BLOGS

New Home Sales Look Like They Want to Bounce The Census Bureau's regularly scheduled monthly report on New Home Sales was released this morning.  The annual pace of 616k was right in line with the median forecast of 617k.  This is technically an improvement, but only because the previous month was r

  Spring is usually the busiest season in the New Jersey and Monmouth County housing market. Many buyers wait until then to make their move, believing it’s the best time to find a home. However, that isn’t always the case when you factor in the competition you could face with other buyers at that ti

Why Pricing Your House Appropriately Matters Last year, the housing market slowed down in response to higher mortgage rates, and that had an impact on home prices. If you’re thinking of selling your house soon, that means you’ll want to adjust your expectations accordingly. As realtor.com explains:

  Rates May be Falling, But Other Mortgage Costs Are Going Up Mortgage rates have fallen quite a bit since hitting a long term peak in late October. By the middle of this week, the average 30yr fixed rate was more than 1.25% lower from the highs and at the best levels in more than 4 months. Rates ha

30YR Fixed 6.11% +0.07% 15YR Fixed 5.15% +0.03%   Existing Home Sales Shrink for 11th Month Existing home sales fell back for the 11th straight month in December according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) The month’s sales of pre-owned single-family houses, townhouses, condominiums, an

Pre-Approval in 2023: What You Need To Know One of the first steps in your homebuying journey is getting pre-approved. To understand why it’s such an important step, you need to understand what pre-approval is and what it does for you. Business Insider explains: “In a preapproval [sic], the lender t

Have Home Values Hit Bottom? Whether you’re already a homeowner or you’re looking to become one, the recent headlines about home prices may leave you with more questions than answers. News stories are talking about home prices falling, and that’s raising concerns about a repeat of what happened to p

30YR Fixed 6.04% -0.13% 15YR Fixed 5.12% -0.16%   Builders See a Turn-Around in Housing Starts on the Horizon On top of the solid report on mortgage volume earlier today, comes another hopeful report from the construction industry. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says builder confid

A dip below 6% has become a distinct possibility, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.   Inflation has been dropping over the past six months, and consumers can expect mortgage rates to soon follow, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®. The 30-year fixed-rat

Last year, the Federal Reserve took action to try to bring down inflation. In response to those efforts, mortgage rates jumped up rapidly from the record lows we saw in 2021, peaking at just over 7% last October. Hopeful buyers experienced a hit to their purchasing power as a result, and some decide

30YR Fixed 6.09% +0.02% 15YR Fixed 5.27% +0.02%   If Rates Are at 4-Month Lows, Why Does The Fed Say They're Going Higher? Mortgage rates officially hit their lowest levels in 4 months after this week's inflation data. Despite the recent progress, Fed officials continue to talk about keeping rates h

30YR Fixed 6.07% -0.08% 15YR Fixed 5.25% -0.12%   Lowest Rates in 4 Months After Inflation Data Today brought the scheduled monthly release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Of all the monthly economic reports, this one has had the biggest impact on the bond market and mortgage rates for roughly a

30YR Fixed 6.07% -0.08% 15YR Fixed 5.25% -0.12%   Refinance Volume Reflects Lower Rates Overall mortgage application activity returned to pre-holiday levels during the first week of the new year. Lower interest rates bolstered refinancing and the Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composit

Today’s Housing Market Is Nothing Like 15 Years Ago There’s no doubt today’s housing market is very different than the frenzied one from the past couple of years. In the second half of 2022, there was a dramatic shift in real estate, and it caused many people to make comparisons to the 2008 housing

New Jersey motorists will have to dish out more cash starting in the new year, with toll increases planned on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, plus for all the Hudson River crossings.On Jan. 1, 2023, tolls will climb 3% on the parkway and turnpike - the increases amount to cents - w

Netflix sets the scene with $903M studio plan for ex-military base Bidding for “mega parcel,” streaming service envisions massive facility to anchor its East Coast productions. Netflix unveiled plans last week for an investment of $903 million in a production facility at the former Fort Monmouth in

With recession worries growing, power may shift back to employers and threaten perks gained during the pandemic.  If the US job market continues to weaken next year, companies will be emboldened and may pull back on letting employees work remotely. Executives generally fall into two camps on working

30YR Fixed 6.32% +0.04% 15YR Fixed 5.57% +0.02%   "No One" Buying or Selling Existing Homes "No one" is a relative term when it comes to economic data.  There are actually about 4 million people per year buying existing homes based on the annualized and seasonally adjusted pace in the latest install

30YR Fixed 6.38% +0.11% 15YR Fixed 5.54% +0.02%   Building Permits Fall Well Below Housing Starts For First Time in Over 2 Years Housing Starts, the jargon word used to refer to the inception of new residential construction, have a reasonably logical relationship with building permits.  The latter t

If you’re a homeowner, your net worth got a big boost over the past few years thanks to rapidly rising home prices. Here’s how it happened and what it means for you, even as the market moderates. Equity is the current value of your home minus what you owe on the loan. Because there was a significant