The latest rise in interest rates is already having impact on the on housing affordability. As rates rise, mortgage payments on new and existing home sales go up as well. Even though interest rates…
ThinkstockIn its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, home lending giant Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rates for fixed-rate loans have fallen for the first time in seven weeks. The interest rate on a 30-year…
ThinkstockThe National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in May rose 4.2% to 5.18 million from an unrevised total of 4.97 million in April. Sales…
ThinkstockThe home building sector has yet another initial public offering headed its way. A company called City Ventures, Inc. filed its paperwork on Tuesday with the SEC that will allow it to come public…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a drop of 3.3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index following a rise of 5% for the previous…
ThinkstockThe U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported this morning that new housing starts in May rose to an annual seasonally adjusted rate of 914,000, an increase of 6.8%…
ThinkstockThe National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo housing market index rose by eight points from 42 in May to 50 in June. A January reading of 47 had been the highest for the…
ThinkstockYesterday was a busy day for the board of directors at Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY). The REIT named a new chief executive officer, announced a deal to spend $2.65 billion to acquire another 645,000…
ThinkstockIn its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, home lending giant Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rates for fixed-rate loans have risen for the sixth consecutive week. The mortgage lender continues to believe that although…
ThinkstockIn the past 60 days, mortgage rates have moved up 60 basis points from 3.35% to near 4%. While that may seem like a large move, it is important to remember that rates are…
ThinkstockOverall, data about the real estate markets continues to be ambiguous. RealtyTrac reports that in May foreclosure starts were up 2% from April. What is not clear is whether this is because banks want…
ThinkstockRising home prices have floated 9.7 million homeowners with underwater mortgages back into a positive equity position in the past year. But 19.8% of all residential properties remained underwater at the end of the…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a rise of 5% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index following a decline of 11.5% for the previous…
Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE: NCT) is one of the harder to analyze mortgage-backed securities REITs that pays investors a high dividend yield. It is confusing because Newcastle manages senior housing properties but also derives much…
The recent rise in long-term interest rates is crushing the high dividend mortgage REIT sector, as investors are looking to pare down their exposure to riskier assets and assets that will be hurt in…