- Mortgage Nuggets
- Posts
- Mortgage rate optimism hits survey high
Mortgage rate optimism hits survey high
Plus: Judge dismisses lawsuit against UWM's "All-In", CoStar to spend a billion on marketing Homes.com
Good morning! This is Mortgage Nuggets, your mortgage news cheat sheet - because who wants to read the textbook? Let’s dive in.
Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of Feb 08, 2024. © MND's Daily Rate Index.
1. Mortgage rate optimism hits survey high
The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased 3.5 points in January to 70.7, its highest level since March 2022, primarily due to increased consumer confidence in job security and another significant jump in the share of consumers expecting mortgage rates to decrease.
36% of respondents indicated that they expect mortgage rates to go down in the next 12 months, while 28% expect them to go up, and 35% expect rates to remain the same.
“For the first time in our National Housing Survey’s history, a greater share of consumers believe mortgage rates will decrease over the next year, rather than increase. Consumers also expressed greater confidence in their job situations this month, another sign that housing sentiment may continue to improve in 2024.”
2. Mortgage applications increase by 3.7%
In the latest data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), mortgage applications for the week ending February 2, 2024 saw an increase of 3.7% from the previous week.
The Market Composite Index, which serves as a gauge of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, the Index surged by 8% in comparison to the prior week.
Meanwhile, the Refinance Index experienced a notable uptick of 12% from the preceding week and marked a 1% increase compared to the same week last year.
🐝 FREE GUIDE: Referral Business - The Cheat Code to Success
Show us a successful LO that doesn’t have a strong referral business? We’ll wait… The secrets to becoming a top-tier loan officer lie within this comprehensive Mortgage Referral Guide!
Explore key techniques for effective referral lead generation and discover proven strategies for nurturing and managing referral partners to elevate your business. Learn how to:
Build a resilient referral network to generate a consistent lead flow
Go beyond your realtor partners to expand into untapped sources
Nurture your most productive referral partners and build lasting relationships
Read and download the guide to transform your mortgage lead approach!
3. Catch up quick
📈 Mortgage delinquencies increase in the fourth quarter of 2023. (MBA)
✍️ Fannie Mae clarifies ARM interest rate, ups cash-out refi term on manufactured homes. (Housing Wire)
🧑⚖️ A federal judge has recommended dismissing a lawsuit against UWM's "All-In" initiative, noting that the claims alleging the lender's practices as anti-competitive were not backed up. (NMN)
💸 15% of 221 Metro areas had double-digit year-over-year home price increases in 2023 Q4. (NAR)
🚨 COACH’S CORNER
Email Marketing is making a comeback, especially with Social Media getting saturated. Tune in for why…
— Dave Krichmar CEO
4. Pending home sales fall as mortgage rates tick up
Pending home sales over the past four weeks were down nearly 8 percent compared to the same time last year as mortgage rates ticked up slightly and harsh winter weather delayed homebuying, according to a new report from Redfin.
The fall in pending sales marked the largest decline since October, Redfin found. This comes as the daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is ticking back up toward 7 percent, after falling in recent months.
“We’re seeing a bit of recovery with house hunters touring homes, but even demand at the earliest stages isn’t up as much as we would expect at this time of year. That’s because mortgage rates are climbing again and winter weather has been harsher than usual in much of the country, keeping some house hunters at home”
5. CoStar to spend a billion on marketing Homes.com
CoStar is launching a massive marketing campaign for Homes.com, featuring Super Bowl ads, celebrity endorsements, etc, aiming to establish it as the leading real estate portal.
CoStar's splurge promises to be "the biggest campaign in real estate" with the company claiming it will invest over one billion dollars in advertising across major networks and sporting events to drive awareness of the Homes.com brand and leads to realtors' listings.
The campaigns will include various commercials, with a significant focus on being agent-friendly by promoting a "your listing, your lead" strategy, ensuring broker branding on listings without additional fees. This effort represents a significant challenge to Zillow's current dominance in the market.
Speaking of Zillow: Meet Zillow’s rooms for rent. Landlords can now list single rooms on Zillow instead of trying to find a tenant to fill the entire home
IN OTHER NEWS
🏈 Super Bowl 58. Who you got? |
☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Monday!
Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
Interested in reaching mortgage professionals like you? Get in touch.