OPEN HOUSE

The North Building is fast becoming a state-of-the-art epicenter for CUAA’s blossoming health care offerings.

Fast-rising mortgage rates are causing homebuyers to rush into the housing market before they get priced out.

Rates have started this year sharply higher, and that may have potential buyers rushing in more quickly, afraid that rates will go even higher.

High prices and low supply are finally taking some of the heat out of the housing market, and mortgage demand is following suit.

From 1-5 pm on Thursday, Express Employment Professionals of Ann Arbor will host an open house with Martinrea BCA in Manchester.

But mortgage rates are also playing a key role, one engineered by the Federal Reserve. Mortgage rates loosely follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which has fallen dramatically during the pandemic. It now owns more than a third of the MBS market. "With or without the Fed, rates were low because of the pandemic. The U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C. Adam Jeffery | CNBC

ANN ARBOR – The City of Ann Arbor will be holding a virtual open house on Thursday from 4-6 p.m. for residents to learn more about the upcoming restriping and pavement repair project on South Industrial Highway between E. Stadium Blvd. Construction on the project is scheduled to run May 1 through July 31, and there is an opportunity to install continuous bicycle lanes on each side of the corridor. City staff will be on hand to answer questions about site accessibility, the construction schedule, lane narrowing, active transportation, lane reallocation and more. To learn more about the project and to access the event’s link, community members can visit the project’s website at www.a2gov.org/southindustrial. A survey is available on the project site that allows residents to share feedback if they are unable to attend the open house.

Mortgage interest rates last week rose at the fastest pace in over a year, throwing cold water on already cooling demand. Last fall, mortgage rates were 100 basis points lower compared with the year before. As mortgage rates rise, affordability will weaken further, but more first-time buyers appear to be venturing in. Mortgage rates did pull back a bit to start this week as the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell. "In the past two decades there have been six months where mortgage rates rose at least 50 basis points.

Higher mortgage rates and a winter weather disaster combined to weaken mortgage demand last week. Total mortgage application volume fell 11.4% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Higher mortgage rates are definitely a factor, but the severe winter weather across the South last week, and especially the power outages across Texas definitely played a role. The average loan size of purchase applications increased to a record $418,000, in line with the accelerating home-price growth. Mortgage rates continued to push higher this week, which could cut further into refinance demand.

Mortgage interest rates have increased in four of the first six weeks of 2021, putting a chill on mortgage demand. Overall mortgage application volume fell 4.1% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Refinance demand, which is most sensitive to weekly rate fluctuations, fell 4% for the week but were 46% higher than a year ago. Homebuyers are also pulling back, but less because of rising mortgage rates and more because of low supply and overheating home prices. Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 5% for the week but were still 17% higher year over year.

Record-low mortgage rates may now be a headline of the past. That pulled total weekly mortgage application volume down 1.9% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. "After a post-holiday surge of refinances, higher rates chipped away at refinance demand." Demand from homebuyers, however, increased despite the higher rates. Mortgage rates, however, started the week flat, as traders are likely awaiting the first major economic policy announcements before making a move.

Mortgage rates are hovering near record lows, but buyers are experiencing sticker shock in today's overheated housing market. Home prices have been rising at increasing speed, and that may be sidelining more and more buyers even with near record low mortgage rates. Mortgage demand from buyers pulled back in the last two weeks of 2020, likely due to fast-rising prices. Mortgage rates were more than a full percentage point higher at the end of 2019. Most analysts do not expect mortgage rates to rise meaningfully in 2021, as the Federal Reserve continues to pour money into the mortgage market.

Sales of newly built homes came in far weaker than expected for November, and builder stocks are not taking it well. Shares of the biggest names, such as Lennar, Pulte, DR Horton and Toll Brothers, dropped more than 2% on the news. New home sales fell a steeper-than-expected 11% in November from October, according to the U.S. Census. "In a sign that affordability will remain a primary challenge, sales of entry-level homes — priced below $200,000 — accounted for only 2% of total sales," said George Ratiu, senior economist at realtor.com. Mortgage rates dropped dramatically in November, when these sales were signed.

Another record low interest rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage last week did not help drag homebuyers out of their recent slump. Declining demand from buyers caused mortgage application volume to fall 0.5% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 3% for the week and were 16% higher than a year ago. "The purchase market continued its recent slump, with the index decreasing for the sixth time in seven weeks to its lowest level since May 2020," said Joel Kan, an MBA economist. Low rates are no longer offsetting these higher prices; in fact they are partially causing them.

Instead, Open House, which started Oct. 16 and has been extended through Nov. 1, has developed an innovative smartphone app. It can serve as a guide for tours of more than 20 city and suburban neighborhoods, from Auburn Gresham to Woodlawn. Participants also can use the app from home, a coffee shop — wherever they happen to be.

Mortgage rates moved even lower last week after setting multiple record lows in recent months, spurring more borrowers to call their lenders and apply for a refinance, but homebuyers were not quite as motivated. That is the highest refinance volume since mid-August. "As a result, the lower price tiers are seeing slower growth, which is contributing to the rising trend in average loan balances." The average loan size increased again, to a record $371,500, thanks to stronger activity on the high end of the market. "These sorts of bond market improvements typically result in lower rates."

Buyer demand kept mortgage application in the positive last week, up 0.3% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Last week, purchase volume was down 19% annually, and one month ago it was down 35%. In the 10 largest states in MBA's survey, New York led the purchase demand with a 14% jump in those applications. Mike and Anna Elmers said they were well aware that mortgage rates had hit a record low the previous week. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 67% of total applications from 70% the previous week.

Higher mortgage rates aren't helping either. Both combined to cause a 17.9% drop in mortgage applications last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Mortgage applications to purchase a home continued their sharp decline, falling another 12% for the week and 33% year over year. Purchase applications fell 47.5% annually in California, 55.4% in New York and 59.9% in Washington state. Lenders are tightening their underwriting significantly, and some refinance applications that were being processed have been dropped as applicants lose employment or income.

Home prices were seeing even bigger gains in January than all of last year, but that was before the coronavirus hit the U.S., shutting down much of the economy and the housing market. Nationally, home prices rose 3.9% annually, up from 3.7% in December, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. Fourteen of the 20 cities reported larger annual price gains. "Housing prices were particularly strong in the West and South, and comparatively weak in the Midwest and Northeast." Pointon says the risk to housing will rise, so buyers' willingness to pay for a home will fall, and house price expectations will take a hit.

The spring housing market was on its way to becoming the strongest in over a decade, but it will likely turn sharply lower, as the economy shuts down in the face of the coronavirus. The market is still plagued by low supply, which worsened in February.The inventory of homes for sale fell 9.8% annually to 1.47 million. Low supply pushed the median home price in February up 8% annually to $270,100. The upper end of the market saw the biggest sales growth the lower end saw the biggest drop, because supply is leanest on the low end. Given how strong housing demand has been, some are not convinced of a major collapse in the housing market.

Another major drop in mortgage rates caused a massive jump in borrowers applying to refinance their home loans. Refinance applications rose a whopping 79% for the week and were 479% higher than a year ago. Other reads on mortgage rates, like Freddie Mac's weekly index, had the average rate hitting a record low. "As lenders handle the wave in applications and manage capacity, mortgage rates will likely stabilize but remain low for now. Mortgage applications to purchase a home increased a much milder 6% for the week and were 12% higher annually.

Purchase demand, however, dropped. Refinance applications, which are most sensitive to weekly rate moves, jumped 15% for the week and were 183% higher than a year ago. Mortgage applications to purchase a home decreased 10% from one week earlier, but were 11% higher annually. "Prospective buyers weren't as responsive to the decline in mortgage rates likely because of suppressed supply levels," Kan said. Mortgage rates have been falling on fears over the coronavirus hitting financial markets.

HomeLight launched in 2012 as a real estate matchmaker, using proprietary algorithms to connect buyers and sellers with the best possible agents to meet their needs. Now it is matching up with more investors, announcing $109 million in new funding, led by Zeev Ventures. This includes $63 million in Series C equity from venture capital partners and $46 million in additional funds to fuel mortgage operations. HomeLight analyzes more than 40 million real estate transactions and over 1.4 million agent profiles from major brokerages for each transaction. "We are pioneering the real estate transaction of the future," said Drew Uher, CEO and founder of HomeLight.

Then a sharp drop in rates this summer brought demand back and depleted that supply dramatically. Roughly 5 million mostly entry-level homes have been turned into single-family rentals, and strong demand for those rentals means investors are unlikely to put the homes up for sale anytime soon. The demand is being fueled by lower mortgage rates. Demand also surged in the move-up market, causing supplies there to fall as well. The supply of homes priced between $200,000 and $750,000, which make up 60% of the market, flatlined in September, after 18 months of strong inventory growth.

Mortgage demand dropped to its lowest level since March, even though interest rates were much higher back then. Overall volume for mortgage applications fell 1.4% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Even as affordability improves, thanks to lower interest rates, buyers are having trouble finding what they want. Mortgage rates moved lower to start this week but could bounce in either direction Wednesday, following the decision from the Federal Reserve on interest rates. While mortgage rates don't directly follow the Fed funds rate, they do loosely follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.

Mortgage demand dropped to its lowest level since March, even though interest rates were much higher back then. Overall volume for mortgage applications fell 1.4% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Volume was still 35% higher than a year ago, when interest rates were significantly higher. Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 3% for the week but were 6% higher than a year ago. The shift may be less about rates and more about what kind of homes are for sale and at what price.