Fannie Mae: Confidence in housing inches higher

Plus: Mortgage rates finally level off after the quickest spike in months

October 09, 2024

🤪 Happy Wednesday! You've made it to the middle of the week! Today's newsletter is 627 words — a 2.5-minute read.

Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of Oct 08, 2024. © MND Daily Rate Index.

1. Charted: The insurance burden

Insurance costs — not even including flood insurance, which most Americans don't have — have been rising steadily as a percentage of total mortgage payments for more than five years. Dive deeper

Property insurance share of average mortgage payment

2. Fannie Mae: Confidence in housing inches higher

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased 1.8 points in September to 73.9, its highest level in over two years. A record 42% of consumers expect mortgage rates to decline in the next 12 months, up from 39% in August.

Only 19% of respondents believe it's a good time to buy a home, while 65% think it's a good time to sell. The HPSI is up 9.4 points year-over-year. Notably, renter sentiment has improved, with 20% now believing it's a good time to buy, up from 13% three months ago.

“Although most consumers continue to think it’s a ‘bad time’ to buy a home, the recent shift in attitude toward mortgage rates is pushing overall housing sentiment higher, and a growing share are now pointing to high home prices rather than high mortgage rates as the primary sticking point for affordability,”

Mark Palim, Fannie Mae Chief Economist.

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3. More Nuggets

📈 Rate-and-term refinance lock volume up 700% year-over-year. (OptimalBlue)

📊 Mortgage rates finally level off after the quickest spike in months. (MND)

🏡 This is what causes sellers to list their homes. (Zillow)

💸 Victims of a $7 billion fraud may soon be paid. For some, it’s too late. (NYT)

4. The housing market's 'magic mortgage rate' is elusive

A survey by John Burns Research and Consulting (JBREC) suggests that neither the 6.11% mortgage rate from September nor the current 6.62% rate is enough to motivate homeowners to sell and buy, with many staying put due to high rates. JBREC believes a "magic mortgage rate" below 5.50% is needed to unlock the market and boost resale turnover.

John Burns Research and Consulting: The highest mortgage rate homeowners say they'd accept on their next home purchase.

5. eXp settles commission lawsuits for $34 million

eXp has become the latest brokerage to settle the buyer agent commissions lawsuits — a $34 million deal that pushes the settlement fund total even further over $1 billion.

The agreement, revealed in an Oct. 1 filing with the SEC, "resolves all claims in the Lawsuits and similar claims on a nationwide basis against the Company." It also covers eXp's subsidiaries, affiliates and agents.

However, it will not be final until it receives a judge's approval. The company will pay half of the settlement within 30 business days of preliminary court approval, and the other half on or before the one-year anniversary of the first payment.

☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Friday!

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