EQUITY’S UP Underwater, upside down and short sale are just some of the familiar labels for homeowner equity positions in the wake of the housing crisis. The terms referring to owing more on a mortgage than a home is worth are no longer commonplace as the number homes with negative equity fell to its lowest

HAPPY HOMEOWNERS U.S. homeowners gained an average of 5.6% in equity year-over-year according to CoreLogic’s Home Equity Insights (HEI) for 1st Quarter 2019. The CoreLogic report only includes properties with mortgages, estimated to be 63% of all homes. The annual equity gain represents just over $485 billion. Homeowners who sold during the first quarter realized

MIXED MESSAGES Housing market activity is up or down – depending on the report. Commenting on the latest National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said, “We are seeing a positive sentiment from consumers about home buying, as mortgage applications have been steadily increasing and mortgage rates

5 IN FEB New home sales jumped nearly five-percent in February from the previous month according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau. February’s 4.9% increase was also up .06% year-over-year. The median sales price for new homes reached $315,300 and the average sales price was $379,600.

03-28-2019 REAL ESTATE REBOUND Existing-home sales increased 11.8% from January to February – the largest month-over-month gain since December 2015, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Three of the four major U.S. regions saw sales gains, while the Northeast remained unchanged from last month. LASTING LOWS Rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage trended

DOWN DECEMBER Existing home sales fell 6.4% between November and December and 10.3% year-over-year according to the latest National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Confidence Index. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun cited interest rate activity as the cause. “The housing market is obviously very sensitive to mortgage rates,” he said. “Softer sales in December reflected consumer

Up-to-date information on the latest financial news. View online.       Government Shutdown Impacts Housing Market Overview: Reduced expectations for global economic growth were good for mortgage rates over the past week. There was little significant economic data or news during the holiday period, and mortgage rates ended the week lower. The government shutdown