If you’re shopping for a home over a certain price, you may need to get a jumbo loan. Jumbo loans cover larger loan balances and often have stricter standards, including requiring a higher credit score and a bigger down payment. But what is the amount over which you’ll need a jumbo loan? Well, it changes. At the end of 2022, it was $647,200. Any loan balance below that was considered conforming and balances above that required a jumbo loan. But the Federal Housing Finance Agency – the agency that sets conforming loan limits – recently announced the limits were rising, including to over $1 million in some high-cost markets. The change, according to one analysis, means more than two million homes across the country can now be purchased using a more accessible financing option, potentially opening up additional inventory for some high-end home shoppers. (source)

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased during the final two weeks of 2022, with rates up for 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Higher rates – combined with the holiday season – led to a drop in demand for mortgage applications. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says home purchase activity has slowed. “Purchase applications have been impacted by slowing home sales in both the new and existing segments of the market,†Kan said. “Even as home-price growth slows in many parts of the country, elevated mortgage rates continue to put a strain on affordability and are keeping prospective home buyers out of the market.†Demand for home purchase loans fell 12.2 percent over the past two weeks compared with two weeks prior. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)

The beginning of a new year always brings with it a sense that change is on the way. After all, this year won’t be the same as last year. Things will be different. But how? Well, if you’re a prospective home buyer, one recent forecast has some ideas. Released by a popular online real-estate portal, the forecast says 2023 should be an easier year for buyers, after two years of rapidly changing affordability conditions. Put simply, the housing market should begin to stabilize. Home price increases have slowed and values are expected to remain relatively flat in 2023. Prices may even fall slightly in markets where they skyrocketed over the past two years. Similarly, mortgage rates, after spiking in 2022, may also begin to calm – especially if inflation and labor market tightness continue to ease. With rates and prices more stable, home buyers should have an easier time determining how much they can afford and what to expect when house shopping this year. (source)

Home prices have been climbing for a long time. In fact, prices began increasing just a few years after the housing crash in 2008. But according to a new analysis from the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center, the price boom that began over 10 years ago may have finally ended. The analysis found that home price appreciation was up 6.7 percent year-over-year in November. That’s a smaller increase than in October when prices were up 8.6 percent year-over-year. It’s also much lower than in March 2022 when prices were 18.3 percent higher than year-before levels. In other words, home prices have softened significantly from their post-pandemic peak reached last spring. How much they’ve softened, though, depends on a number of factors. Location is one. For example, homes on the west coast have seen sharper declines than other areas of the country. It also depends on the price tier, with high-end homes seeing bigger declines than more affordable homes. (source)

A mortgage payment is a significant monthly expense. For most of us, it’ll rank among our biggest bills. So it’s no surprise affordability is always a top concern among prospective home buyers. Nobody wants to buy a home that’s going to cause them financial strain, stress, and worry. That’s why the most recent Purchase Applications Payment Index from the Mortgage Bankers Association is encouraging news. The index – which tracks the national median monthly payment – found payments down 1.8 percent in November, falling to $1,977 from $2,012 in October. Edward Seiler, MBA’s associate vice president of housing economics, says buyers may see further improvement in the coming months. “Slower home-price growth and a 26-basis-point decrease in mortgage rates led to a slight improvement in home buyer affordability in November,†Seiler said. “While the median purchase application increased by $2,444 to $297,444, the amount is more than $40,000 below the peak of $340,000 hit in February 2022. MBA expects both mortgage rates and home-price growth to moderate, which may encourage additional buyers to return to the housing market in the coming months.†(source)

When a home seller accepts an offer to buy, the closing process begins. During the closing process – which typically takes a few weeks – the home’s sale is considered pending. Pending home sales are a good indicator of future home sales, as most signed contracts lead to closed sales. Because of this, the National Association of Realtors tracks them each month. According to the most recent release, pending sales fell in November. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says higher mortgage rates slowed activity, but a rebound is on the way. “There are approximately two months of lag time between mortgage rates and home sales,†Yun said. “With mortgage rates falling throughout December, home buying activity should inevitably rebound in the coming months …†Year-over-year, contract signings were down in all regions, with the Midwest seeing the smallest drop and the West suffering the biggest decline from the year before. (source)

ATTOM Data Solutions’ quarterly U.S. Home Affordability Report compares current conditions against historical averages in 581 counties across the country. The report determines affordability by calculating the amount of income an average wage earner would need to earn to comfortably afford homeownership expenses on a median-priced, single-family home. In the fourth quarter of 2022, affordability worsened. In fact, the report found typical homeownership expenses would require 32.3 percent of the average wage, that’s up from 23.8 percent last year at the same time. It’s also above what’s considered affordable by traditional lending standards. But while homeownership got more expensive in 2022, there may be relief on the way. Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM, says the new year may bring improvement. “There is a scenario where affordability improves as we move through 2023,†Sharga said. “Wage growth continues to be strong; home prices appear to have stabilized and are even going down slightly; and mortgage rates have peaked for this cycle, and could go down gradually next year. If those conditions remain in place, the affordability picture is much brighter for a lot of potential buyers.†(source)

Based on recent housing market headlines, you might assume Americans have put their home buying plans on hold. After all, the past few years have been volatile, with prices and demand skyrocketing before mortgage rates increased and slowed everything down. But while market numbers and trend graphs may have some Americans feeling hesitant, the majority of us remain sold on homeownership. In fact, in one recent survey, nearly 70 percent of respondents said they plan to buy a house or condo sometime in the next few years. And not only do they still plan to buy, they don’t mind if it costs them a little bit more. Forty-nine percent of participants said they’d be willing to pay over asking price for a house, if they’d previously had an offer rejected. Similarly, 45 percent said they’d pay more as long as the house checked off more than 75 percent of their wish list. In other words, Americans remain ready to buy. (source)

The housing market has definitely slowed this year. But while the home buying frenzy of 2021 has passed, that doesn’t mean good homes are sitting on the market unsold. In fact, the majority of homes sold in November were on the market less than a month, with the typical property on the market just 24 days – up from 18 days one year earlier. In other words, the still lower-than-normal number of homes for sale means good listings continue to sell relatively quickly, even as home sales overall have slowed. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the market may be thawing. “The market may be thawing since mortgage rates have fallen for five straight weeks,†Yun added. “The average monthly mortgage payment is now almost $200 less than it was several weeks ago when interest rates reached their peak for this year.†Still, November sales were down from the month before, with sales of existing homes falling 7.7 percent from October. (source)

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week from the week before. Rates were down across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist, says rates are now at a three-month low. “The Federal Reserve raised its short-term rate target last week, but longer-term rates, including mortgage rates, declined for the week, with the 30-year conforming rate reaching … its lowest level since September,†he said. Fratantoni believes mortgage rates will continue to trend downward, with buyers becoming more active during the second half of next year. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)