CompaniesBIO

Sales of previously owned homes fell nearly 6% in July compared with June, according to a monthly report from the National Association of Realtors. The sales count declined to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.81 million units, the group added. It is the slowest sales pace since November 2015, with the exception of a brief plunge at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Sales fell about 20% from the same month a year ago. “In terms of economic impact we are surely in a housing recession because builders are not building,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors. “However, are homeowners in a recession? Absolutely not. Homeowners are still very comfortable financially.” The July sales figures are based on closings, so the contracts were likely signed in May and June. Mortgage rates spiked higher in June, with the average rate on the 30-year fixed loan crossing 6%, according to Mortgage News Daily. It then  settled back into the high 5% range . That rate started th...

The average 30-year mortgage rate has climbed to 6.02% — the first time the figure has surpassed 6% since 2008, according to new data from mortgage giant Freddie Mac. The new rate level — double what it was this time last year — is an effect of the Federal Reserve's aggressive campaign to raise interest rates as it works to fight inflation. The impact of higher rates will be to reduce housing demand and put downward pressure on home prices , Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a statement. Yet thanks to a nationwide housing shortage, property values will not fall very much, Khater said. The median price for existing homes rose 10.8% in July from a year earlier to $403,800, the National Association of Realtors said last month. “Home prices are still rising by double-digit percentages year-over-year, but annual price appreciation should moderate to the typical rate of 5% by the end of this year and into 2023,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “With mortgage ra...

Sales of previously owned homes fell nearly 6% in July compared with June, according to a monthly report from the National Association of Realtors. The sales count declined to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.81 million units, the group added. It is the slowest sales pace since November 2015, with the exception of a brief plunge at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Sales fell about 20% from the same month a year ago. “In terms of economic impact we are surely in a housing recession because builders are not building,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors. “However, are homeowners in a recession? Absolutely not. Homeowners are still very comfortable financially.” The July sales figures are based on closings, so the contracts were likely signed in May and June. Mortgage rates spiked higher in June, with the average rate on the 30-year fixed loan crossing 6%, according to Mortgage News Daily. It then  settled back into the high 5% range . That rate started th...