Mortgage, Business, Housing, and Real Estate News for Monday January 27th, 2025: Can you please go over housing affordability for first-time homebuyers, homeowners, and first-time homebuyers? Can you go over the validity of President Trump saying that mortgage rates will get lowered and housing will become affordable soon? Can you please explain our mortgage interest rate forecast? How is inflation? What are the most affordable states to buy a house and low cost of living? Will the Los Angeles wildfires and the hurricane damages on the Northeast affect housing and mortgage rates? What is the mortgage, business, housing, and real estate news forecast in 2025? How is Tom Homan and his Border Patrol and ICE team deportation efforts affecting the mortgage and housing market? What is going to happen to DACA children and DACA and ITIN Loans with the new administration target and role on deporting illegal migrants?

Here is an overview of the most recent Mortgage, Business, Housing, and Real Estate News for Monday, January 27, 2025: Housing Affordability for First-Time Homebuyers, Current Homeowners, and First-Time Homebuyers:

Affordability remains a major hurdle, with mortgage rates still around 6% and far above pre-pandemic levels. Although mortgage rates have reduced from the highs of 2022-2023, home prices growing at a higher rate than income presents a problem.

There is some comfort in down payment assistance programs and the new guidelines set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which allow for non-traditional credit and higher debt-to-income ratios.

Current Homeowners

Many existing homeowners benefit from historically low rates locked in before 2022. Yet, the challenge lies in moving into larger homes as a tight inventory coupled with high borrowing costs restricts options.

Homebuyers In General:

Many areas are experiencing elevated prices due to rising construction costs and scarce housing inventory. Therefore, it is recommended that buyers plan their finances accordingly, gain pre-approval, and consider more affordable new construction areas.

President Trump’s Claims About Reducing Housing Costs and Mortgage Rates

Claim Check:

• President Trump has said he will work with the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, which can consequently lower mortgage rates.
• The Federal Reserve is independent, though.
• Its main goal is to control inflation, not necessarily reduce the cost of loans.

Affordability has a larger chance of increasing with the implementation of stricter legislation that aims to increase the housing supply and lower the prices for builders and buyers.

Future Interest Rate on Mortgages

The Current Picture:

• Federal Reserve policies and the economic context indicate that mortgage rates will stay around 6% shortly.
• However, mortgage rates aren’t immune to slight changes.

The Midterm Target Believe 2025

• Mortgage rates might drop further in mid-to-late 2025 if inflation continues to drop and the economy faces a recession.
• This will make the FOMC reconsider its hikes so that the rates raised will be minimal even with a more overprocessed economy.

2025 Inflation

Overview:

• The highest inflation rate was recorded in 2022- 2023.
• Although the shine from that peak has faded, inflation still overshoots the federal target. Housing costs, supply chains, and labor shortages are helping to keep inflation higher.

The Impact on Homes

The gradual easing of inflation has reduced the material cost burden for construction. Unfortunately, it has had little to no effect on the price of homes.

The Cheapest States to Purchase a Home InList of Cheapest States:

• West Virginia: Median home value remains relatively low, and the cost of living is below average.
• Mississippi: Low fees on houses and taxes make purchasing viable.
• Arkansas: Relatively cheaper house costs along with low overall living expenses.
• Indiana: Well-paying jobs and affordable housing options.
• Alabama: Low prices on houses and estate tax along with a low overall cost of living.

Buyers looking for the best deals will always have to look for rural and suburban dwellings in states with high rental costs.

Effects of the Wildfires in Los Angeles and the Northeast Region Hurricanes

Real Estate Market:

• As for the housing issue, the Californian fires and Northeast hurricanes worsened the existing damages.
• Efforts to rebuild these areas will require constructing more expensive buildings and hiring more workers.

Home insurance is expensive for those living in disaster-prone areas, and the price point may be unbearable for these specific regions.

Interest Rates on Mortgages

The volatility in mortgage-backed securities would make it one of the targets for worrying disproportionate changes. These disasters would make it bearable in the short term, but over the long term, without some extreme recurring events harming economic welfare, would nullify that chance.

Economic, Business, and Housing Predictions for 2025

Real Estate Market:

• Expect a still real estate market and supply in the constantly burgeoning inventory sector, and expenses in constructing new apartments are made at a premium.

Private Sector:

• Increase construction and expand services for the Romans’s services base to cover the continuously growing demand for reasonably priced housing.

Summary:

Shift in Focus Toward Affordable and Multi Family Property Investments As More Buyers Become Unable to Purchase Single-Family Homes.

The Impacts of Deportation Under Tom Homan On Immigration and Occupancy Rates of The Housing MarketRenting Demand Implication

The Housing Urban Development under Tom Homan and ICE Agents may greatly lower the demand for rental spaces in regions with a heavy immigrant focus.

Landlords that offer accommodations to illegal immigrants in cities will likely have high vacancy levels.

Shortage of Construction Workers

With fewer check constructions for new homes, housing supplements and landscaping would become heaped up due to higher undocumented DAPA immigration deportation policies.

Kids DACA, New Rule, Using ITIN, and New Head of Administration DACA DAPA

The head of the department showed that there is a lack or zero remorse in pushing for ICE to arrest and remove undocumented migrants, which puts into question the overbearing fear that DACA members have. Thanks to some legal actions, uncertainty is not very likely to help these people who promised to find stable housing.

ITIN Loans

ITIN loans given out too freely to undocumented people will likely face more skeptical borrowing and stringent requirements under the new head of the federal institution because policy changes come with many overtime risks.

The new housing market in 2025 will remain fuzzy as natural disasters and immigration will act as crucial factors alongside affordability and mortgage rates. Uninformed first-time buyers, alongside informed homeowners, would have to work with genuine, credible, capable people to guide them through the boundaries and walls on the ratio of steep pain.

Feel free to reach out if you want more information or a deeper analysis!

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• This discussion was modified 1 month ago by  Gustan Cho.