Mortgage rates stay where they are
The national average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged after trading on Thursday. The bond market coasted through sideways trading for most of the day. The national average started the day at 7.03% and ended the day at 7.03%*.
Most traders are waiting for Friday’s jobs data before taking the market one way or the other. A hot jobs report may send rates back up, while a cool report ahead of next week’s Fed meeting has a good chance of taking the national average below 7.00%.
Do Americans still think real estate is a good investment?
According to a recent survey conducted by Gallup, 36% of Americans that responded ranked real estate as their top long-term investment option. Mutual funds earned 22% and 18% said that gold was their preferred long-term investment. Savings accounts or certificates of deposits checked in at 13%.
Stacy Francis, CEO of Francis Financial in New York City, felt that most folks see real estate as a legacy for their children. Francis said, “Instead of giving them a portfolio of stocks, I want to give them a house that is physical and they can use.”
How are homebuyers that bought pre-pandemic doing?
A recent article from Realtor.com looked into how much equity homebuyers that bought homes pre-pandemic currently have. According to their data, the average home price grew by 37.5% between May 2019 and May 2024.
Realtor.com’s senior economist Ralph McLaughlin said, “Homeowners have seen extraordinary gains in home equity over the past five years.”
Home equity is up for several reasons, but one of the more significant aspects of the increase in home prices is the availability of houses. Inventory is up this year compared to previous years, but it’s still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.
Sabrina Speianu, an economic data manager at Realtor.com, stated, “While inventory this May is much improved compared with the previous three years, it is still down 34.2% compared with typical 2017 to 2019 levels.”
Which metro area has seen the greatest increase in home prices? Nashville, TN has seen a 57.1% increase in its median home price since 2019.
* National average rates accurate as of 6/5/24 from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are not advertised rates from Guaranteed Rate5
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