New estimates from RealtyTrac show that the average homeowner who sold during the third quarter of this year saw a price gain of $40,658 over the amount they paid for their home. That’s a 17 percent improvement and the highest average price gain for home sellers in eight years. According to the Q3 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report, third-quarter home sellers owned their home for an average of 6.72 years before selling. Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac’s vice president, says the gains may be the result of homeowners who have waited to sell while home prices recovered over the past few years. “An increasing number of homeowners in 2015 have been cashing out the home equity they’ve gained during the housing recovery of the past three years,” Blomquist said. “That may be a good decision because the data points to a plateauing market going forward.” In fact, the report shows that home prices are up just 2.4 percent from the previous year, with an average sale price for single-family homes and condos reaching $263,976 during the quarter. That’s the slowest year-over-year improvement since the first quarter of 2012. More here.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates moved up last week across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. It was the second consecutive week mortgage rates rose. The increase caused demand for mortgage applications to fall from the previous week’s level. In fact, the Market Composite Index – which measures both refinance and purchase activity – fell 0.8 percent from the week before, with both the Refinance and Purchase Index registering a 1 percent decline. Despite the drop, however, demand for loans to purchase homes was still 20 percent higher than one year earlier. That improvement points to a significant increase in home sales over last year. Since mortgage application demand is an important indicator of future housing demand, any increase in the number of purchase loans indicates sales will also rise. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. More here.

A new report from Clear Capital looks at the rate at which prices are increasing and compares the year-over-year growth at both the high and low ends of the market. The results show that home prices are rising faster on the low-end of the market than they are at the top. That means, lower priced homes are seeing continued price appreciation, while higher priced homes have seen prices begin to level off. Alex Villacorta, vice president of research and analytics at Clear Capital, says this should signal an opportunity for first-time home buyers and investors. “As the housing recovery continues to unfold, we are clearly seeing a growing dichotomy between the low-price tier and top-price tier market performance,” Villacorta said. “By and large, the low-price tiers of the top and bottom MSAs are significantly outperforming their top-tier counterparts.” In fact, areas with a large number of distressed properties are seeing price growth at the low end of the market outpacing the top tier by as much as 20 percent. One explanation for this could be that higher-priced homes saw smaller price declines during the housing crash and, therefore, rebounded more quickly than homes at the lower-end of the market. More here.

According to Black Knight Financial Services’ latest Mortgage Monitor Report, the number of loans to buy homes has risen significantly this year. In fact, this spring saw the highest level of purchase lending in eight years and early numbers for the third quarter indicate a year-over-year improvement of 11 percent. Ben Graboske, vice president of data and analytics at Black Knight, says the gains are almost entirely concentrated among buyers with higher credit scores. “Year-over-year comparisons of purchase originations from sub-700 credit score borrowers show that purchase volumes from lower-credit borrowers are actually flat to slightly down from last year’s level,” Graboske said. “Only 20 percent of purchase loans originated in the past three months have gone to borrowers with credit scores below 700. That’s the lowest level we’ve seen in well over 10 years.” In addition, the average credit score for purchase mortgages has reached an all-time high of 755. The median credit score in the U.S. is about 720; the average score is 695. Though a high credit score isn’t required to qualify for a mortgage, prospective buyers with lower credit scores generally will receive less favorable terms than those with higher scores. More here.

Recent data paints a mixed picture of today’s housing market. On the one hand, pending and new home sales both fell in September. On the other, existing-home sales, housing starts, and builders confidence all rebounded. Combined with recent news of economic volatility and slower growth, it may be difficult to figure out where things stand. According to Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group, however, things aren’t as complicated as they may seem. In fact, the group – which releases an updated forecast for the economy and housing market each month – says things are still moving in a positive direction, despite the ups-and-downs found in the latest data. “Despite recent headwinds, which likely will slow economic growth compared to the first half of 2015, we see positive trends for consumer spending and housing heading into the fourth quarter,” Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, said. “Strong home price gains should help drive an increase in household net worth again in the third quarter, and, combined with low gasoline prices and mortgage rates, should support strong consumer spending throughout the rest of the year.” In other words, the strength of recent price increases has boosted the average American homeowner’s net worth, which should help drive consumer spending and the overall economy through the end of this year. More here.