It’s said that home is where the heart is, but your home is also a financial investment. That’s why homeowners who are thinking about potential home improvement projects will typically try to calculate what kind of return on investment they’ll get for the upgrade. After all, it’s easier to justify the expense if you know, when it’s time to sell, your home will garner a higher price. These days, though, homeowners have become a little less focused on their financial return and a little more interested in creating joy and purpose in their homes. How so? Well, according to a recent survey, 73 percent of homeowners have invested in a home improvement project since the beginning of the pandemic. That isn’t surprising. Spending more time at home naturally got us thinking about ways we can make our homes more comfortable and functional. But it also got us thinking about how happy we are with our homes. In fact, a majority of survey respondents said they want to feel joyful in their house, and nearly one in three said being happy was a big reason they’d invest in a home improvement project this year. In other words, the pandemic helped make us more focused on, not just improving, but also putting some heart back in our homes. (source)

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week for the first time in 12 weeks. Rates were down for 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says the decline was caused by the invasion of Ukraine. “Mortgage rates dropped for the first time in 12 weeks, as the war in Ukraine spurred an investor flight to quality, which pushed U.S. Treasury yields lower,” Kan said. “Looking ahead, the potential for higher inflation amidst disruptions in oil and other commodity flows will likely lead to a period of volatility in rates as these effects work against each other.” Lower rates helped push demand for mortgage applications higher than the week before, with significant increases seen in both refinance and purchase activity. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)

What we want in a house doesn’t change all that much over time. Home buyers always want storage, a good kitchen, and enough bedrooms and bathrooms. But according to one new survey, there is a part of the house that has grown in importance over the past couple of years: back yards. In fact, nearly three quarters of Americans said a spacious yard would be at the top of their wish list if they were shopping for a house. So what has home buyers focused on outdoor space more than before? Well, the pandemic was part of it. Having more time to spend at home led us to spend more time in our yards. Among respondents, 24 percent said they’ve been spending more time in their yard than they did before the pandemic and a majority of survey respondents said they’ve enjoyed their yard more than before. Whether we’re using it for relaxation, gardening, dining, or even working, we’ve clearly learned to make better use of our outdoor spaces and it’s made the back yard a vital feature for today’s home buyer. (source)

Just in time for the spring sales season to kick-off, more Americans are saying it’s a good time to buy a house. In fact, according to Fannie Mae’s most recent Home Purchase Sentiment Index – based on a monthly survey which asks Americans for their perceptions of the housing market, buying or selling a home, mortgage rates, home prices, their job and financial situation – respondents are feeling more optimistic about the market. Specifically, the component measuring whether participants think it’s a good time to buy a house rose 4 percent from the month before. But whether it’s a sign of spring or prospective buyers feeling like they need to get ahead of any upcoming rate increases is difficult to say. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s senior vice president and chief economist, says respondents are definitely expecting higher rates. “A survey-record share of consumers – particularly homeowners and higher-income individuals – expect mortgage rates to increase in the next 12 months, likely owing to signals that the Fed will raise rates to slow the pace of inflation,” Duncan said. Still, the increase in buyer sentiment is a welcome change after several months of declines. (source)

You don’t need to be an economist to understand supply and demand. It’s a pretty simple concept. When supply is low and demand is high, prices rise. That’s what’s been happening in the housing market. Home prices have been increasing because a lot of people want to buy a house but there aren’t a lot of homes available to buy. Fortunately, though, there’s reason to believe the inventory crunch that’s pushed prices higher may be starting to ease. According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website, the number of active listings – while still low – has showed improvement. In February, listings were 25 percent lower than one year earlier. That’s down from 28.4 percent in January. Additionally, the last two weeks of February saw more new home sellers enter the market than during the same period in 2021. In fact, the final week of the month saw new listings rise 2.1 percent over year-before numbers. While the gains may seem small, they’re an encouraging sign for buyers, since the number of listings will likely grow as the spring sales season gets underway. (source)

Figuring out how much your down payment will be and where it’ll come from is a big part of getting ready to buy a house. Whether you’re using money from the sale of your current home or saving from scratch, you have to have an idea of how much you’ll have available. Naturally, how much you’ll need depends on the specific house you’re hoping to buy and the terms of your loan. But what does the typical down payment look like these days? Well, according to one recent analysis, the median down payment on single-family homes purchased in the fourth quarter of last year was $26,000. That’s up from the previous year, when it was $21,891, but actually 1 percent lower than in the third quarter. Whatever the case, buyers should know they have options. Though widely recommended, a 20 percent down payment isn’t required. In fact, most home buyers put down less. Last year, for example, the typical down payment for first-time buyers was 7 percent, while repeat buyers averaged a down payment of 17 percent. (source)

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased last week from one week earlier. Rates were up across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. Higher rates didn’t have much effect on mortgage applications demand, however. In fact, applications were down less than 1 percent. Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says purchase activity has been slow. “Purchase activity remained weak, but the average loan size increased again, which indicates that home-price growth remains strong, and a greater share of the activity is occurring at the higher end of the market,” Kan said. While rates have been up in recent weeks, Kan says events in Ukraine may have an impact on interest rates in the days ahead. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)