The rate marks a 14 basis points slide from the week prior and represents the sixth consecutive week on which the U.S. mortgage rates went down. It’s also almost a full percentage point less on a year-over-year basis.

The 15-year mortgage went down from 5.98% to 5.71%, also the lowest level since February 2023, while mortgages with adjustable rates also saw a decline.

The declining mortgage rates have caused refinance applications to rise 1% compared to the week prior. The Refinance Index has surged by 106% on a year-over-year basis, although this giant leap is a result of historically low refinancing activity in 2023. The total mortgage applications rose by 1.4%.

“Treasury yields have been responding to data showing a picture of cooling inflation, a slowing job market, and the anticipated first rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this month,” Joel Kan, Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist at MBA, said in a press release. “With rates almost a full percentage point lower than a year ago, refinance applications continue to run much higher than last year’s pace.”

The post U.S. Mortgage Rates Drop to Lowest Level Since February 2023 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Under Local Law 18, which came into effect last year, hosts need to live in the property they are renting and are required to register with the city. Additionally, a limitation on number of guests has been put in place while the hosts are required to provide free access to all areas of the unit.

In a blog post shared on its official website, Airbnb said that the regulation “failed to deliver on the promise to combat the housing crisis.” The company pointed out that the rent prices in NYC continue to be on the rise while travelers have fewer options to secure their accommodation and are forced to turn to pricey hotels.

Airbnb is asking NYC officials to make amends to the regulation and make it easier for people to rent their homes and apartments.

“By rolling back parts of the law, the city can increase the supply of accommodations for consumers, support resident hosts, and revitalize local businesses that depend on tourism dollars,” it says in the blog post.

Airbnb also cited relevant data, saying the vacancy rate for New York City apartments has remained unchanged at 3.4% since the implementation of Local Law 18, while hotel costs went up by 7.4% on an annual basis.

The post Airbnb Urges NYC to Reconsider Its Law on Short-Term Rentals appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The existing home sales grew by 1.3% for the first time since March to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million versus 3.93 million units estimated by economists. The growth was likely prompted by improved supply and declining mortgage rates, although the sales still came down 2.5% from the same period in 2023.

There were 1.33 million units available at the end of last month, marking a 0.8% increase in total housing inventory from June and a significant year-over-year increase of 19.8%.

The Northeast region saw the largest increase in sales at 4.3%, followed by the West at 1.4% and the South region at 1.1%. The sales in the Midwest region, which is considered to offer the most affordable housing, remained flat.

On the other hand, the median price of existing home sales has increased on a year-over-year basis for the 13th consecutive month. At $422,600 per unit, the price jumped by 4.2% compared to the same period last year.

 “Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a press release. “But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates.”

The post US Existing Home Sales Improve, Break 4-Month Streak of Declines appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The total net assets in the Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund International came to the value of 1.88 billion Swiss francs ($2.17 billion) at the end of June. “The process to sell assets over the past 18 months to meet … redemptions has demonstrated the limited depth of the real estate markets,” UBS Fund Management said of the decision to liquidate the $2 billion fund. The bank clarified that it redeemed 36% of the fund’s total units in circulation by the end of 2023.

In order to complete the remaining redemptions after 2023, UBS clarified that it would need to start by selling the most liquid assets in the portfolio. UBS warned that this approach would likely come to the detriment of investors especially as the attractiveness of the portfolio deteriorates.

The post UBS Liquidates Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the Financial Times, such losses were largely attributed to a large number of natural disasters along with rampant inflation and population growth in at-risk cities and other areas that happen to be more prone to natural disasters. According to the U.S. Census, about half of the country’s population growth in the 2010s came in six U.S. states all prone to severe weather conditions, including California and Texas.

As a result of the surge in underwriting losses, insurance companies that cover residential properties are withdrawing from markets where natural disasters and spiking costs of living are increasingly prominent. Alternatively, many are hiking their insurance premiums and adjusting their policies and areas of coverage, causing major concern for some homeowners located in these affected areas.

The post U.S. Home Insurers Incur Biggest Loss of Century to Date appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Despite large-scale migration to southern states including Florida and Texas, the region does not have a supply shortage, with housing availability potentially assisting to push down prices, particularly in the post-pandemic market. According to PulteGroup CEO Ryan Marshall, the ample property supply in Florida and Texas has decreased the need for the company to build new homes in those states. New home orders for the company declined by 9% in Florida and 8% in Texas during the second quarter, Marshall noted.

“These markets are now in the process of finding the new clearing price needed to work down any excess inventory,” the PulteGroup CEO revealed to analysts. In Texas specifically, investors appear to be looking to exit the property market, Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones observed. 13.6% of Texas property sellers are investors, higher than the 8.4% average for the state from 2017 until 2019.

The post New Homes Up for Sale in U.S. South Hit All-Time High appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Although mortgage rates have remained below 7%, they remain almost double the rates experienced in 2021. According to one index, mortgage applications have declined by 4% to their lowest level since the end of May. MBA’s overall index of applications, which takes into account both home purchases and refinancing applications, declined by 2.2% over the past week, while the separate refinancing gauge edged 0.3% higher.

The MBA survey has emerged as a telling gauge of the mortgage rate and real estate climate of the US, drawing responses from commercial banks, mortgage bankers, and thrifts for use in its research. The survey incorporates 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications across the U.S.

Despite a drop in mortgage rates, U.S. home buyers still appear reluctant to submit applications for residential property purchases. This trend could be driven by stubbornly high home prices, which is evidenced by a decline in purchases of previously owned homes.

The post U.S. 30-Year Mortgage Rate Plummets to Lowest Level Since February appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The home sales in May dropped by 1.7% compared to April, and 407,959 homes sold were 2.9% less than in the same period in 2023. In the past decade, there were only two months—May 2020 and October 2023—with lower home sale numbers.

At the same time, home prices are at an all-time high, with the median home sale price standing at $394,000. This is a 4.4% year-over-year increase and biggest uptick in the past three months. Mortgage rates are also on the rise, with a 30-year-fixed mortgage coming at 7.06%.

“Sales are sluggish because high homebuying costs are making both house hunters and prospective sellers skittish. And with so few homes for sale, buyers in some markets are getting into bidding wars, which is helping push home prices to record highs,” said Elijah de la Campa, Senior Economist at Redfin.

Redfin predicts that mortgage rates will decline this summer due to cooling inflation. This could increase home-buying activity and provide another boost to home prices.

The post U.S. Home Sales Approach Lowest Level in a Decade Amid All-Time High Prices appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Zillow reported that in 2020, a household with an income of $59,000 per year could afford a home priced at around $240,815. This was less than the median income of $66,000. Now, households need an income of $106,000 in order to afford a median-priced home of $342,941.

“Incomes needed to purchase a home are just much, much higher than the typical household income,” Zillow chief economist Orphe Divounguy observed. Furthermore, mortgage rates for a typical US home have nearly doubled over the past four years.

The post Home Prices Surge By 42% Since 2020 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

In terms of the settlement, the agents’ commission will no longer be included in listings placed on multiple listing services. This move is expected to push home prices lower, with the abolishment of the current homebuying model where sellers pay both their broker and the buyer’s broker.

With prices expected to fall, TD Cowen Insights reported that real estate commissions are set to fall between 25% and 50% following the decision to bring an end to 6% commissions. Real estate shares slumped following the decision, with Zillow and Compass both sinking by more than 13%. Real estate brokerage Redfin declined by 5%.

The post Ending of Sales Commission Expected to Boost Homebuying appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The rate marks a 14 basis points slide from the week prior and represents the sixth consecutive week on which the U.S. mortgage rates went down. It’s also almost a full percentage point less on a year-over-year basis.

The 15-year mortgage went down from 5.98% to 5.71%, also the lowest level since February 2023, while mortgages with adjustable rates also saw a decline.

The declining mortgage rates have caused refinance applications to rise 1% compared to the week prior. The Refinance Index has surged by 106% on a year-over-year basis, although this giant leap is a result of historically low refinancing activity in 2023. The total mortgage applications rose by 1.4%.

“Treasury yields have been responding to data showing a picture of cooling inflation, a slowing job market, and the anticipated first rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this month,” Joel Kan, Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist at MBA, said in a press release. “With rates almost a full percentage point lower than a year ago, refinance applications continue to run much higher than last year’s pace.”

The post U.S. Mortgage Rates Drop to Lowest Level Since February 2023 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Under Local Law 18, which came into effect last year, hosts need to live in the property they are renting and are required to register with the city. Additionally, a limitation on number of guests has been put in place while the hosts are required to provide free access to all areas of the unit.

In a blog post shared on its official website, Airbnb said that the regulation “failed to deliver on the promise to combat the housing crisis.” The company pointed out that the rent prices in NYC continue to be on the rise while travelers have fewer options to secure their accommodation and are forced to turn to pricey hotels.

Airbnb is asking NYC officials to make amends to the regulation and make it easier for people to rent their homes and apartments.

“By rolling back parts of the law, the city can increase the supply of accommodations for consumers, support resident hosts, and revitalize local businesses that depend on tourism dollars,” it says in the blog post.

Airbnb also cited relevant data, saying the vacancy rate for New York City apartments has remained unchanged at 3.4% since the implementation of Local Law 18, while hotel costs went up by 7.4% on an annual basis.

The post Airbnb Urges NYC to Reconsider Its Law on Short-Term Rentals appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The existing home sales grew by 1.3% for the first time since March to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million versus 3.93 million units estimated by economists. The growth was likely prompted by improved supply and declining mortgage rates, although the sales still came down 2.5% from the same period in 2023.

There were 1.33 million units available at the end of last month, marking a 0.8% increase in total housing inventory from June and a significant year-over-year increase of 19.8%.

The Northeast region saw the largest increase in sales at 4.3%, followed by the West at 1.4% and the South region at 1.1%. The sales in the Midwest region, which is considered to offer the most affordable housing, remained flat.

On the other hand, the median price of existing home sales has increased on a year-over-year basis for the 13th consecutive month. At $422,600 per unit, the price jumped by 4.2% compared to the same period last year.

 “Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a press release. “But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates.”

The post US Existing Home Sales Improve, Break 4-Month Streak of Declines appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The total net assets in the Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund International came to the value of 1.88 billion Swiss francs ($2.17 billion) at the end of June. “The process to sell assets over the past 18 months to meet … redemptions has demonstrated the limited depth of the real estate markets,” UBS Fund Management said of the decision to liquidate the $2 billion fund. The bank clarified that it redeemed 36% of the fund’s total units in circulation by the end of 2023.

In order to complete the remaining redemptions after 2023, UBS clarified that it would need to start by selling the most liquid assets in the portfolio. UBS warned that this approach would likely come to the detriment of investors especially as the attractiveness of the portfolio deteriorates.

The post UBS Liquidates Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the Financial Times, such losses were largely attributed to a large number of natural disasters along with rampant inflation and population growth in at-risk cities and other areas that happen to be more prone to natural disasters. According to the U.S. Census, about half of the country’s population growth in the 2010s came in six U.S. states all prone to severe weather conditions, including California and Texas.

As a result of the surge in underwriting losses, insurance companies that cover residential properties are withdrawing from markets where natural disasters and spiking costs of living are increasingly prominent. Alternatively, many are hiking their insurance premiums and adjusting their policies and areas of coverage, causing major concern for some homeowners located in these affected areas.

The post U.S. Home Insurers Incur Biggest Loss of Century to Date appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Despite large-scale migration to southern states including Florida and Texas, the region does not have a supply shortage, with housing availability potentially assisting to push down prices, particularly in the post-pandemic market. According to PulteGroup CEO Ryan Marshall, the ample property supply in Florida and Texas has decreased the need for the company to build new homes in those states. New home orders for the company declined by 9% in Florida and 8% in Texas during the second quarter, Marshall noted.

“These markets are now in the process of finding the new clearing price needed to work down any excess inventory,” the PulteGroup CEO revealed to analysts. In Texas specifically, investors appear to be looking to exit the property market, Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones observed. 13.6% of Texas property sellers are investors, higher than the 8.4% average for the state from 2017 until 2019.

The post New Homes Up for Sale in U.S. South Hit All-Time High appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Although mortgage rates have remained below 7%, they remain almost double the rates experienced in 2021. According to one index, mortgage applications have declined by 4% to their lowest level since the end of May. MBA’s overall index of applications, which takes into account both home purchases and refinancing applications, declined by 2.2% over the past week, while the separate refinancing gauge edged 0.3% higher.

The MBA survey has emerged as a telling gauge of the mortgage rate and real estate climate of the US, drawing responses from commercial banks, mortgage bankers, and thrifts for use in its research. The survey incorporates 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications across the U.S.

Despite a drop in mortgage rates, U.S. home buyers still appear reluctant to submit applications for residential property purchases. This trend could be driven by stubbornly high home prices, which is evidenced by a decline in purchases of previously owned homes.

The post U.S. 30-Year Mortgage Rate Plummets to Lowest Level Since February appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The home sales in May dropped by 1.7% compared to April, and 407,959 homes sold were 2.9% less than in the same period in 2023. In the past decade, there were only two months—May 2020 and October 2023—with lower home sale numbers.

At the same time, home prices are at an all-time high, with the median home sale price standing at $394,000. This is a 4.4% year-over-year increase and biggest uptick in the past three months. Mortgage rates are also on the rise, with a 30-year-fixed mortgage coming at 7.06%.

“Sales are sluggish because high homebuying costs are making both house hunters and prospective sellers skittish. And with so few homes for sale, buyers in some markets are getting into bidding wars, which is helping push home prices to record highs,” said Elijah de la Campa, Senior Economist at Redfin.

Redfin predicts that mortgage rates will decline this summer due to cooling inflation. This could increase home-buying activity and provide another boost to home prices.

The post U.S. Home Sales Approach Lowest Level in a Decade Amid All-Time High Prices appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Zillow reported that in 2020, a household with an income of $59,000 per year could afford a home priced at around $240,815. This was less than the median income of $66,000. Now, households need an income of $106,000 in order to afford a median-priced home of $342,941.

“Incomes needed to purchase a home are just much, much higher than the typical household income,” Zillow chief economist Orphe Divounguy observed. Furthermore, mortgage rates for a typical US home have nearly doubled over the past four years.

The post Home Prices Surge By 42% Since 2020 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

In terms of the settlement, the agents’ commission will no longer be included in listings placed on multiple listing services. This move is expected to push home prices lower, with the abolishment of the current homebuying model where sellers pay both their broker and the buyer’s broker.

With prices expected to fall, TD Cowen Insights reported that real estate commissions are set to fall between 25% and 50% following the decision to bring an end to 6% commissions. Real estate shares slumped following the decision, with Zillow and Compass both sinking by more than 13%. Real estate brokerage Redfin declined by 5%.

The post Ending of Sales Commission Expected to Boost Homebuying appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.