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Home builders know the housing market. They have to, if they hope to be successful. Builders have to know what buyers want, where they want it, and when they’ll be ready to buy. That’s why the National Association of Home Builders takes a monthly survey of home builders, asking for their perception of the current market and their expectations for the months ahead. The survey is scored on a scale where any number above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. In July, it fell to 42, down one point from June. But despite the slide, the component measuring expectations for the next six months rose to 48. NAHB Chairman, Carl Harris, says builders expect better buying conditions later in the year. “While buyers appear to be waiting for lower interest rates, the six-month sales expectation for builders moved higher, indicating that builders expect mortgage rates to edge lower later this year as inflation data are showing signs of easing,†Harris said. (source)

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week from one week earlier. Rates were down for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says rates are now at a four-month low. “Mortgage rates declined last week, as recent signs of cooling inflation and the increased likelihood of Fed rate cuts later this year pulled them lower. The 30-year fixed rate declined to … the lowest rate since March 2024,†Kan said. As a result, demand for mortgage applications was up four percent last week, pushed higher by a 15 percent jump in refinance activity. The seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 3 percent week-over-week. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)

Most of us know what it means to be sticker shocked. It’s when you find out the price of something is much higher than you expected. It can be a surprise. It can also be a disappointment if you were actually ready to buy. These days, according to the results of a new survey, sticker shock may be a common occurrence in the housing market. In fact, the survey – from the National Association of Home Builders and the U.S. Census Bureau – found there’s a fairly large gap between what home buyers expect to pay for a house and what homes actually cost. The survey found 38 percent of buyers expect to pay less than $250,000 for their next home. That’s well below the median price of an existing home, which is now above $400,000. It’s also well below the cost of buying a newly built home, which tend to be more expensive than older homes. For example, in 2023, only 5 percent of new homes that began construction were priced under $250,000. (source)

There’s been a lot of talk recently about how market conditions may be keeping current homeowners from making a move. But homeowners may be moving sooner than the experts think. In fact, according to one new survey, there’s no shortage of homeowners thinking about moving in the near future. The survey found 38 percent of homeowners said they’re likely to purchase a home in the next year. That’s a significant number and a good sign that buyer demand remains high – and particularly among homeowners, who have been seen as reluctant to give up the favorable terms of their current mortgage. But it’s not just homeowners. The same survey found large majorities of Gen Z and Millennial respondents who said they believe buying a home is attainable – an indication that interest among buyers is building and more Americans may be getting ready to make a move in the months ahead. (source)

The Mortgage Bankers Association tracks mortgage credit availability to determine how easy or difficult it is for borrowers to get a loan. Each month, its Mortgage Credit Availability Index gauges whether credit has loosened or tightened on a scale where any increase indicates borrowers’ access to credit has improved – whether through less restrictive lending standards or through offered loan programs. In June, the MCAI increased for the sixth consecutive month. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says the gains have been encouraging. “Mortgage credit availability increased in June for the sixth consecutive month, as lenders expanded their offerings of cash-out refinance programs,†Kan said. “The recent growth in credit availability is encouraging, but the index is still hovering near 2012 lows.†(source)

Homeownership hasn’t lost its appeal, according to the results of a new survey of young Americans. The survey, which probed Gen Z’s attitudes toward homeownership and buying in the current market, found 92 percent of respondents said owning a home was important to them. That’s the overwhelming majority and good evidence that the dream of owning a home endures. But while most survey participants said they want to own a home, it wasn’t their top priority. In fact, most Gen Z participants had other goals they put ahead of homeownership, including finding stable employment, building a career, saving money, and starting a family. Those are worthy goals and a good indication that young Americans are looking to get established before buying. But they don’t expect to wait long. Ninety percent of respondents said they believe they’ll buy a home before the age of 35, with 33 percent expecting to be homeowners by 25. (source)

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates were mostly unmoved last week from one week earlier. Rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans with conforming balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 5/1 ARMs all saw slight decreases week-over-week, while rates for jumbo loans and 15-year fixed-rate loans both increased. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says mortgage demand was also relatively flat. “Purchase activity picked up slightly, driven by increases in FHA and VA applications,†Kan said. “Refinance applications decreased for the fourth consecutive week, in line with higher rates.†Refinance activity was down 2 percent from the previous week, while demand for loans to buy homes saw a 1 percent increase. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)

In a competitive market, home buyers have to make big decisions fast. There’s no time to deliberate when other interested buyers are right behind you, ready to make an offer. That’s been the case for the past several years, as the number of buyers outpaced the number of homes available for sale. Homes sold quickly and received multiple offers from competing buyers. These days, though, things are improving. In fact, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website, home buyers may finally be getting some relief. That’s because the number of homes actively for sale has now risen for eight consecutive months and is up nearly 37 percent from last year at the same time. Danielle Hale, the website’s chief economist, says this news is good for buyers. “The combination of more for-sale homes and longer time on the market is beneficial for home shoppers as they have more selection and don’t need to feel as rushed in picking a place to call home,†Hale said. (source)

Americans started feeling better about the housing market as it headed into the summer season, according to the latest survey results from Fannie Mae’s monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index. The percentage of survey respondents who said it’s a good time to buy a home rebounded in June, with a 5 percent increase over the month before. The share who say it’s a good time to sell also improved, rising 2 percent from May. Mark Palim, Fannie Mae’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says affordability remains a concern, despite the optimistic turn. “Affordability concerns remain the primary driver of consumer housing sentiment, even as the topline findings from our monthly survey showed a modest uptick in optimism on both home buying and home selling conditions,†Palim said. “If mortgage rates decline through the end of the year, as we currently forecast, we do think home sales activity will pick up, but progress on that front is likely to be slow due to the ongoing imbalance between supply and demand.†(source)

ATTOM Data Solutions keeps a quarterly record of how affordable it is to buy a house based on monthly homeownership expenses for a median-priced home, including mortgage payments, property taxes, and insurance. Its U.S. Home Affordability Report looks at data from 589 counties to determine whether homeownership is more or less affordable today compared to historical levels. According to the most recent report, affordability was more challenging during the second quarter, as prices continued to increase and mortgage rates briefly spiked. In fact, 582 of the 589 analyzed counties were less affordable than in the past. Rob Barber, ATTOM’s CEO, says some of the affordability crunch was seasonal. “It’s common for these trends to intensify during the spring buying season when buyer demand increases,†Barber said. “However, the trends this year are particularly challenging for house hunters, more so than at any point since the housing market boom began in 2012.†(source)