Mortgage rates have surged past 7% and home sales in March posted their biggest monthly drop in more than a year, renewing pressure on the U.S. housing market as uncertainty over real-estate commissions buffets the industry.
The average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage jumped by nearly a quarter percentage point to 7.1%, according to a survey of lenders released Thursday by mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac. That is the highest level since late 2023 and the largest weekly increase in nearly a year.
Existing home sales in March, meanwhile, fell 4.3% from February in what was the largest percentage decline on a monthly basis since November 2022, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
The housing market’s recent turbulence is cutting short a positive start to the year. Sales tumbled to their lowest level in nearly 30 years in 2023. But they rose during the first two months of this year as a number of buyers took advantage of a decline in mortgage rates to resume their home search. Active listings ticked higher and real-estate showings picked up in January.
Mortgage rates started to rise again in February, weighing on March sales. The recent spike in borrowing costs could drag affordability back to the historic lows it reached last year. Home prices are near record highs. Other costs to own a home, such as insurance premiums, property taxes and maintenance, have skyrocketed, too.
Home buyers are also confused about coming changes to the rules governing how real-estate agents get paid, and whether those changes could increase or decrease their overall costs. NAR reached a historic settlement of claims last month that the industry conspired to keep agent commissions high. The new rules are expected to make it easier for home buyers to negotiate fees with their own agents.
Individuals are not the problem and never will be. Huge funds like Blackrock are allowed to dominate our residential real estate market and have spent years driving up prices. Add in the realtor scam and you're looking at a perfect storm of inflation.
@BetrayedPoultryDemocrat2wks2W
The realtor scam...no kidding. We sold a house and downsized to a townhouse in 2022. We hadn't done a real estate transaction since the early '00s when we sold a rental house. I was shocked at the realtor fees, the exorbitant fees paid to various government agencies whose hands were in that pot, the title companies, etc. etc. That certainly ate into net payout of our house (that we built in 1986)!
@LibertyHarryDemocrat2wks2W
It took me until I was in my late 30s to be able to buy my first home due to finally saving for the down payment. At the time in 2013, I was able to get a 4.2% 30 year loan.
I refinanced in 2019 to a 15-year loan at the 2.1%, and in 2020 when rates were still low, I dumped more into the principal from a bonus, so I only have about 5-7 years left.
This is a super-hot Hudson River train destination , where people are dying to pay 3x what I paid for this home, but I can rent it out for 2x my mortgage. Even if I move, I’ll probably never sell this place.
I think this is also what’s going to happen - people with low rates who can afford to keep properties will make more renting them if they can. Rents are sky high too.
that’s a mentality the boldly touts profit over someone else’s quality of life. Housing, through the warped incentives of the government has been changed from a vital necessity to a speculative asset. The problem is the system is rigged to make it always go up.
If the US imposed an imputed rental income tax and disincentivized people from treating homes as businesses housing prices would be more affordable.
The political implications of large swaths of the country unable to afford to live comfortable due to housing instability will come for the homeowners soon enough. Political… Read more
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@PolicyMooseMountain2wks2W
Banks are not offering reasonable rates on savings or money market accounts, despite the fact that they are making large dollars on loaning out YOUR MONEY, often at rates as high as 20% or more compounded. Back in 2004 we had a mortgage rate of 5.25 and a money market that essentially paid the mortgage. after the Great Recession, banks dropped the interest rate to near 0, mirroring the Fed's help to them.. But they continued to charge borrowers the same or more. Time for some new rules: Banks must share the wealth. Play with our money, we get a fair cut.
@RepublicDannyRepublican2wks2W
African 'newcomers' tell New York City Council they don't like the free food or shelter they've been given,demand better
"And they give us two months to stay at the shelter & then you have to go out again with your luggage & your kids & find another place.
@KnowledgeTrinityPatriot2wks2W
Biden spent fortunes on his build back Mexico plan, the goal was to flood America with migrants from all over the world. That spending caused permanent inflation, it's never going away, will grow much worse, which has led to prolonged higher rates, crushing youth home buyers out.
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