Eugene Oregon Real Estate Blog

Good Monday Morning!

The Real Estate market in the Eugene and Springfield area is certainly beginning to show signs of change.  It is interesting though that this is still not being indicated by the home sales statistics. What I am beginning to notice though is that many homes sit on the market without selling right away now and to get showing activity the sellers have to drop their price.  I am seeing many price reductions and some multiple price reductions now.  This was unheard of just a few months ago.  I would guess that June home sales statistics are going to indicate a market shift much more clearly than the May statistics do.  One thing that is clear is that our economy, both local and national is beginning to see a steep downward trend.  Much of this trend is being caused by inflation, which is beginning to take it's toll. Higher costs of living and higher mortgage interest rates are going to have a long term negative effect on home sales.  The worst has not hit us yet, so if you are thinking of selling your home this year, I will repeat myself in saying, "DON'T WAIT!". The folowing are the home sale statistics for Lane County in the month of May 2022.

Residential Highlights

New listings (605) decreased 0.5% from the 608 listed in May 2021, and increased 23.5% from the 490 listed in April 2022.

Pending sales (484) decreased 12.6% from the 554 offers accepted in May 2021, and increased 6.8% from the 453 offers accepted in April 2022.

Closed sales (425) increased 7.9% from the 394 closings in May 2021, and increased 3.4% from the 411 closings in April 2022.

Inventory and Market Time

Inventory increased to 0.9 months in May. Total market time decreased to 23 days.

Year-To-Date Summary

Comparing the first five months of 2022 to the same period in 2021, new listings (2,413) increased 2.9%, pending sales (2,082) decreased 0.7%, and closed sales (1,826) increased 3.9%.

Average and Median Sale Prices

Comparing 2022 to 2021 through May, the average sale price has increased 17.1% from $404,100 to $473,000. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 15.5% from $375,000 to $433,000.

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

2820 S 8th Street, Lebanon, OR 

Price: $349,000    Beds: 3    Baths: 1.5    Sq Ft: 1160

Wonderfully kept home in great neighborhood! All rooms are spacious with a fantastic layout. Newer roof, gas water heater, gas forced air and exterior paint, make it move in ready and available for your preference of updates to make it home! Amazing...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

In the ever changing world of Real Estate, home prices both here in the Eugene and Springfield area and nationally continue their upward trend.  The lack of homes for sale is the primary cause for this continued home price escalation, but even with low home inventories, buyer demand is slowing quickly due to increased mortgage intereste rates, high home prices and an economy that is in serious decline with no sign of changing anytime soon.  As I have been predicting for months, home prices will begin to flatten and may even reverse and begin a downward trend soon.  This is evidenced in our local market by fewer buyers looking at homes, many price reductions for homes sitting on the market and not selling and the lack of multiple offers like we witnessed in the past months. If you are considering selling your home soon, you may have missed the red hot market we had for several years, but the market you have today and the value of your home today are much stronger than what lies ahead, so do not wait to put your home on the market thinking that our current downturn will pass anytime soon.  Here is an article from "Realtor.com" that talks about about current national Real Estate market.

The numbers: U.S. home prices rose again in March even as higher mortgage rates began to bite, leaving prices at all-time highs. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price index was up a record 21.2% year over year while the federal government’s price tracker climbed 19% in the same span.

The Case Shiller index rose 3.1% in March compared to the prior month. A separate report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed a 1.5% monthly increase.

The big picture: The record increases in home prices over the past few years is bound to slow with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. The cost of a 30-year fixed mortgage has almost doubled to about 5.25% from 2.75% last fall.

Key details: The year-over-year increase in the 20-city Case Shiller prices index bested the previous record of 20.3% in February.

Phoenix once again recorded the highest rate of home-price rises in the in the country in March, according to the Case-Shiller report. Prices were up a whopping 32% from one year ago.

Dallas also posted a 30.7% increase in the past year.

The smallest increases were largely in older cities in the Northeast and Midwest such as Washington, Boston, New York, Minneapolis and Chicago.

Still, prices were up 12.9% in Washington, which had the smallest year-over-year gain.

Looking ahead: Demand is waning—evident in weakening purchase applications and home sales—in response to sharply higher mortgage rates, which should provide some relief on prices,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “Even so, for now, prices are showing little sign of abating.”

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

3847 Boresek Ln, Eugene, OR 

Price: $619,900    Beds: 4    Baths: 3.0    Sq Ft: 2504

This light filled home is on a private drive with a 1/3 acre yard backing to Spring Creek. Spacious floor plan is perfect for extended living w/ a main level bedroom & bathroom. Great room concept w/ eating bar, granite kitchen counters & slider to...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

There have not been any huge market changes in the Eugene and Springfield housing market over the past several months, but the overall market is in decline here as it is nationally.  Nationwide home inventories are an issue and are currently at slightly over two months of inventory.  In the Eugene and Springfield area those inventories of homes for sale are slightly over 2 weeks of inventory.  This situation may not change any time soon and homebuyers will continue to struggle with finding a home because of it. If there is a bright spot in all of this, homeownership remains the safest place for your money during high inflation and poor economic times. If you are wanting to purchase a home, be patient.  We are finding great homes for all of our buyers in this market.  If you are wanting to purchase a home, don't procrastonate and don't be shy about this market.  Waiting could cost you thousands of dollars. Here is an article with a national Real Estate market report from "Realtor.com".

The numbers: Existing-home sales fell 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million in April, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Compared with April 2021, home sales were down 5.9%.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had expected an decrease to 5.64 million units.

This is the third straight monthly decline and comes as mortgage rates have spiked and prices have risen.

Key details: Scarcity of homes for sale continued to be a major factor. The total inventory of homes for sale was 1.03 million units, down 10.4% from one year ago.

Expressed in terms of the months-supply, there was a 2.2-month supply of homes for sale in April. Before the pandemic, a 4-month supply was more the norm.

The median price for an existing home was an all-time high of $391,200, up 14.8% from April 2021.

Homes remained on the market for 17 days on average.

Regionally, sales rose in the Northeast and Midwest and sank in the South and the West.

All-cash transactions made up 26% of all transactions. About 28% of homes were sold to first-time home buyers.

What NAR is saying? “I expect further declines in home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist, in a discussion with reporters. Mortgage rates are rising and supply remains low., he noted. There is less incentive for homeowners to list their properties because they would lose their super-low mortgage rates. 

Market reaction: Stocks opened lower on Thursday on continued growth concerns. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.8% on flight-to-safety trading.

The numbers: Existing-home sales fell 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million in April, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Compared with April 2021, home sales were down 5.9%.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had expected an decrease to 5.64 million units.

This is the third straight monthly decline and comes as mortgage rates have spiked and prices have risen.

Market reaction: Stocks opened lower on Thursday on continued growth concerns. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.8% on flight-to-safety trading.

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

3847 Boresek Ln, Eugene, OR 

Price: $629,900    Beds: 4    Baths: 3.0    Sq Ft: 2504

This light filled home is on a private drive with a 1/3 acre yard backing to Spring Creek. Spacious floor plan is perfect for extended living w/ a main level bedroom & bathroom. Great room concept w/ eating bar, granite kitchen counters & slider to...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

There has not been any significant change in the Eugene/Springfield area Real Estate market over the last month. The number of homes for sale hitting the market declined at the same time that then number of homes sold increased.  This indicates that we remain in a very strong sellers market at this time.  Long term, the rising mortgage interest rates and continued increases in home values are sure to slow this market.  As I have been saying for the past several months, if you are considering the sale of your home this year, DON'T WAIT!  The market you see today will not be with us much longer. Here are the current home sales statistics for Lane County in the month of April 2022.

New listings (490) decreased 6.3% from the 523 listed in April 2021, and decreased 7.5% from the 530 listed in March 2022.

Pending sales (453) decreased 0.9% from the 457 offers accepted in April 2021, and decreased 3.8% from the 471 offers accepted in March 2022.

Closed sales (411) increased 11.1% from the 370 closings in April 2021, and increased 1.2% from the 406 closings in March 2022.

Inventory and Market Time

Inventory held steady at 0.7 months in April. Total market time decreased to 25 days.

Year-To-Date Summary

Comparing the first four months of 2022 to the same period in 2021, new listings (1,804) increased 5.2%, pending sales (1,612) increased 3.3%, and closed sales (1,389) increased 2.9%.

Average and Median Sale Prices

Comparing 2022 to 2021 through April, the average sale price has increased 17.6% from $398,800 to $469,000. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 15.7% from $369,000 to $427,000.

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

531 T Street, Springfield, OR 

Price: $369,000    Beds: 3    Baths: 1.5    Sq Ft: 1090

This cute ranch style home has been nicely updated & is located in a convenient neighborhood close to the bus lines & shopping. Small RV parking, large 2-car garage, primary bedroom w/ large attached 1/2 bathroom, forced air heating, laminate floor...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

WHAT WOULD 5% PLUS MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES DO TO THE 2022 HOUSING MARKET?

Back when mortgage rates were 12%, people still bought and sold houses, which cost 70% less. If rates were 12% today, no one could buy a house! Certainly, a 5% interest rate will put downward pressure on prices over time, but what will it do to the market in the near term?

The Good — Higher rates likely mean leveling prices in 2022. More owners and investors might sell now that prices are peaking, creating more housing inventory. Buyers who can still afford to be in the market can make offers on houses without quite so many competing offers, and they'll have more choices. Sellers are not likely to lose much (if any) value, though they won’t continue to see sharp rises.

The Bad — Higher rates mean the pool of buyers will shift around. Some sellers could get fewer and lower offers. Buyers will ask sellers to make more repairs. Some sellers will lose gains they made in the past year. Sellers who want to cash out at the peak may be running out of time.

The Ugly — Higher rates mean many buyers will scale back on the home price they could afford when rates were lower. They may need to drop into a lower price point, which could alter their location or home style plans, or they'll need to come up with a higher down payment.

The Next Wave? Real estate markets are like an uneven, undulating wave, going up and down like a mad roller coaster. The last up-swell has been meteoric. But that doesn’t mean the next down-turn will be just as steep. It is more likely to be a slow glide that levels off somewhere between 2016 and 2022 prices in the next 5 to 10 years (barring unforeseen circumstances). All we can ever do is make the best decision in the moment.

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

531 T Street, Springfield, OR 

Price: $375,000    Beds: 3    Baths: 1.5    Sq Ft: 1090

This cute ranch style home has been nicely updated & is located in a convenient neighborhood close to the bus lines & shopping. Small RV parking, large 2-car garage, primary bedroom w/ large attached 1/2 bathroom, forced air heating, laminate floor...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

If you have been looking for a home to purchase and have become frustrated with our competitive housing market, things are about to change for you.  Yes, home prices remain high and mortgage interest rates have jumped. All of this has made buying a home difficult.  One of the largest issues has been competition and the competition level is going to change.  Soon, there will be fewer people in the housing market, which will end the bidding wars and multiple offers.  True, the home you are buying will have a higher interest rate, but for many who paid well above purchase price, the true cost of the home may be less.  The market is changing quickly, so if you have been frustrated in the past, jump back into the market.  You may be very glad that you did.  The following is an article from "Realtor.com" that talks about our current national market.

The interest rate on the country’s benchmark mortgage product edged downward for the first time since early March, but that doesn’t mean the housing market will see a reprieve.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.1% for the week ending April 28, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday. That’s down one basis point from the previous week—one basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point, or 1% of 1%.

Last week was the first time that mortgage rates had surpassed 5% since 2011. A year, the average rate on the 30-year home loan was below 3%.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, meanwhile, rose two basis points to an average of 4.4% over the past week. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.78%, rising three basis points from the previous week.

The moderation in mortgage rates is a reflection of movements in the market for long-term bonds. Notably, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose above 2.9% earlier in the week before settling lower, which indicated how concerns about the COVID situation in China were weighing on investors.

“Markets are increasingly weighing that with Beijing potentially following in Shanghai’s mass quarantine footsteps, the outlook for economic growth is darkening, which may affect the U.S. economy,” said George Ratiu, manager of economic research at Realtor.com.

Despite this brief setback, mortgage rates have risen at the fastest pace in over 40 years, Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said in the report. And that trend is likely to continue, given that inflation remains hot.

That will prompt the Federal Reserve to hike rates and adjust its holdings of mortgage-backed securities in the coming months, which will put pressure on mortgage rates. It’s tough to understate how disruptive the historic rise in mortgage rates over the past few months has been.

“Buyers were already constrained by low inventories, which have been driving prices higher,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a research note. “Sustained increases in mortgage rates will be an additional headwind for home sales going forward.”

The most recent data for both pending home sales and mortgage applications released Wednesday painted a picture of weakening demand from home buyers. The combination of high prices and high interest rates has made purchasing a home significantly less affordable, and it’s likely that some families have been pushed out of the home-buying market—at least for the time being.

“Buyers of a median-price home are looking at a monthly mortgage payment that is almost 50% higher than it was a year ago, adding an extra $580 to their monthly expenses,” Ratiu said. “It is not surprising that many are stepping back from the market, hoping that conditions will improve.”

For those Americans who persist, they will be reward by a less competitive market, which could give them more homes to choose from and a lower likelihood of facing a bidding war.

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

531 T Street, Springfield, OR 

Price: $375,000    Beds: 3    Baths: 1.5    Sq Ft: 1090

This cute ranch style home has been nicely updated & is located in a convenient neighborhood close to the bus lines & shopping. Small RV parking, large 2-car garage, primary bedroom w/ large attached 1/2 bathroom, forced air heating, laminate floor...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

Mortgage interest rates continue their upward trend and new worries arise as the inventory of homes for sale continues to be at an all time low.  This is an unusual situation as in the past when mortgage interest rates rise, home inventories increase, because of lesser demand.  Could it be that the historic low mortgage interest rates of the past years have created a situation where homeowners are going to sit tight and not jump into a market with higher rates?  Time will tell, but at the moment, don't look for home inventories to increase significantly for some time.  Here is a recent article from "Realtor.com" that talks about the current Real Estate market nationally.

Mortgage rates have increased for seven consecutive weeks, creating openings for buyers who have managed to withstand this tough housing market.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.11% as of the week ending April 21, representing an increase of 11 basis points from the previous week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. One basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point, or 1% of 1%.

It’s the first time since February 2011 that the benchmark mortgage product has exceeded the 5% mark. Mortgage rates now stand more than 2 percentage points higher than they were at this time last year. A year ago, mortgage rates were below 3%.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 21 basis points to an average of 4.38%. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.75%, rising six basis points from the previous week.

The most recent home-listings data from Realtor.com showed that the number of new listings was down 13% compared to a year ago. Researchers cautioned that the downturn could be a reflection of the Easter holiday, which coincided with spring breaks for many children, so families may be holding off on putting their properties on the market.

Still, it’s a worrying sign for buyers. “The short supply of for-sale homes remains one of the biggest obstacles faced by today’s buyers, so last week’s pause in inventory improvements may understandably be disappointing news,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in the report.

It’s too soon to declare an end to the seller’s market that has dominated in recent years. Whether home listings rebound in the coming weeks will offer hints of whether sellers are holding back. Some economists have suggested that higher mortgage rates could create a “lock-in” effect, where homeowners are disinclined to sell their current home because it would mean buying a home at a higher interest rate.

Meanwhile, many buyers are facing severe affordability constraints due to the combination of rising prices and higher interest rates. For the buyers who can withstand this tough environment, they may be able to find openings for deals.

“While springtime is typically the busiest home-buying season, the upswing in rates has caused some volatility in demand,” Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in the weekly rate report. “It continues to be a seller’s market, but buyers who remain interested in purchasing a home may find that competition has moderately softened.”

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1819 Hayden Bridge Rd, Springfield, OR 

Price: $395,000    Beds: 2    Baths: 1.0    Sq Ft: 1292

This cute ranch style home is in a convenient Hayden Bridge location & situated on .4 of an acre. Laminate & hardwood flooring throughout, family room w/ vaulted ceilings, gas fireplace & slider to the backyard. Bonus room in the backyard is perfect...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

Our local market in the Eugene and Springfield area continues the trend of low inventory of homes for sale and increasing home prices.  Even with mortgage interest rates on the rise, our market continues to be a strong sellers market.  There are signs of change in the air though that have not yet been reflected in the market statistics.  It appears that home price inflation will slow as buyer demand begins to slow from higher rates.  This should be some relief to struggling home buyers down the road.  The big question is, will the inventory of homes for sale begin to increase.  At this time it looks doubtful, but maybe by Summer or Fall we will see some increase in the numbers of homes for sale.  Time will tell.  The following are the home sales statistics for Lane County for the month of March 2022.

New listings (530) increased 16.0% from the 457 listed in March 2021, and increased 24.1% from the 427 listed in February 2022.

Pending sales (471) increased 8.5% from the 434 offers accepted in March 2021, and increased 17.2% from the 402 offers accepted in February 2022.

Closed sales (406) increased 4.4% from the 389 closings in March 2021, and increased 53.2% from the 265 closings in February 2022.

Inventory and Market Time

Inventory decreased to 0.7 months in March. Total market time decreased to 28 days.

Year-To-Date Summary

Comparing the first three months of 2022 to the same period in 2021, new listings (1,302) increased 11.2%, pending sales (1,179) increased 6.3%, and closed sales (964) decreased 0.1%.

Average and Median Sale Prices

Comparing 2022 to 2021 through March, the average sale price has increased 16.2% from $395,600 to $459,800. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 15.9% from $365,000 to $422,900.

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

2508 Hawkins Ln, Eugene, OR 

Price: $525,000    Beds: 3    Baths: 2.5    Sq Ft: 1864

This tastefully updated SW Eugene home is tucked away in a quiet cul-de-sac. Newer roof & heat pump, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, updated master bathroom w/ sliding barn door & nice separation of space. Kitchen has stainless steel appliances &...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday morning!

Mortgage interest rates continue an upward trend and it is having an effect on the Real Estate market in the Eugene and Springfield area.  Over the past several years, home prices have spiked in our local market.  Low mortgage interest rates took some of the pain from the home price increases.  Now, with inflation hitting mortgage loans, the affordability of homes in our area has diminished significantly.  This has had the effect of taking many would be home buyers completley out of the housing market and has caused many others to downgrade the size and price of homes they are looking at.  As of this time, the inventory of homes for sale remains quite low in Eugene and Springfield.  This is causing home values to remain high.  The combination of higher interest rates and home prices remaining high is a market condition that I have not seen in my 33 years in the Real Estate business.  The housing market can't stay here for long, so look for home prices to begin dropping as mortgage rates continue to rise in the coming months.  There will be a great deal of change over the next several months, much if it depending on how high rates go and what level of home inventory we experience.  The following is a report on this situation from "Realtor.com".

The steep upward climb in mortgage rates still isn’t showing any signs of stopping.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.72% as of the week ending April 7, Freddie Mac reported Thursday, up from 4.67% a week earlier. The last time the interest rates on home loans were this high was in the fall of 2018.

This is the sixth consecutive week in which mortgage rates have increased. And over the past three months, they have risen 1.5 percentage points. This represents the fastest three-month increase in rates since 1994, Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said in the report.

“The increase in mortgage rates has softened purchase activity such that the monthly payment for those looking to buy a home has risen by at least 20% from a year ago,” he added.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is currently sitting at an average of 3.91%, according to Freddie Mac’s latest data, up eight basis points from a week ago. A basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percent, or 1% of 1%. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage average was 3.56% for the most recent week, up six basis points from the week before.

Overall, the surge in mortgage rates is beginning to encroach on home-buying demand. Mortgage application data shows that applications for loans used to purchase homes are down 9% from a year ago, according to the most recent numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But the rise in rates isn’t affecting all buyers equally. The Mortgage Bankers Association data showed that the most recent average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration was 4.9%. The drop in FHA loan applications was greater than the decline across other loan types.

This, along with the increase in loan sizes, is “indicative of first-time buyers being disproportionately impacted by supply and affordability challenges,” said Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting at the Mortgage Bankers Association, in the trade group’s application report.

FHA loans are more popular with first-time buyers because they have less onerous eligibility requirements in terms of down payments and credit scores than loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“The bottom line is that mortgage rates are on course to surpass 5%, a level not seen since February 2011, when the typical home in the U.S. was priced at just $166,000—less than half the price of today’s typical home,” said George Ratiu, manager of economic research at Realtor.com.

“For many American families, today’s mortgage rates are closing the door on being able to afford to buy a home this spring,” he added.

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1819 Hayden Bridge Rd, Springfield, OR 

Price: $395,000    Beds: 2    Baths: 1.0    Sq Ft: 1292

This cute ranch style home is in a convenient Hayden Bridge location & situated on .4 of an acre. Laminate & hardwood flooring throughout, family room w/ vaulted ceilings, gas fireplace & slider to the backyard. Bonus room in the backyard is perfect...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

Conditions with the housing market in Eugene and Springfield are changing rapidly.  The change in mortgage interest rates is leading the charge.  Rates have increased significantly over the past several weeks and this trend will most likely continue.  How far rate increases go is anyones guess right now.  My guess is that as long as inflation continues to soar, mortgage rates will continue to rise.  Even more concerning is the fact that the yield curve, which reflects bond rates has inverted and this indicates that we are either in the beginning of a recession or close to entering into one.  Mortgage rate increases make it harder for buyers to qualify for financing, so look for the return of ARM loans, which allow buyers to qualify for a lower rate that will be in place for a period at the beginning of their home loan and then adjust to a higher rate, typically 5-7 years down the road.  If lenders begin offering these Arm loans, it may take some of the heat off of the interest rates spikes down the road.  The following is an article from "realtor.com" that speaks to the current mortgage rate situation.

Mortgages rates keep climbing, and that poses a major challenge for families looking to score a deal during the busy spring home-buying season.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.67% for the week ending March 31, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday. That represents a one-fourth percentage point increase from the previous week.

This marks the highest level for mortgage rates since the end of 2018. Comparatively, at this time a year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged just 3.18%.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 20 basis points from the previous week to an average of 3.83%, and the 5-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage climbed 14 basis points to an average of 3.5%. One basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point, or 1% of 1%.

“We’re at rates that we thought we might see at the end of the year, and here we are, at end of March, already seeing that kind of a jump,” said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

To a large extent, the surge in mortgage rates over the last few weeks has mirrored movements in long-term bonds, including the 10-year Treasury. Those increases have come amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to hike short-term interest rates throughout the rest of this year as it attempts to curb high levels of inflation.

The speed at which mortgage rates have increased though, Fratantoni said, could be indicative of the market’s volatility. And home buyers shouldn’t necessarily assume that rates will only be moving upward from here on out.

“Given the speed of the increase we’re still not quite settled on whether this is volatility and you will see rates moving in both directions, or whether this is just a level shift and we will stay here at the higher level,” he said.

‘There’s a lot of capacity in the mortgage industry.’

Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist at U.S. Bank

In the coming weeks, the Fed will release the minutes of the March meeting of the committee that sets its interest-rate policy, and those notes will provide more clarity of the central bank’s intentions.

The good news for the housing market is that so far, home-buyer demand has held up in the face of skyrocketing mortgage rates, Frantantoni said. Data on mortgage applications from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that the number of applications for loans used to purchase homes has only slightly declined, as compared with a major downturn in the number of refinancing applications.

That’s a major shift for the mortgage industry. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, lenders were able to rely on a steady stream of refinances to keep their business afloat.

“Refinancing is now at a three-year low,” said Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist at U.S. Bank. “What that means is that there’s a lot of capacity in the mortgage industry.”

Many lenders are going to be looking to make up for the lost refinancing business. That provides them with “some impetus” not to raise rates as quickly as they might otherwise choose to, Kapfidze said.

It also underscores the importance for comparison shopping. “If you’re a borrower, you want to be very diligent in terms of comparing rates to see where you might find that advantage from a lender who maybe is trying to reduce the speed at which their business is shrinking,” Kapfidze said.

Have An Awesome Week!

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1699 N Terry St Spc 192, Eugene, OR 

Price: $149,900    Beds: 3    Baths: 2.0    Sq Ft: 1456

Every part of this home has been beautifully and tastefully upgraded and updated. New paint inside and out, quartz counter tops, new appliances, new luxury vinyl flooring, new lighting, new HVAC, new carpet and new landscaping and newer roof. Beauti...View this property >> 

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!