Stay-at-home orders appear to be influencing the decision to put properties on the market. The number of homes listed for sale fell 13.1% for the week ending March 21 and 34% in the week ending March 28 according to Realtor.com. Home price growth slowed during the same two weeks to 3.3% and 2.5% year-over-year respectively.
RATES RECEDE
Mortgage interest rates have trended down for two consecutive weeks according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending April 2. The PMMS says the rate drop “reflects improvements in market liquidity and sentiment.”
FORBEARANCE FACTS
Mortgage forbearance is one of several options being offered to help Americans suffering as a result of pandemic control measures. Forbearance terms can vary, and borrowers should make sure they understand what their loan servicers will require. Some servicers are offering to tack deferred payment amounts on to the total loan balance, while others are requiring deferred payments to be made in a structured plan at the end of the forbearance period. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that requests to delay mortgage payments grew by 1,270% between the weeks of March 2 and March 16, and another 1,896% between the weeks of March 16 and March 30.
ELDERLY ASSETS
Homeowners 62 and older saw their home equity jump $39 billion dollars between the third and fourth quarter of 2019 according to the Reverse Mortgage Market Index from the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). NRMLA says that senior housing wealth has reached a record $7.23 trillion dollars in the U.S., the highest amount since they began tracking it in 2000.
Sources: Realtor.com, Freddie Mac, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association
