Mortgage News

Available U.S. homes for sale reached 1.15 million units in March, a 19% increase over last year, and the highest level since 2020. March inventory rates were just 24% below pre-pandemic averages for that month, a marked improvement from the last two years in March. However, even with lower mortgage interest rates and more property choices, sales were essentially flat year-over-year with only 265,000 pending sales during March, 110,000 fewer than were added to the market.

In the wake of tariff uncertainty, long-term mortgage interest rates jumped more than 20 basis points during the past week, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage skyrocketed to 6.83% during the week ended April 17, 2025, up from 6.62% the week before. However, the new average was lower than a year ago when it was 7.1%. Freddie Mac says with homebuyer demand 13% higher this year and a lower rate, the spring buying season is off to a strong start.

U.S. foreclosure activity rose 11% during the first quarter of 2025, after three straight quarters of declines, according to real estate data company ATTOM. However, the 93,953 properties in some stage of foreclosure from January to March 2025 actually represented a 2% decrease from a year ago. Foreclosure starts – new foreclosure proceedings – were up 14% from the previous quarter and 2% compared with last year. Kansas saw the sharpest increase with a 117% annual jump, followed by Delaware at 58% and Oklahoma at 45%.

Even with the a few days of rate spikes thanks to the Trump Administration tariff chaos, long-term mortgage interest rates averaged lower this week than last, according to the Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped down to 6.62% during the week ended April 10, 2025, from 6.64% the week before. This marks three consecutive weeks of declines. The current rate is also down on an annual basis from the same week in 2024 when it averaged 6.88%.

While the majority of the top 200 U.S. markets are still struggling to provide enough inventory to meet demand, there are now 58 metro areas where the dynamics have shifted back to pre-pandemic levels. Many of the regions that are now leaning towards buyer’s markets are clustered in the Gulf Coast and Mountain West, areas flooded with out-of-state buyers during the pandemic years. At the top of the list is the Kileen-Temple, Texas market, where available inventory is now 93% higher than its March 2019 level. The rest of the top five areas include Punta Gorda, Florida; Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Ocala, Florida.

Long-term mortgage rates fell dramatically Thursday in response to the Trump Administration tariffs that went into effect on Wednesday, according to Mortgage Daily News. The average rate on a  30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 12 basis points to 6.63% during the week ended Thursday, April 3, 2025, down from 6.75% the week before and falling to the lowest level since October. The drop in rates could be a big boost to the spring housing market, where new listings jumped 10% annually in March.

U.S. homebuilders have completed plenty of houses that still have no buyers, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. As of February 2025, there were 119,000 newly finished but unsold homes across the country, up from 88,000 a year earlier and the highest level since 2009, when the market was reeling from the great housing crash of 2008. High mortgage rates and higher home prices are currently holding buyers back from closing on today's empty inventory.

The number of mortgage applications for purchasing a home increased 1% this past week, pushing demand to its highest level in two months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Home purchase applications also increased 7% from this time last year. However, applications for mortgage refinance loans fell 5% this last week, as mortgage rates were essentially unchanged this week.

Even as mortgages rates remained elevated and more inventory came on the market, U.S. home prices continued to rise in January. The seasonally adjusted S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index increased 0.6% in January from the month before. Home prices also rose 4.1% compared with the year earlier. The continued upward climb of prices indicates that there is enough homebuyer demand, especially from repeat buyers with lots of current equity, to overcome higher rates to some extent.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes increased 4.2% in February from the month before, according to the National Association of Realtors, a welcome surprise as industry analysts had forecasted a 3% drop. The sales are based on contract closings, which means they were first signed in December or January when rates were rising above 7%. As rates have since fallen to the mid-6% range, existing home sales may see an even bigger jump in the March and April data.

The number of new U.S. housing starts jumped 11.2% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.50 million units, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a move that surprised economists and market experts. The gain in housing starts was entirely fueled by the West where they increased by 20.2%; starts fell in the rest of the country, with a 21.5% decline in the Midwest, a 8.3% decrease in the South, and a 4.7% fall in the Northeast.

Pending U.S. home sales dropped 6.4% in the four weeks ended March 2 from the year before, according to Redfin, marking the second-biggest decline since November 2023. Pending home sales, measured by homes under contract for sale, were limited by the median U.S. sales price rising 3.2% and the typical homebuyer’s monthly housing payment being just $26 below its all-time high.  However, 30-year fixed mortgage rates have fallen for most of the past month, which could give a boost to home sales.

Home loan credit was easier to come by in February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s mortgage credit availability index rose 1.4% last month, compared to January, and up to its highest level in almost two years, since March 2023. The loosening of lending standards was led by increased credit offerings among conventional and government loans, thanks to “greater investor appetite for ARM and cashout refinance loans.”

Total mortgage application volume soared 20.4% during the week ended March, 5, 2025, according to the Mortgage Banker Association, thanks to a recent decline in long-term mortgage interest rates. The increase was led by whopping 37% jump in refinance requests. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.73% from 6.88% during the same time, have decreased for the past seven straight weeks. Applications for home purchase mortgages rose 9% for the week.

While it has slowed down, U.S. home price growth still rode to an new all-time high in December 2024, according to the Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. The index increase 3.9% from the month before when it rose 3.8%, marking the 19th straight all-time high growth pace. Prices rose the fastest in Chicago (6.6%), Boston (6.35%) and Seattle (5.61%.) Prices fell in only one metro area: Tampa, Florida with a 1.11% decrease.