This Week In Real Estate – December 17, 2023.
This week in real estate, Freddie Mac reported a drop in mortgage rates below 7 percent, marking the first time since August. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell for the seventh consecutive week, averaging 6.95 percent. Matthew Graham, Mortgage News Daily’s chief operating officer, highlighted this as the largest rate decline over a 45-day period ever measured by MND. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve announced its decision to maintain the federal funds rate unchanged for the third consecutive meeting, with indications of multiple potential cuts in 2024. This stands in contrast to the eleven increases since March 2022, which marked the fastest pace of tightening since the early 1980s. Below are a few newsworthy events from the second week of December that influence our business:
Rates Fall Below 7%, Driving Momentum In The Market.
Mortgage interest rates hit a key psychological milestone this week, falling below 7% for the first time in more than four months. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.95%, according to the latest Freddie Mac survey. That’s down from 7.03% last week and marks the seventh straight week of declines. “Given inflation continues to decelerate and the Federal Reserve Board’s current expectations that they will lower the federal funds target rate next year, we likely will see a gradual thawing of the housing market in the new year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. With seven straight weeks of mortgage interest rate declines, more borrowers are applying for home loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates in its latest survey that overall mortgage applications have increased 7.4% compared to a week before. While increasing in recent weeks, purchase applications remain 18% below last year due to limited inventory, Fratantoni said. Full Story…
Single-Family Permits Down In October.
Over the first ten months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 773,526. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 10.7% below the October 2022 level of 865,815. Year-to-date ending in October, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The range of permit decline spanned 8.6% in the Northeast to 16.1% in the West. The South declined by 8.7% and the Midwest declined by 11.2% in single-family permits during this time. For multifamily permits, the percentage decline spanned 12.0% in the South region to 26.0% in the Northeast. The West declined by 16.4% and the Midwest declined by 22.1% in multifamily permits during this time. Full Story…
Fed Holds Rates Steady, Indicates Three Cuts Coming In 2024.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its key interest rate steady for the third straight time and set the table for multiple cuts to come in 2024 and beyond. Along with the decision to stay on hold, committee members penciled in at least three rate cuts in 2024 Markets had widely anticipated the decision to stay put, which could end a cycle that has seen 11 hikes, pushing the Fed funds rate to its highest level in more than 22 years. The developments come amid a brightening picture for inflation that had spiked to a 40-year high in mid-2022. “Inflation has eased from its highs, and this has come without a significant increase in unemployment. That’s very good news,” Chair Jerome Powell said during a news conference. Fed officials see core inflation falling to 3.2% in 2023 and 2.4% in 2024, then to 2.2% in 2025. Finally, it gets back to the 2% target in 2026. Full Story…
Originally compiled & posted by President &CEO, Melanie Weidenbach on the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate company blog.
