Luxe Austin Homes - homeowners

"So Much for the Federal Reserve: Mortgage Rates Hit a High Not Seen Since 2000"

Realtor.com writes, "last week brought hope to the housing market when the Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates. Many predicted this would help keep mortgage rates fairly steady.

But it turns out those predictions were 100% wrong.

Instead, for the week ending Sept. 28, rates for a 30-year fixed-rate loan rose to their highest level since 2000, landing at an average of 7.31%—a substantial jump from last week’s 7.19%, according to Freddie Mac.

This latest spike in borrowing costs will likely hit today’s already shaky real estate market especially hard.

“Unlike the turn of the millennium, house prices today are rising alongside mortgage rates, primarily due to low inventory,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “These…

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"Austin Is The New Austin"

National Mortgage Professional writes, "there’s no such thing as a perfect housing market, but Austin is trying to check off all the boxes for would-be buyers. Young and savvy tech professionals are flocking to the funky metro known for its music scene to scoop up jobs and take the plunge into homeownership.

Since Austin is attracting new buyers and transforming long-term renters into prospective homeowners, LOs aren’t having trouble wrangling customers to buy loans. And it helps that 25.8% of homes in Austin have lower estimated monthly housing payments than they would have if they had been for sale a year ago, according to Redfin. Year-to-date home sales price data from the Austin Board of Realtors show a 12.6% decline in the median price for…

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"Will 'golden age of remodeling' persist with economy, housing-market slowdown?"

Austin Business Journal writes, "home-remodeling activity, which boomed during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, is beginning to taper off from what experts say was unsustainable growth, but current conditions in the housing market may ultimately provide medium-term tailwinds for the sector.

Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies' most recent Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity, a quarterly assessment of future demand for remodeling projects, is projecting a decline for remodeling activity beginning early next year. Its forecast also calls for activity for the current year to end at a 3% annual growth from the previous year, a deceleration from pandemic years — where double-digit annual growth was typical.

Abbe Will, a…

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"Mortgage Rates Go Up—Right as the Housing Market Melts Down"

Realtor.com writes, "as much of the country swelters under a heat dome, the housing market is experiencing its own meltdown.

Mortgage rates jumped to 6.81% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan for the week ending July 27, according to Freddie Mac. That’s up from last week’s average rate of 6.78%. And the welcome run of median home prices declining for 42 days flatlined for the week ending July 22.

“The annual decline in the median listing price evaporated, with prices tying year-ago levels this week,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her analysis.

What’s keeping home prices so high—and is there any way for homebuyers to find some sweet relief from the punishing real estate market this summer? We’ll break down what this latest real…

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"Is the Housing Market About To Hit Rock Bottom? Here’s What That Means, and Why We May Be Here for a While"

Realtor.com writes, "today’s housing market has been in some deep doldrums by many standards, but the latest real estate statistics suggest something more serious might be ahead—that the market might be careening toward some sort of rock bottom.

“Taken as a whole, this week’s data lines up with other indicators that are pointing to a potential bottom in housing market activity at a fairly low level,” notes Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her most recent analysis.

The only upside we can think of is that there’s typically nowhere to go from there but up. So, does that mean the worst days of real estate will soon be over? Not quite, since the big four harbingers of housing—home prices, inventory, days on the market, and mortgage…

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"Seller’s Market, Buyer’s Market, ‘Nobody’s Market’? The Weird State of Housing Right Now"

Realtor.com writes, "today’s housing market has everyone wondering: Is it still a seller’s market, or has the power dynamic finally shifted in favor of buyers?

Try neither.

Uncertainty about the future of inflation, the economy, mortgage rates, and more have seized up the market—and wrenched power away from buyers and sellers alike.

“Today, real estate is ‘nobody’s market,'” notes Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her analysis of housing data for the week ending Feb. 4. “The number of homeowners deciding to sell continues to lag, but inventory and time on market continue to climb, reflecting still-hesitant buyers.”

We’ll break down what the latest real estate statistics mean for homebuyers and sellers in this latest installment…

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"Mortgage Demand Soars 28% as Rates Dip Slightly"

Realtor.com writes, "The numbers: A dip in mortgage rates prompted mortgage demand to rise a seasonally adjusted 27.9%

As mortgage rates dropped across the board, demand for both purchases and refinancing increased. That pushed the market composite index up, a measure of mortgage application volume, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.

The market index rose to 238.7 for the week ending Jan. 13, up 27.9% from a week earlier. A year ago, the index stood at 593.7.

Key details: The refinance index jumped 34.2% in the past week, but was down 81% compared to a year ago.

The purchase index—which measures mortgage applications for the purchase of a home—rose by 24.7% from last week.

Mortgage rates fell across the board.

…

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"Will High Inflation and Recession Fears Lead to a Drop in Remodeling?"

Realtor.com writes, "during the height of COVID-19, it seemed like everyone knew someone who had bought a home and then remodeled the kitchen, created a home office or gym, or turned the scraggly backyard into an outdoor oasis.

But as the pandemic enters its fourth year, most folks are no longer trapped in their homes obsessing over every flaw. The homebuying frenzy that typically spurs remodeling work has died down. And many people are more concerned with high inflation and the looming threat of a recession than their dream en suite bathroom.

Where does that leave the remodeling industry? In fairly good shape, say most experts. Homeowners are expected to spend even more on remodeling, repairs, and maintenance in 2023 than they did in 2022.

…

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"Mortgage rates fall for the sixth week in a row"

Yahoo Finance reports, "mortgage rates dropped for the sixth straight week, but housing activity remained muted going into the holidays.

The rate for the average 30-year fixed mortgage slipped to 6.27% from 6.31% the week prior, according to  Freddie Mac . Rates have fallen more than three-quarters of a point since mid-November after the Federal Reserve signaled that it would slow its interest-rate hikes amid cooling inflation.

Still, rates remain 3 percentage points higher than they were at the start of the year, leaving many first-time buyers on the sidelines and sellers — who haven't pulled their listings — more willing to negotiate.

“Heading into the holidays, mortgage rates continued to move down,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief…

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"Travis County considers increasing development fees"

Austin Business Journal reports, "developers working in Travis County may face increased construction and permitting fees in the months ahead.

Travis County Commissioners Court is considering increasing existing development fees and implementing new ones for a variety of services including traffic impact analysis, on-site sewage facilities and floodplain permits, in addition to requests for variances and exceptions associated with development review.

If passed, this would be the first change to the county’s development fee structure since 2016 and generate millions in annual income for the county.

With already long wait times for county development review, which increase the cost of new construction, commissioners stress that any additional…

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