News Analysis Canada’s big banks dominate the mortgage market and aren’t helping homebuyers and housing affordability with lower mortgage rates for the time being. Analysts point to the banking oligopoly in Canada as a major factor in the lack of competitive options for consumers as compared with the United States.  Like other industries, the big…

WASHINGTON—Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes fell more than expected in June as rising mortgage rates and higher house prices continued to reduce affordability for entry-level and first-time buyers. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Wednesday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on signed contracts, tumbled 8.6 percent to 91.0 last month….

Sales of new single-family homes in the United States dropped by more than eight percentage points in the last month, their lowest levels in just over two years, signaling that increased mortgage rates and soaring prices are decreasing consumer demand for housing. New home sales declined 8.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000…

It’s the summer that cooled off the housing market. Rising mortgage rates have combined with already high home prices to discourage would-be buyers. Mortgage applications have declined sharply. Sales of previously occupied homes have fallen for five straight months, during what is generally the busiest time of year in real estate. The rate on a…

The quick rise in U.S. rental prices over the past year is beginning to slip in several American cities during the peak summer season when rent prices are normally higher, according to Zumper’s National Rent Report for June. Median rent prices for one-bedroom apartments in the United States went up by 0.5 percent between May and…

By Erik J. Martin From Bankrate.com Many factors are putting upward and downward pressure on mortgage rates, and prospective borrowers have observed a seesaw pattern in the cost to finance a home recently. While the benchmark 30-year rate has climbed from a 5.22 percent average a month ago, it dropped slightly in late May, backing…

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have exceeded 4 percent for the first time in more than two years as overall mortgage applications declined for the week ending Feb. 11, based on data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. “The 30-year fixed-rate saw the largest single-week increase since March 2020 and…

Existing-home sales rose for the third straight month in November as buyers were encouraged by a robust job market as well as low-interest mortgage rates that are not expected to last long with the Fed looking to hike rates early spring. The sales for previously-owned homes increased by 1.9 percent last month when compared to…

The number of applications for home mortgages dropped last week to the lowest level since mid-July, dampened by a decline in refinancing activity and, to a lesser extent, reduced purchase applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Total mortgage application volume fell 1.9 percent last week from the week prior, according to MBA’s composite index…

The number of applications for home mortgages dropped last week to the lowest level since mid-July, dampened by a decline in refinancing activity and, to a lesser extent, reduced purchase applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Total mortgage application volume fell 1.9 percent last week from the week prior, according to MBA’s composite index…