CompaniesBIO

Rising mortgage rates and inflation in the wider economy caused housing demand to drop sharply in June, forcing home prices to cool down. Home prices are still higher than they were a year ago, but the gains slowed at the fastest pace on record in June, according to Black Knight, a mortgage software , data and analytics firm that began tracking this metric in the early 1970s. The annual rate of price appreciation fell two percentage points from 19.3% to 17.3%. Price gains are still strong because of an imbalance between supply and demand. The housing market has had a severe shortage for years. Strong demand during the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated it. Even when home prices crashed dramatically during the recession of 2007-09, the strongest single-month slowdown was 1.19 percentage points. Prices are not expected to fall nationally, given a stronger overall housing market, but higher mortgage rates are certainly taking their toll. What does a low mortgage demand mean for buyers, s...

U.S. mortgage rates have continued their decline, falling below 5% for the first time since April. According to a survey released by Freddie Mac on Thursday, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fallen to an average of 4.99%. Just one week ago, rates were averaging around 5.30%. This is the second week in a row that mortgage rates have fallen, and it also marks the sharpest drop in the cost of borrowing money for a home since early July. Mortgage rates have been on a general upward climb for more than a year. This time last year, 30-year mortgages were hovering around 2.77%. Rates peaked in late June when they hit an average of 5.81%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage has also dipped, from 4.58% last week to 4.26%. But once again, these rates are still significantly higher than this time last year, when a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged at 2.10%. Higher mortgage rates can make it more difficult for people to buy homes because a higher rate means a more expensive monthly payment, whi...