Luxe Austin Homes - mortgage rates

"Mortgage Rates Hit Lowest Level Since February 2023"

Realtor Magazine reports, "Borrowing costs fell ahead of the Federal Reserve’s anticipated rate cut next week. But economists say home buyers may not want to wait to see if rates go lower.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.2% this week, down significantly compared to a year ago when they surged above 7%. But some prospective home buyers are holding out for even lower rates in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week, where it’s expected to cut short-term interest rates.

Still, home buyers may be getting their hopes up too much: “Even with the September expected rate cut [by the Fed], mortgage interest rates are not likely to move as this cut has been baked into the mortgage market,” says Jessica Lautz, deputy chief…

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"Texas needs 306,000 more homes to meet demand, experts say"

Community Impact reports, "Texas’ population growth has outpaced homebuilding since 2020, according to the state comptroller’s office, resulting in a widespread housing shortage. Up For Growth, a national housing policy organization, reported that Texas needs about 306,000 more homes to meet demand.

High home prices, steep mortgage rates and limited supply are driving some potential homebuyers out of the market, said Clare Knapp, a housing economist for the Austin Board of Realtors. Texas also had the sixth-highest property tax rate—1.68%—in 2021, according to research from the Tax Foundation.

Home prices shot up during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Knapp added, as remote work policies allowed more people to move to Texas.

In 2019, the median home…

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"Housing Market Filled With ‘Wait-and-See’ Home Buyers"

Realtor Magazine reports, "Contract signings fell last month to the lowest level on record, as the housing market continued trudging through a sluggish summer. The National Association of REALTORS®’ newly released Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings—dropped 5.5% in July and was down 8.5% compared to a year earlier.

“A sales recovery did not occur in midsummer,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The positive impact of job growth and higher inventory could not overcome affordability challenges and some degree of wait-and-see related to the upcoming U.S. presidential election.”

Some prospective home buyers also may be waiting for mortgage rates to drop. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome…

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"Buyers are snatching up starter homes"

RealEstateNews.com shares, "While the market remains tepid overall, starter homes are drawing more interest as mortgage rates trend lower and inventory rises.

Pending sales for starter homes jumped more than 10% in July year-over-year, according to the latest Redfin report, reaching the highest level in nearly two years. That's in stark contrast to pending sales for all other tiers, which fell by between 6-10% over the same time period. 

Sale prices of entry-level homes were also up, but increased at a slower pace than other home segments, a sign that inventory and demand are more balanced in the lower price tiers. Redfin defined starter homes are those with a sale price in the 5th-35th percentile. 

Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar…

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"Slight Uptick in Home Sales as More Listings Hit Market"

Realtor Magazine reports, "Home affordability conditions are improving slightly, which helped to fuel more real estate transactions in July. Existing-home sales, which account for completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, saw their first uptick in about four months, rising 1.3% in July compared to June, NAR’s latest housing report shows.

“Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, adding that sales are still down 2.5% from a year ago. “But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates.”

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% as of Aug. 15, down from 7.09% a year earlier, which is…

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"Housing Market Predictions For 2024: When Will Home Prices Be Affordable Again?"

Forbes Advisor writes, "The housing market might finally be entering a transitional phase.

Summer sales have been tepid thus far, but there are signs that activity could heat up by the end of the summer as mortgage rates edge down and much-needed resale inventory continues to enter the market, giving buyers more options.

Other good news for home shoppers is the ongoing decline in the median price for a new home—now below the median resale home price—even as builders continue offering buyer incentives.

Nonetheless, experts say the housing market will only see renewed momentum once mortgage rates drop enough to ease affordability challenges and incentivize homeowners locked in at low rates to move so inventory grows substantially to meet…

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"Home prices stabilize as real estate options in the Bastrop County area increase"

Community Impact writes, "A rise in housing options and interest rates has led to an increased number of houses available to potential buyers in Bastrop and Cedar Creek.

The population in Bastrop County was 106,000 as of 2022, a 20% increase from 2019, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In the same timeframe, the number of housing units in the county increased by over 27% from 31,085 to 39,539.

“I think we can attribute this [population growth] to several factors—the rise in remote work options, competitive home prices compared to our nearby markets, and the ease of commuting from most of the Bastrop-Cedar Creek area into Austin or other areas,” said James Beck, Bastrop County Board of Realtors president and owner of Centum Oak Realty.

…

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"Case-Shiller Index: Home price gains hit another all-time high"

Bankrate.com writes, "Amid an environment of tight inventory and stubbornly high mortgage rates, housing prices in the U.S. continue to rise ever higher. S&P CoreLogic’s latest Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, released July 30, 2024, reports that annual home-price growth increased in May 2024 by 5.9 percent. That marks three consecutive months of hitting a new all-time high.

Case-Shiller Index still rising

In addition to the 5.9 percent overall increase, May numbers increased annually for both of Case-Shiller’s composite indices as well, with the 10-city index up 7.7 percent and the 20-city index up 6.8 percent.

“Our home price index has appreciated 4.1 percent year-to-date, the fastest start in two years,” said Brian D.…

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"Buyers continue to hold out as rates stay put"

Real Estate News writes, "After a steady three-week decline, mortgage rates barely budged this week — and home sales have grounded to a halt as buyers wait to see what the Federal Reserve will do.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.78% this week, nearly unchanged from last week's 6.77% average, according to the latest Freddie Mac survey. The 15-year fixed-rate was also up slightly, to 6.07%.

Rates appear to be in a bit of a holding pattern ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting. The agency is not expected to cut interest rates at the July meeting but will likely signal whether cuts are coming soon.

Investors and analysts are expecting a September rate cut, but there's still a possibility that the Fed could disappoint and send…

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"Foreign investment in US homes declines as buyers face tight inventory, high prices"

Austin Business Journal reports, "International buyers bought fewer U.S. homes in the past year but are paying more for residential real estate than ever before.

Foreign homebuyers purchased $42 billion in U.S. residential properties between April 2023 and March 2024, a 21.2% decline from the prior 12-month period, according to the National Association of Realtors. The approximately 54,300 existing homes sold to international buyers marks the lowest 12-month total on record since the NAR began tracking such transactions in 2009.

At the same time, both the average and median home-purchase prices paid by foreign buyers — $783,300 and $475,000, respectively — were the highest ever recorded by NAR.

International or foreign homebuyers as tracked…

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