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Banks & Mortgage

Homeowners renovation debt
(Credit: Pixabay)

Nearly 2 in 3 homeowners went into debt to fund a renovation

About 63% of U.S. homeowners have gone into debt to fund a renovation, according to new research from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company. With 94% of homeowners having completed a major renovation in the past five years, about 3 in 4 (78%) went over budget on their last project. Nearly half…

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existing home sales

U.S. existing home sales fall to 10-month low

The National Association of Realtors released a report on Thursday (Sept. 19) showing that existing-home sales dipped in August. Three out of four major U.S. regions posted sales declines while the Midwest registered no change. Year-over-year, sales slipped in three regions but remained stable in the Northeast. Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include…

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US Federal Reserve (Credit: Federalreserve, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Mortgage relief is on the way but potential homebuyers remain pessimistic

Mortgage rate optimism spikes as the Federal Reserve is expected to lower interest rates at its meeting on September 17–18 but homebuying pessimism persists, Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) reveals. The Index increased 0.6 points in August to 72.1, as U.S. consumers reported significantly greater optimism about the future direction of mortgage rates…

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Rob Barber CEO at ATTOM (Credit: ATTOM)

Residential lending activity rebounds in Q2 24 but still a far cry from 2021 peak

Home mortgage lending rebounded in the United States during the second quarter of 2024, ATTOM data showed. Residential loans surged 23.2 percent quarterly while purchase, refinance and home-equity lending all increased. The real estate data company’ second-quarter 2024 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report showed that 1.62 million mortgages secured by residential property (1 to…

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Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale (Credit: Realtor)

Lower mortgage rates finally arrive amid Fed rate-cut signal

Mortgage relief is finally on the way, according to the Realtor.com 2024 Forecast Update. The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (the most popular U.S. home loan) dropped 27 basis points in the week ended Aug. 2, to 6.55%. That was the lowest rate since May 2023, and the sharpest drop in two…

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Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist (Credit: Fannie Mae)

U.S. housing activity to slow through 2024 amid high mortgage rates

USA: The higher rate environment is projected to dampen U.S. housing activity this year, according to the Federal National Mortgage Association, also known as Fannie Mae. In its latest forecast, the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group expects overall economic growth to slow and mortgage rates to end the year near 7 percent.…

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