Weekly Mortgage Market Update for July 7, 2017

For the Week Ending July 7, 2017

Please enjoy this quick update on what happened this week in the housing and financial markets.

The minutes from June's FOMC meeting showed the Fed is open to at least one more rate increase this year, and balance-sheet adjustment will start soon.

The minutes also shared that the European Central Bank may reduce economic stimulus soon. The news is bad for mortgage rates here in the U.S.

As the labor market nears full employment, it's showing signs of cooling. Private employers hired fewer workers than expected in June, and jobless claims were up.

A report from CoreLogic shows home prices were up 6.6% year-over-year in May. They forecast another 5.3% increase from May 2017 to May 2018.

Due to tight inventory and improved technology, 33% of 3,350 homebuyers in 11 metropolitan areas recently surveyed had made an offer sight-unseen.

In some big cities, particularly along the coasts, land is at a premium. Teardowns accounted for 10.2% of all new home construction in 2016, up from 7.7% in 2015.

Real Estate Math: A real estate agent has 2 property listings. Now add 11 more. What does the agent have now?

Happiness. ;)

Rate movements and volatility are based on published, aggregate national averages and measured from the previous to the most recent midweek daily reporting period. These rate trends candiffer from our own and are subject to change at any time.