We’ll add more market news briefs throughout the day. Check back to read the latest.
Most recent market news
Tuesday, January 9
National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index (HPPI)
- On average, appraised values were 0.50 percent less than what homeowners estimated in December, according to the National HPPI.
- The gap between the appraisal and homeowner estimates narrowed slightly since the previous month when appraiser opinions were 0.67 percent lower than homeowner expectations.
- Home values rose 0.65 percent from November to December and increased 6.17 percent compared to the previous December, according to the National HVI.
“Appraisers and real estate professionals evaluate their local housing markets daily,” said Bill Banfield, Quicken Loans Executive Vice President of Capital Markets. “Homeowners, on the other hand, may only think about their housing market when they see ‘for sale’ signs hit front yards in the spring or when they think about accessing their equity.
“This is reflected in the HPPI. The housing markets that are rising quickly, like those in the West, are having appraisal values increasing above owner estimates because owners don’t realize just how quickly those markets are advancing.”
American Bankers Association Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin
- Delinquencies fell in one home-related category and rose slightly in the other two.
- Home equity loan delinquencies fell 8 basis points to 2.42 percent of all accounts, dipping further under their 15-year average of 2.93 percent.
- Home equity line of credit delinquencies edged up 1 basis point to 1.08 percent of all accounts and remain below their 15-year average of 1.18 percent.
- Property improvement loan delinquencies rose 13 basis points to 1.08 percent of all accounts, but also remain well below their 15-year average of 1.32 percent.
“Home-related delinquencies continue to show overall improvement as the housing market gains strength,” said James Chessen, ABA’s chief economist.
“With higher property values and greater home equity, people are well-positioned and motivated to ensure their loan payments remain current.”
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI)
- The MCAI decreased 1.8 percent to 179.2 in December. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
- The Conventional MCAI fell less (down 0.7 percent) than the Government MCAI (down 2.6 percent).
- The component indices of the Conventional MCAI both fell from the month prior, with the Conforming MCAI falling less (down 0.1 percent) than the Jumbo MCAI (down 1.4 percent).
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association; Powered by Ellie Mae’s AllRegs Market Clarity
“In December a handful of investors made end of the year adjustments to their menu of offerings,” said Lynn Fisher, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.
“This resulted in a net decrease in credit availability for government backed programs (FHA/VA/USDA), and especially for lower credit score, higher loan-to-value loans, as well as streamline (requiring less documentation) refinances.
“Despite the decline in the jumbo credit availability over the month, the jumbo index was up nearly 20 percent from December a year ago, by far the largest gain among the component indices.”
- Overall mortgage delinquency rate fell 0.1 percentage points
- Foreclosure rate declined 0.2 percentage points
- Early-stage delinquencies rose 0.1 percentage points
“After rising in September, early-stage delinquencies declined by 0.1 percentage points month over month in October,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic.
“The temporary rise in September’s early-stage delinquencies reflected the impact of the hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, but now the impact from the hurricanes is fading from a national perspective.
“While the national impact is waning, the local impact remains. Some Florida markets continue to see increases in early-stage delinquency transition rates in October, reaching 5 percent, on average, in Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Naples and Cape Coral.
“Texas markets such as Houston, Beaumont, Victoria and Corpus Christie peaked at over 7 percent in September, but are on the mend and improving in October.”
News from earlier this week
Monday, January 8
Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI)
- The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) decreased 2.0 points in December to 85.8, reversing last month’s rise. The decrease can be attributed to decreases in four of the six HPSI components.
- The net share of respondents who said now is a good time to buy a home decreased 5 percentage points compared to November and is down 8 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
- Meanwhile, the net share who reported that now is a good time to sell a home remained flat and is up 21 percentage points year-over-year.
- The net share who said home prices will go up in the next 12 months decreased 2 percentage points in December, while Americans also expressed a weakened sense of job security, with the net share who say they are not concerned about losing their job decreasing 6 percentage points.
- Finally, the net share of consumers who said mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months fell 1 percentage point in December, while the net share reporting that their income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago rose 2 percentage points.
Source: Fannie Mae
Source: Fannie Mae
“Consumers remained cautious in their housing outlook at the end of 2017, as tax reform discussions continued,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “In December, mirroring the other major consumer sentiment benchmarks, the HPSI reflected this caution and declined slightly.
“Entering 2018, housing affordability remains a persistent challenge, particularly in rental markets, where consumer expectations for price increases over the next 12 months reached a new survey high.”
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