The Mortgage Bankers Association released their weekly loan application report, and we see that while weekly purchase applications were slightly lower, they are up about 7% since this time last year. Refinances are up about 8% for the week and 30% from a year ago. Both of these readings are very favorable since they came from a week where interest rates ticked slightly higher.
Existing Homes Sales data was reported, showing that for the month of April there were 5.19 million homes sold across the nation. This came in slightly lower than last month’s number of 5.21 and about 4.4% lower than where we were this time last year. When digging deeper into this report, we see that even though this number is slightly lower, it appears that the trend is improving. Since the decline is lessening, this report actually points to a favorable trend and that more homes are beginning to sell. This report serves as a good gauge of the housing market, since there are more existing homes than new homes.
With historically low rates, strong levels of demand, and forecasts of appreciation on the rise, we are seeing a lot of strength in the housing market. It is a great time to purchase or refinance a home.
Sources:
https://bit.ly/2ipAtDr
https://bit.ly/2VKHPz3
By: Jon Iacono