Buffet’s company spent $700M to buy DR Horton stock and lesser amounts for two other builders, suggesting the investment guru sees profits via the new-home industry. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Warren Buffett’s company appears to be betting on the housing market picking up because Berkshire Hathaway bought more than $700 million worth of homebuilder DR Horton’s stock this spring, along with smaller...
In a year-to-year comparison, sales dropped 16.6% even as prices rose 1.9% to $407K – only the fourth month ever over $400K. Inventory increased 3.7%, however. WASHINGTON – Existing-home sales fell again in July, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) latest release. Among the four major U.S. regions NAR includes within the study, sales grew in the West but faded in the...
In a seasonally adjusted month-to-month comparison, July sales were 4.4% higher than June sales. Year-to-year sales were up 31.5%. WASHINGTON – New-home sales hit a 17-month high in July as construction continues to hold an outsized percentage of the home-sale market. The industry has been slowly ramping up even as the existing-home market pulls back because homeowners with ultra-low mortgage rates...
LOS ANGELES – The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed further above 7% this week to its highest level since 2001, another blow to would-be homebuyers grappling with rising home prices and a stubbornly low supply of properties on the market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan climbed to 7.23% from 7.09% last week. A year ago, the...
The Mortgage Bankers Association says the number of homeowners getting forbearance mortgage help dropped 5 basis points in July and is now only 0.39%. WASHINGTON – The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey found that the total number of loans in forbearance decreased by 5 basis points at the end of July – from 0.44% of servicers’ portfolio volume in June to 0.39%....
Buyers get used to mortgage rates and incorporate them into decisions, but increases/decreases make them wonder if they should move quickly or hope they come back down. NEW YORK – Despite the highest mortgage rates in a generation, new houses continue to sell. The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday reported that a seasonally adjusted 714,000 new homes sold in July (seasonally adjusted rate). That...
How strong will Idalia be? Where will it come ashore? What happens to ongoing transactions? Individuals, businesses and associations need to prepare now. ORLANDO, Fla. – On Monday, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for a huge section of Florida’s Gulf Coast. As Tropical Storm Idalia turns into Hurricane Idalia – predicted to be a Category 3 hurricane before the...
In June 2023, home prices were the same year-to-year – no increase or decrease – but they rose almost 1% in a month-to-month comparison. NEW YORK – S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) data released for June 2023 show all 20 major metro markets reported month-over-month price increases for the fourth straight month, and prices were virtually unchanged year-to-year. “U.S. home prices...
An initial growth estimate of 2.4% was downgraded, though it’s still an acceleration from the 2% growth rate logged in the first quarter. WASHINGTON – The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.1% annual pace from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, the government said Wednesday in a downgrade from its initial estimate. The...
After hitting a 20-year high last week of 7.23%, the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage moved lower again. A year ago, the FRM averaged 5.66%. LOS ANGELES – The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate slipped after climbing for five consecutive weeks to a more than 20-year high, a modest relief for would-be homebuyers challenged by rising home prices and a thin inventory of homes on the...