage rates are likely to rise when financial markets anticipate more inflation and action by the Federal Reserve to stem inflation. Although the Fed’s traditional tools impact short-term rates, with only small effect on mortgage rates, the new actions by the Fed impact mortgages directly. The Fed has been buying mortgages wholesale, depressing mortgage interest rates. The Fed has also been buying many treasury securities, which are often competitors to mortgages for institutional investors.

Mortgage rates are likely to rise a full percentage point by mid-2022, though this forecast exceeds the average prediction of my fellow economists. They doubt long-term interest rates will rise by a percentage point even out to December 2022. If they are right and I am wrong, then the housing market will remain strong longer.

Business leaders in the housing supply chain should enjoy their strong sales this year but not anticipate further growth in the coming years. Major capital projects must pencil out with sales back at 2019 levels.

Prospective home buyers should probably chill. It’s been a tough buying season. Although prices are unlikely to fall nationwide, there will probably be easier buying opportunities in 2023.

by Bill Conerly, Forbes

Market offers hope to homebuyers…but may be temporary

Homebuyers may find some good news in the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). The number of active listings at the end of June, 6,358, reached the highest level since November when buyers could choose from 6,505 properties. The volume of new listings added last month was the highest number in 17 months (13,111 last month versus 14,689 at the end of November 2019).

“Homebuyers will be happy to hear that between May and June the number of listings in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties rose, giving them more homes to choose from and possibly easing the pressure just a little,” remarked Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate.

For the tri-county area, total active listings of single family homes and condominiums increased 14.5% from May. System-wide, the report covering all 26 counties served by Northwest MLS shows month-to-month inventory improved 14.9%.

“Buyers need some relief, so I hope this trend continues,” said Gardner.

Broker Dean Rebhuhn, owner at Village Homes and Properties, agreed the slight increase in new listings is good news for buyers, but tempered his optimism. “Low inventory and high demand coupled with low interest rates continue to drive up the market.” He also noted Kittitas County “is no exception to brisk sales. Many homes in that county are selling within one or two weeks.”

NWMLS director Frank Leach, broker/owner at RE/MAX Platinum Services in Silverdale, described Kitsap County as another “heated market” but said brokers there are growing inventory very slowly, resulting in more selection for buyers. Brokers added 621 new listings to that county’s inventory, improving on May’s volume by more than 13%. That number also marked the first time since May 2019 that the number of new listings in Kitsap County topped 600.

Other industry analysts suggested the uptick in inventory might be short-lived, citing vigorous activity as Washington state lifts several strict coronavirus restrictions.

“We continue on a trajectory that will keep the Puget Sound region at the top of national lists for one of the hottest housing markets,” stated John Deely, executive vice president of operations for Coldwell Banker Bain. “Inventory on hand remains at two-to-three weeks in the larger counties,” he noted.

The latest report from Northwest MLS shows a year-over-year (YOY) drop in active listings of more than 34%, with only about two weeks (0.58 months) of supply available areawide. Last month marked the first time since July 2020 that the year-over-year decline fell below 40%.

Only 10 of the 26 counties in the MLS report have more than one month of supply. Of these, only one (Ferry) has more than two months of supply. Snohomish County’s inventory declined more than 44% from a year ago, leaving it with only about 10 days of inventory (0.35 months of supply), the lowest of all the counties served by Northwest MLS.

“While pending sales saw a significant drop over this time last year, we believe that rather than that being an indication of a flattening of the market, this is a result of our extreme heat events, a typical summer slowdown as schools let out and people starting vacations, and, this year, the reopening of the country and discontinuation of COVID-19 restrictions,” explained Deely.

Pending sales rose about 3.5% compared with a year ago (from 11,916 to 12,328) but fell slightly from May when mutually accepted offers outgained the number of listings added during the month.

“The local real estate market is virtually sold out in the more affordable and mid-price ranges, even into the luxury market in some areas,” reported J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. “This places extra focus on each new resale listing as it comes onto the market.”

An analysis of last month’s statistics by price range illustrates Scott’s point. Fewer than 23% of June’s listings had asking prices under $400,000. About a third of the inventory was listed at $800,000 or above.

James Young, the director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington, said the decline in active listings volume suggests homes are selling and closing very quickly once listed. He noted that while listing levels for June were higher than two years ago, pending and closed sales are much higher. “This indicates that well priced properties are closing very quickly.”

Lennox Scott concurred. “Many homes are going under contract within days due to the intense buyer demand.” He anticipates two more months of “elevated new resale listings” before the selection starts decreasing. “We expect the extremely high intensity for each listing will continue in most price ranges locally into the spring of 2022 due to historically low interest rates creating a large backlog of buyers looking to purchase a home.”

Deely said affordability, especially for first-time homebuyers, continues to be a concern. “Given indications from tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft to lease large office spaces and hire thousands of employees in our region, drawing people from higher-priced markets like Silicon Valley with lots of money to spend, we don’t see much change in this scenario for buyers in the short term.”

Brokers reported 10,923 completed transactions during June, a 31.4% increase from twelve months ago, and up 16.5% from May’s total of 9,374. Prices on last month’s sales, which includes single family homes and condominiums, rose nearly 27% from a year ago, from $465,000 to $589,000.

The single family segment accounted for about 86% of the sales. The median sales price on those 9,417 transactions was $611,000, which was 27% higher than the year-ago figure of $480,950.

Condo sales jumped a whopping 59% from a year ago, with prices increasing more than 20%. For last month’s 1,506 closed sales, the median price was $440,000; a year ago it was $365,000.

Looking at month-to-month, rather than YOY changes, Gardner noted King and Pierce counties experienced only modest price increases, while prices in Snohomish County rose by “a solid 3.1%. I believe this points to an uptick in buyers who can continue working from home and have made the choice to move from King to Snohomish County where housing is more affordable. The same can be inferred for Kitsap County.”

A comparison of Northwest MLS figures shows the median price on last month’s completed transactions in King County was $779,919, while in Snohomish County it was about $105,000 less ($675,000). In Kitsap County, where the median price was $505,000, the difference is nearly $275,000. Pierce County homes that sold last month had a median price of $507,375.

Commenting on the NWMLS report, Dick Beeson, managing broker at RE/MAX Northwest, Tacoma-Gig Harbor, said it reflects a “slight turn of the wheel. Sellers are still in control, but their expectations need a slight readjustment. Instead of 20 offers, there may only be five or fewer. Maybe even only one.”

When that happens, some sellers balk at selling, thinking they are being undersold, according to Beeson. “Sellers must remember, you can’t underprice a home in this market. You can still overprice a property. The market will find you out and drive the price to the appropriate market value.”

Given the strong, competitive market across all price ranges, Beeson offered a recipe for buyer success. “Scour the new inventory coming on the market daily; write the best offer you can using all the offer strategies you’re equipped to employ, and then decide if the extra cost to win the sale is an acceptable value to you. Close the sale quickly, and don’t whimper!”

Rebhuhn also offered hope for buyers who are prepared to act. “Generally speaking, July and August provide more opportunities for buyers as there is less competition because of vacations and fewer relocation buyers in mid-summer.”

Builders are also caught in the frenzy. “Builders are racing to bring new communities online and hoping to hit the sweet spot as prices on building materials for new construction begin to fall,” reported Frank Leach. He said new apartment buildings and condos are being approved and built all across Kitsap County to accommodate newly arriving residents. Notably, Leach said an aircraft carrier due to arrive shortly could potentially add 3,500 people to that county’s rental market.

Although pending sales in Kitsap County dipped slightly from a year ago, they were up nearly 12% from May. “The market in Kitsap County is expected to remain very competitive with exposure of only eight days on the market, on average, across all price ranges,” Leach noted.

NWMLS Press Release, July 7, 2021

Home prices keep rising

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) found that house prices across the nation rose 16% from April 2020 to April 2021.

From March to April, house prices across the nation rose 1.8%, surpassing the previous month’s 1.6% increase.

Three regions — the Pacific coast, the western states and New England — saw more pronounced year over year increases. The FHFA index tracks seasonally-adjusted, purchase data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In the mountain division, which includes Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Wyoming, house prices rose 21% year over year. In the pacific division, encompassing Washington, Oregon and California, prices rose 18%. In Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, house prices also rose 18%.

“House prices recorded another monthly and annual record in April,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA’s deputy director of the division of research and statistics. “This unprecedented price growth persists due to strong demand, bolstered by still-low mortgage rates, and too few homes for sale.”

Mortgage rates rose above 3% for the first time in 10 weeks last week. Mortgage applications are still on the rise, however.

House prices have risen during the past year as a result of elevated lumber prices, a lack of available homes and increased demand for homes.

Lockdowns early in the pandemic led many to work from home and divide their living space into home offices. Those who were able to bought homes with more space, better suited to the pandemic remote work trend.

That has led to astonishing price increases in markets like Seattle, where the median home-sale price rose more than 26% year-over-year to a record $737,800 in May 2021. Tech employees there, faced with working remotely from cramped apartments, instead hunted for homes with more space.

“I’ve never seen anything like this housing market,” a Seattle-area Redfin agent said.

~by Georgia Kromrei, HousingWire

Buyers struggling to buy homes

First time homebuyers and seasoned homebuyers alike are finding themselves frustrated when they bid over asking price, without concessions, only to be declined over and over.

“Why are we getting outbid?”

It’s the question on a lot of would-be homebuyers’ lips right now, and there are a few different factors at play.

Although it may feel like another housing bubble, the issues plaguing the market today are far different. In 2008, the housing market crash was precipitated by questionable mortgage practices and home builders churning out more homes than the market could absorb.

Today, that equation is flipped: lenders are only issuing mortgages to highly qualified individuals, the existing housing stock isn’t enough for a growing population, Boomers are aging in place rather than selling, and home building continues to lag behind demand. The current market conditions aren’t going away anytime soon.

Although there are nuances at the local market level, it’s safe to say that the housing market in the U.S. right now is extremely competitive. Well-qualified buyers are struggling to understand why solid offers at full asking price are no longer enough. This January, 56% of buyers faced bidding wars on their offers, according to a Redfin survey.

In order to make offers more appealing to sellers, buyers are having to go above and beyond – whether this means making an all-cash offer, an offer well above asking price, or a no-contingency offer. And frequently, buyers are offering all three.

The problem is, of course, that many buyers are limited in what they can offer. First-time home buyers are often lucky if they can put down 20%, let alone an entire cash offer, and often have student loans and other obligations holding them back from bidding higher. Other buyers – rightly so – are wary of waiving inspection contingencies. And even if a buyer is offering over asking, in this market, it may simply not be enough.

In the Philadelphia suburbs, homes in poor condition are going for 15% over asking. If the house has several really desirable features, the bids are reaching the 25% over asking range. And if a house is fully move-in ready–it’s actually in decent condition, it’s clean, and everything is great–it can go for 35 to 50% over asking price.

Historically low mortgage rates have been adding fuel to the fire. Mortgage rates reached an all-time low of 2.8% over the past year and continue to remain low, which allows qualified buyers to purchase more house while maintaining lower monthly payments. Knowing that rates will eventually rise is encouraging buyers to stay in the game, rather than waiting for a cooling-off period. There are simply more people than ever competing for a limited number of homes.

Appraisals have also been a factor in buyers losing out on homes. Buyers can bid high, but the lender isn’t going to approve a loan for more than the appraisal amount. Cash offers are preferable only because sellers seem to be looking for the path of least resistance to closing.

FHA loans, while popular among first time home buyers, are at a distinct disadvantage in this market because sellers – whether it’s fair or not – are often under the impression that these buyers will need to jump through more hoops to close on the house, and will have less cash on hand to make up for gaps between the offer and the appraised value.

Those searching for a new home shouldn’t expect the market to dramatically change anytime soon. People are slowly transitioning back to the workplace from work from home, mortgage rates may be going up, and as the country continues to re-open, there may be a cooling off period. Even still, thanks to pent-up demand from the years before COVID, it will likely only go from an “extreme” sellers market to a “strong” sellers market. Demand will continue to outstrip supply for the next several years.

So what can buyers do?

Buyers may want to start off their home search looking 10-20% below their ideal price range. This will give them more room for leverage and to comfortably bid well over asking. If they need a home a year from now, start searching for that home now, because many buyers are waiting 5+ months until they get into a home.

When mortgage rates are so low, another thing buyers can do is talk to mortgage lenders about taking a slightly higher interest rate to get lender credits they can put towards closing costs. This tactic has been helping first time home buyers who don’t have a lot of cash on hand.

If a buyer needs to take out a mortgage to purchase a home, they should consider making a statement to the seller as to exactly how much cash they are willing to bring to closing, in case the appraisal comes back below what the lender will pay. That’s a major factor in why people are getting outbid, and it’s something that someone who needs a mortgage is going to have to consider doing.

It can be tempting to add in contingencies (such as your own home having to sell for the purchase to go through), but realistically it is important to keep the deal as uncomplicated as possible, because buyers simply don’t have the upper hand in this competitive market.

However, there’s one compromise buyers should never make. Don’t eliminate the inspection! Buyers can write the condition of the home in the contract “as is, with right to terminate” so that they have the ability to walk away if any major problem is uncovered. This protects buyers from buying a home with a major, undisclosed issue such as structural/foundational issues or a rotting roof while still assuring the seller they won’t be squabbling over a loose tile.

Buyers should have an in-depth talk with their Realtors about what will help them stand out in their local market and follow their advice. If they say your offer is too soft, it probably is. If a Realtor says the buyers must drop some of their “must haves,” do it.

Buyers should manage expectations so that they’re prepared for the likely event that they need to bid on multiple homes. Don’t fall in love with the first home either; see a second home right after it. Expect to write multiple offers, and expect to get outbid multiple times. It’s all part of the journey to homeownership in today’s market, and it’ll be worth it once the home has been secured.

Mike Maher, Houzer

Interest rates drop; mortgage applications increase

After three straight weeks of declines, mortgage applications increased 4.2% for the week ending June 11, 2021, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Both purchase and refinance applications increased, with refinances notably up 5.5%, according to Joel Kan, the MBA’s vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

“The jump in refinances was the result of the 30-year fixed rate falling for the third straight week to 3.11%, which is the lowest since early May,” Kan said. “U.S. Treasury yields have slid because of the uncertainty in the financial markets regarding inflation, and how the Federal Reserve may act over the next few months.”

Purchase applications were also down 17% from a year ago, the start of the mortgage boom, Kan said.

“[This time last year] was when the mortgage market started seeing large post-shutdown increases in activity,” Kan said.

Loan quality lessons learned from 2020  (Presented by: ACES Quality Management)

Historically, when we see the market transition from a high refinance volume environment to one that’s more purchase-driven, defects in borrower qualification categories tend to increase as lenders attempt to capture every last bit of volume they can.

The refinance share of activity decreased to 61.7% of total mortgage applications from 60.4% the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the market composite index increased 15% compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 2% from one week earlier.

The FHA share of total mortgage applications increased to 9.6% from 9.5% the week prior, and the VA share of total mortgage applications increased to 11.5% from 11.2%.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of this week’s mortgage applications data:

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) decreased to 3.11% from 3.15%
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $548,250) decreased to 3.20% from 3.29%
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.14% from 3.12%
• The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 2.49% from 2.52%
• The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.69% from 2.54%, with points increasing to 0.38 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans

~Tim Glaze, Housing Wire

Strong, chaotic Seattle housing market had record-breaking price increases in May

Seattle’s intensely competitive housing market continued to see record-breaking growth in May, and the summer season is looking to be just as hot as low inventory in the region persists.

A new report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service found median sale prices for homes in the region soared 30% compared to a year ago, a new record high. In King County, the median home sale price hit $775,000 in May, up 23% from the same time last year. In Snohomish County, median prices hit $655,000, increasing nearly 35% year over year.

“Everything is about breaking records this past year with record-breaking housing prices, record-breaking low inventory, and record-breaking consumer savings rates during the pandemic,” remarked Meredith Hansen, owner/designated broker at Keller Williams Greater Seattle. “All this equals a very strong, chaotic market that may not slow down for the next year.”

Despite hopes in April that homebuyers could be getting some relief with more homes added to the market and moderating prices, listings remain lower than expected in May. The report found that active listings from April to May declined for the first time in 20 years, down 4,824 listings — or 46% — compared to last year.

“Last month’s listings came in lower than we would normally see due to the month starting on a Saturday and ending with a holiday weekend,” noted J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO at John L. Scott Real Estate. “New resale listings typically go on the market on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. In today’s instant-response market, new listings often go pending over the weekend or early the next week.”

And the day of the week a home is listed does have significance for buyers and sellers: last week, a market-report from Zillow found that homes in Seattle sell the fastest when listed on a Thursday, moving from for sale to pending sale in just six days.

Homes are also selling for well over asking price, reflecting possible bidding wars driven by competition. NWMLS found residential homes in the Puget Sound region — comprising of King, Snohomish, Kitsap and Pierce counties — sold for 108.6% over the asking price. And that high demand is expected to continue into the summer.

“Frenzy-level buyer demand has not waned,” Scott said. “The local market is still virtually sold out in the more affordable and mid-price ranges, as well as into the luxury ranges in some areas.”

However, there are some bright spots as the region recovers from the pandemic: Seattle’s market for condominiums is finally stabilizing. The NWMLS report found condo inventory in May was down nearly 36% from a year ago while pending sales shot up 83.7%.

Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner noted that many condo owners decided to sell amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and more out of the urban downtown core, leading to high inventory and lower demand. Some downtown properties even began offering price reductions to attract new buyers, giving them the upper hand.

“The good news is the Seattle condo market has settled back down with inventory dropping and sales rising. Because of the shift in this market there was a price reset, but this appears to be luring buyers who previously thought they could not afford to buy downtown, leading to more balance between supply and demand,” Gardner said.

~Callie Craighead, Seattle PI