Real estate market recap, June 15-19

National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) shows:

• Builder confidence in the market in June hit its highest level since September 2014.
• The index registered a score of 59 in June, up five points from May. (A score over 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than poor.)
• The component gauging current sales conditions leaped seven points to 65.

The Canadian Real Estate Association posted national home sales activity for May 2015:

• National home sales rose 3.1 percent from April 2015 to May 2015.
• The MLS home price index rose 5.17 percent from May 2014 to May 2015.
• The national average sales price rose 8.1 percent year over year in May.

WalletHub released its list of the best and worst cities for families:

Zillow’s mortgage rate:

• The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is at 3.93 percent, down three points from last week.
• The 15-year fixed mortgage rate is at 3.05 percent.
• The rate for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage is 2.93 percent.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development released new housing starts data:

• Privately owned housing starts in May 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.036 million units. That’s 11.1 percent below the revised April estimate of 1.165 million units, but 5.1 percent above the May 2014 rate of 986,000 units.
• Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 680,000 units, or 5.4 percent below the revised April figure of 719,000 units.
• Single-family housing completions in May were at a rate of 635,000 units, or 5.2 percent below the revised April rate of 670,000 units.

CoreLogic’s equity report showed:

• About 90 percent of mortgaged residential properties (44.9 million) have equity.
• 10.2 percent of mortgaged homes (5.1 million) are underwater or have negative equity.
• 19.4 percent of borrowers with equity have less than 20 percent equity, and 2.7 percent have less than 5 percent.

FNC released its residential price index:

• The national residential price rose 1.2 percent in April 2015 from March 2015.
• The 30-MSA composite rose 1.4 percent in April 2015 from March 2015.
• The 10-MSA composite rose 1.7 percent in April 2015 from March 2015.

HOPE NOW released its April 2015 loan modification data:

• Approximately 44,000 loan modifications were completed in April 2015 vs. 43,000 in March 2015, representing a 3 percent increase.
• Approximately 8,300 short sales were completed in April 2015 vs. 8,300 in March 2015.
• Approximately 32,000 foreclosure sales were completed in April vs. 31,000 in March 2015, representing a 1 percent increase.
• Approximately 1.78 million serious delinquencies were tracked in April vs. 1.81 million in March 2015, representing a 2 percent decrease.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) averaged 4 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, down from 4.17 percent a year ago.
• 15-year FRMs averaged 3.23 percent this week, down from 3.3 percent a year ago.
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 3 percent this week with an average 0.4 point. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3 percent.

The NRMLA/Risk Span Reverse Mortgage Market Index:

• The index has reached 189.67. This is the highest level since the first quarter of 2007.
• There was a $63.5 billion increase in senior home equity in the first quarter of 2015.
• 1Q 2015 was the 12th consecutive quarter in which the index rose.

Re/Max released its June 2015 National Housing Report:

• Completed transactions in May 2015 were 8.9 percent higher than in April and 3.5 percent higher than in May 2014.
• The median sales price of homes sold in May 2015 was $212,910 — that’s 7.8 percent above the median sales price in May 2014.
• The average days on market homes sold in May 2015 was 64, two days below the May 2014 average of 66.

Fannie Mae’s second-quarter 2015 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey:

• The share of lenders reporting increased mortgage purchase demand reached 77 percent for government-sponsored enterprise loans and 65 percent for government loans.
• The share of lenders expecting home prices to rise over the next 12 months reached a survey high of 70 percent.

“How America Views Homeownership” Wells Fargo Survey:

• 65 percent of survey respondents said they view homeownership as “a dream come true” or “an accomplishment to be proud of”
• 72 percent agree that now is a good time to buy a home
• 45 percent thought a “good” credit score is over 780

[“source – inman.com”]