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Mortgage and Real Estate News for Thursday January 30th 2025
Mortgage and Real Estate News for Thursday January 30th 2025.
As of Thursday, January 30, 2025, the Mortgage and Real Estate scene shows new opportunities emerging. Let’s look at the notable developments from the data from the last few weeks.
Federal Reserve Mortgage Rates Action:
The Average Rate:
- The average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan is 6.88%, a slight dip of 0.03% from yesterday.
- Similarly, for a 15-year fixed rent, the mortgage has gone below 6.30%, continuing a multi-week decline.
Federal Reserve:
- The Federal Reserve recently decided to keep the benchmark interest rate steady for the second time.
- The adjustable-rate sought is still capped at over 5.5%, which has stalled the economy for several months due to incessant inflation.
- As a result, mortgage rates have tended to be more stable.
- With that, home hopefuls can be guaranteed an improvement in their chances of being eased up to buy homes.
Trends in the Housing Markets:
Pending Transactions:
- The elevated mortgage rate has been ongoing in the Western and Northeast regions, which tends to hinder affordability.
- This resulted in pending sales witnessing a consistent decline in December 2024, which stood at 5.5%.
Inventory Levels:
- In January 2025, new home listings increased by 11%, suggesting a reduction in the “lock-in effect” from mortgage rates, which in the past dampened homeowners’ willingness to sell.
- This inventory increase can provide more options for sellers in the following months.
Buyer Assistance:
Application Payment:
- The median payments for mortgage applications on a national level saw some pain during December 2024, decreasing from $2,133 in November to $2,127.
- However, the price for application purchase remains fairly at a stale rate.
- This suggests that the lack of affordability is not more pronounced than before, even with the prevailing economic stressors.
Financial Aid from Family:
- The UK has experienced a reduction in the proportion of first-time homebuyers getting help from their family, which decreased from 45% in 2023 to 40% in 2024.
- The average gifted value also fell, a sign of economic strain on families.
Global Insights
Deficit of Mortgages:
- Homeowners with foam spray insulation are now facing mortgage defaults as industry specialists dispute the structural integrity of the application.
- Foam spray insulation poses problems for the primary mortgage market as more lenders have begun to offer very qualified terms to houses with such insulation, making sales or refinancing very challenging.
Forecast for Australia:
- National Australia Bank is now expecting the Reserve Bank of Australia to implement a 25 basis point cut in February instead of the cut issued in December, as was previously assumed.
- If the additional cut is made, it would benefit current homeowners, as monthly mortgage payments would decrease.
All these factors speak to the changes in the global real estate market and sustain the earlier conclusion regarding the emerging changes as the consequences of policies taken, shifting emotions of the market, and the emerging relations between supply and demand.
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