Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates for Texas homebuyers

August New Home Sales Surprise to the Upside

August new home sales came in better than expected. The Census Bureau reported new home sales of August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 685,000 units. Previous months were revised slightly higher. "New Home Sales Sales of new single‐family houses in August 2022 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 28.8 percent (±18.3 percent) above the revised July rate of 532,000, but is 0.1 percent (±16.5 percent)* below the August [...]

Home Prices Are Falling – Time to Face Reality

North Texas home prices continued to fall in August. The post-pandemic housing bubble in the DFW area continues to deflate. The Fed is actively pushing for a housing reset. After facilitating reckless asset price inflation during the pandemic, taming inflation is now priority number one for the Powell Fed. Powell told us this week they will keep at it until the job is done. Denton County home sales were down 6 percent compared to August of last year. Pending sales slide even further, dropping 12 percent. With rates heading back toward 6 percent, activity and [...]

New Home Sales Take a Dive in July – 7.3 Months Supply of New Homes Under Construction

New home sales dropped sharply in July. High prices and dramatically higher mortgage rates have taken their toll on the new construction housing market. The median sales price of new houses sold in July 2022 came in at $439,400. The average sales price was $546,800. That rebound in prices was exactly what the new home market didn't need. New home affordability has been crushed with higher mortgage rates. "Sales of new single‐family houses in July 2022 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 511,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census [...]

North Texas Housing Market – Summer of Denial

The North Texas housing market continued correcting in July. Closed sales were 15 percent lower for the DFW compared to July of last year. Pending contracts also slid lower by a corresponding amount. The median price of a home in the Dallas-Fort Worth market slipped to $389,000, up 16.1 percent year-over-year. Average prices in DFW dropped even more, sliding over $25,000 from the high in June. That may be the high for North Texas home prices for a few years depending on how this cycle plays out. The housing market correction has definitely been noticeable [...]

New Home Prices Drop Sharply as Sales Hit a Wall

The Census Bureau reported new home sales for June at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units. This was below expectations. The three previous months were revised lower as well. New home sales in June were 8.1 percent lower than May and 17.4 percent lower than the same time last year. The median price of a new home dropped to $402,400. The average sales price posted at $456,800. Those were the lowest prices for 2022. Average new home prices just crashed 19.8 percent ($112,500) from the April blow-off top this year according to Census [...]

Denton County Home Inventory Piling Up as Housing Market Stalls

Home inventory in Denton County continues to pile up as the North Texas housing market stalls. The post-pandemic housing bubble is now popping under the pressure of dramatically higher mortgage rates and a lack of affordability. NTREIS figures show Denton County home sales fell 10 percent from June of last year. Pending sales declined roughly 8 percent year-over-year. The inventory of homes available for sale is up 80 percent from a year ago. With the decline in sales, months of inventory has spiked 90 percent from a year ago. Months of inventory for new construction [...]

New Home Sales Improve Slightly With Lower Prices

New home sales improved in May...with some significantly lower prices. The Census Bureau reported new home sales for May at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 696,000 units. That was better than revised April numbers, but 5.9 percent lower than a year ago. The median sales price of a new house sold in May 2022 was $449,000. The average sales price was $511,400. That's a $58,100 drop from the average price in April. The seasonally adjusted months of inventory stood at 7.7 months of supply. It is worth noting that the supply of homes [...]

Powell Fires Warning Shot at the Housing Market

This is a rough transcript of Jerome Powell's remarks on housing during this week's post-FOMC press conference. I apologize for any errors. Powell's remarks on housing come around the 1:51 mark toward the end of the press conference. See video below. It appears Jerome has finally figured out housing inflation is a serious headwind to the Fed's efforts to curtail raging inflation. It makes you wonder what they were looking at for the entirety of 2021 when the Powell Fed was pretending inflation was transitory. Question from Bankrate's Mark Hamrick: I Wonder what your assessment [...]

7 Tips for Denton County Home Buyers as the Housing Bubble Pops

Here are 7 tips for Denton County home buyers as the post-pandemic housing bubble pops. We've seen some epic moves in the bond markets the last few days. The yield on the 10-year treasury bond spiked to 3.5% on Tuesday, pushing mortgage rates to yearly highs. The rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.28% according to Mortgage News Daily. Inflation is raging, and consumers are losing patience. If they aren’t already priced out of the market, many buyers are hitting the pause button. Home affordability has been absolutely crushed the last few months as the [...]

Denton County Housing Bubble Begins To Pop

Denton County's pandemic-induced housing bubble is finally beginning to pop. The summer selling season has been met with rampant price chopping. Sellers are hitting the market and finding some big air pockets. My what a difference a few months can make! Home inventory continues to rise off the lows earlier this year. That has caught a number of home sellers and agents completely off guard. It shouldn't have. As I have been detailing for months, this shift and the coming correction were baked in the cake. What's amazing is that so many "experts" continue to [...]

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