Buyers Driving Mortgage Application Rise – The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that volume is starting to rise again and home buyers are fueling the increase. Total mortgage application volume, including refinances and home purchases, rose 2.4 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Home buyers are seemingly undeterred by higher home prices and the limited number of homes for sale. Mortgage applications to buy a home increased 2 percent last week and are now 6 percent higher than a year ago.
Millennials Finally Flee Parents’ Homes – According to Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group’s analysis, the pace of young adults leaving their parents’ homes is increasing significantly. “Millennials’ accelerated rate of departure from their parents’ homes bodes well for housing demand,” Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group notes in the report. “Cohort analysis shows that the increased pace of leaving home has been accompanied by accelerated young-adult household formation.”
The Housing Market Is Outperforming – The National Association of REALTORS® has upgraded its forecast for the year as the housing market has been off to a roar this spring. In fact, the market is performing so strongly that home sales were expected to match last year’s pace due to higher mortgage rates and diminishing affordability. But the market is hardly slowing down, notes Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. He now predicts existing home sales to rise by 3.5 percent, and home prices likely will increase 5 percent this year.
More Homeowners Regain Equity – According to the First Quarter 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report produced by ATTOM Data Solutions, the number of U.S. properties considered “equity rich” has increased by nearly 1.4 million units from a year ago. Now, more than 13.7 million homes or about a quarter of all U.S. residential properties fall within that category, which means the combined loan amount secured by the property is 50 percent or less than its estimated market price.
