S&P Dow Jones Indices released the Home Price Index for January 2017 today. The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 7.9%, slower than the 9.2% increase in December. House prices dropped to the lowest level in the first month of 2012. Five years later, house prices surpassed the pre-recession peak of 2006 and hit the highest level historically.
Along with the increases in national home prices, local home prices also increased in varying degrees in January. Figure 2 shows the annual growth rate of home prices for 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas.
Most of the 20 metro areas had positive home price appreciation, except Cleveland. Cleveland was the only one that had negative home price appreciation (-0.8%). The positive home price appreciation ranged from 5.2% to 22.6%. Seattle had the highest home price appreciation at 22.6%, followed by Chicago (16.5%) and Denver (14%). Miami had the lowest positive growth at 5.2%. Fifteen out of the 20 metro areas had the same or higher home price appreciation than the national level of 7.9%.
Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving higher for the seventh consecutive week.
News Facts
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.16 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending December 15, 2016, up from last week when it averaged 4.13 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.97 percent.
15-year FRM this week averaged 3.37 percent with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.36 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.22 percent.
Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following link for the Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.
Quote Attributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac.
“As was almost-universally expected, the FOMC closed the year with its one-and-only rate hike of 2016. The consensus of the committee points to more rate hikes in 2017. However, the experience of this year combined with the policy uncertainty that accompanies a new Administration suggests a wait-and-see outlook.
“This week’s mortgage rate survey was completed prior to the FOMC announcement. The 30-year mortgage rate rose 3 basis points on the week to 4.16 percent. The MBA’s Applications Survey posted drops in both refinance and purchase applications, registering the impact of recent mortgage rate increases. If rates continue their upward trend, expect mortgage activity to be significantly subdued in 2017.”
The last full day of the Mortgage Bankers Association annual conference is underway, and the latest revelation is increasing home prices may not be as threatening as many think.
Many studies, including today’s S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index, show that home prices gains are up more than 5% nationally. While that’s true, the story changes when economists bring in other factors.
In fact, when adjusting for inflation and the amount of purchase power provided by low interest rates, home prices actually dropped in the past 16 years, First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming said in an interview with HousingWire.
“Contrary to popular opinion, housing isn’t getting more expensive,” Fleming said. “In fact, on a purchasing-power adjusted basis, housing is becoming more affordable.”
“Interest rate declines, combined with meaningful gains in incomes, have provided the consumer with greater buying power, which increases housing affordability,” he said. “The growth in consumer house-buying power is actually outpacing the increases in nominal prices driven by remarkably tight inventories.”
The amount of purchasing power is determined by many economic factors including interest rates, inflation and household income.
Since July 2006, real home prices decreased 41% as of August. They did, however, increase 0.8% from July, but decreased 2.6% from August 2015. Real home prices decreased 20.7% from January 2000.
This chart shows that while home prices are near housing boom peaks, affordability is actually much better off:
Click to Enlarge
(Source: Standard & Poors, First American)
“At the moment, affordability is actually increasing in more markets than it is decreasing, including San Francisco, San Jose, New York, Washington and Boston,” Fleming said. “The conventional wisdom that these markets are over-valued does not account for the meaningful growth in consumer house-buying power across the majority of major metropolitan markets.”
However, an increase in interest rates could decrease the demand for housing and put the brakes on rising home prices, Fleming told HousingWire. It would decrease the buying power of consumers.
And yet, MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni still predicts double-digit increases in purchase mortgage originations in 2017, despite the possibility of a rate hike.
While a decrease in interest rates could also mean a decrease in purchasing power, according to Fleming it’s “not necessarily a bad thing.”
Led by the West, the Pending Home Sales Index increased 1.3% in July to the highest level since April, and increased 1.4% year-over-year. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), increased to 111.3 in July from a downwardly revised 109.9 in June.
The PHSI surged to 108.7 in the West from 101.3 in June. The Northeast and South increased by 0.8% in July, while the Midwest declined by 2.9%. Year-over-year, the PHSI increased 6.2% in the West, 1.1% in the Northeast and 0.4% in the South, but decreased 1.1% in the Midwest.
Although existing sales decreased 3.2% in July, there was a 2.5% increase in the West last month. The housing recovery is reaching the point in the cycle when new residential construction is adding smaller entry-level homes into inventory. Townhouse construction outpaced the rest of the single-family market during the second quarter of 2016. That trend toward smaller and less expensive new single-family construction has begun to improve affordability in the West, sparking momentum that suggests increasing sales among first-time buyers across a wider range of markets in 2016.
Weekly applications for U.S. mortgages to buy homes slipped to a six-month low even as interest rates on fixed-rate home loans fell, according to data from an industry group released on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage activity for home purchases, a leading indicator of housing sales, fell 4 percent in the week ended Aug. 12. It remained 10 percent higher than the comparable week a year earlier.
The average rate on “conforming” 30-year home mortgages, or loans with balances of $417,000 or less, dipped to 3.64 percent last week from 3.65 percent, the Washington-based group said.
The average 30-year rate touched 3.60 percent in the week ended July 8, which was the lowest since May 2013 and not far from the historic low of 3.47 percent struck in December 2012, according to MBA data.
Weekly mortgage activity on home purchases reached an eight-month peak in early June before a decline since even as 30-year mortgage rates hovered near their lowest in over three years.
On Tuesday, the Commerce Department said housing starts rose 2.1 percent to an annualized rate of 1.211 million units in July, which was a five-month high.
Applications for loans to refinance also fell last week.
MBA’s seasonally adjusted index on mortgage activity for refinancing decreased 4 percent from the prior week. In early July, it hit its highest level since June 2013.
Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates up slightly from last week, but still near three year lows.
News Facts
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.66 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending June 2, 2016, up from last week when it averaged 3.64 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.87 percent.
15-year FRM this week averaged 2.92 percent with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.89 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.08 percent.
Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following link for the Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.
Quote Attributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac.
Since jumping 11 basis points on May 18th, the 10-year Treasury yield has leveled-off around 1.85 percent. Mortgage rates continue to adjust to this new level with the 30-year fixed rate inching up another 2 basis points this week to 3.66 percent. Recent statements by the Fed appear to have persuaded the market that a rate hike may come sooner than later. However, the market is fickle, and Friday’s employment report has the potential to swing opinion 180 degrees in the other direction.
As far as famous artists go, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, born July 15, 1606, has to be among the most celebrated and well-known. He’s most revered for his oil-on-canvas paintings and his etchings completed during the Dutch golden age of painting in the 17th century. This period saw several Dutch artists practicing in a style of detailed realism.
A big chunk of Rembrandt’s work, including several famous self-portraits and arguably his most famous painting ever, The Night Watch (1642), was created over two decades while he lived in a central Amsterdam house. In celebration of the renowned master’s birthday, more than four centuries ago today, here’s a look at his former home.
In 1639, Rembrandt and his wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh, moved into a remodeled house in Amsterdam for which they paid 13,000 guilders, about $7,200 in today’s money, a huge sum at the time.
The home, which is now the Rembrandt House Museum, seen here, had been drastically remodeled in 1627 and 1628. During the remodel, the home gained a story, a new facade and a triangular corniced pediment — a feature that was the height of modernity at the time, according to the Rembrandt House Museum website. The museum says the remodel was probably spearheaded by Jacob van Campen, who later was the architect for Amsterdam’s town hall, now the Royal Palace, on Dam Square.
But the homeowner experience wasn’t kind to Rembrandt. Despite his sizable income, he couldn’t keep up with his mortgage payments, which eventually led to his bankruptcy, according to the museum. And it wasn’t just the mortgage payments. Rembrandt had fine tastes and reportedly spent more than he was bringing in.
During this time, he had a habit of buying old-master paintings and drawings, busts of Roman emperors and suits of Japanese armor, and built up a large collection of antiquities.
In 1656 the home was basically foreclosed on, and it and Rembrandt’s possessions, including his art collection, were sold off by his creditors. He then rented a small house until his death in 1669.
Between 1658 and 1911 the house was split in two and altered, according to the museum. The city of Amsterdam bought the dilapidated house, which would have been torn down had Rembrandt not famously lived there. A foundation took control in 1907.
One has to wonder, amid all the stress of owning a house and getting behind on payments, what this home meant to Rembrandt as a place of creativity, safety and nourishment, and how it might have influenced his work, for better or worse.
In the self-portrait shown here, which Rembrandt painted in 1640 shortly after moving into the house, he looks rather calm and confident, with perhaps just a hint of worry on his brow.
Just a few years after going bankrupt and losing his house, now living in a small rental home, he painted this self-portrait in 1659. To me he looks considerably aged, not just by time but by stress and perhaps even considerable loss.
A restoration of Rembrandt’s home was completed in 1911, though it looked nothing like when the Dutch painter lived there. In 1998 and ’99, the home was restored to look as it did during Rembrandt’s time there. The result of this meticulous restoration — headed by building historian Henk Zantkuijl, an expert in 17th-century houses — is seen in these photos. Ironically, Rembrandt’s bankruptcy inventory played a big role in aiding Zantkuijl’s restoration.
All of the best things are not necessarily shiny and new — think of the gorgeous patina on an antique chest, the gleam of old silver and the complex flavor of a really special aged bottle of wine. So why does it seem like we’ve been trending toward disposable furniture and away from well-made old stuff? It may be easy to fill a home quickly with goods from a chain store, but we may be missing out on some pretty spectacular benefits by going all-new. Here are five reasons to consider adding vintage pieces, antiques and good old hand-me-downs to your home, and to appreciate the old stuff you already have.
1. Old things are unique and make your home more personal. Yes, those glossy catalogs are gorgeous, and designed and styled to entice us and your neighbors and friends, too — meaning that many of our homes end up looking strikingly similar simply because we have ordered furniture and accessories from the same places. But when you hunt down something in an antiques store or at a flea market, chances are you won’t see the same thing in your friend’s home. Working old stuff into your rooms also forces you to get more creative, coming up with interesting ways of putting things together you never would have considered if you were shopping solely at one or two stores.
Style tip: Rethink heirlooms. This table from a Paris flea market is so interesting — and it may very well be that your children or grandchildren will covet it more than a traditional box of fancy china. And regardless of whether you have kids, wouldn’t it be nice to own things that are bound to keep or increase their value?
2. They preserve a slice of history. Whether what you have is a valuable antique or a fun vintage find, old stuff is bound to be wrapped up in a story. It could be the personal story of how you found the piece (wandering the aisles of a seaside flea market), a family tale about the person who gave it to you (your great-aunt who used to haul the brass bed outdoors on hot summer nights), or a larger historical story about the era when it was made (a creamer used on an old steamship during the golden age of travel).
You’ll see right away that the overall look and feel of the app has been brightened up with a white interface. The clean, modern feel lets you focus on the great photos and content in the app. On your phone, tap the Houzz logo in the top-left corner to view the menu.
Location: New York, N.Y. Price: $46,000,000 The Skinny: This 40-foot-wide Neoclassic French townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side possesses a level of grace, charm, and sophistication that only a residence custom-built for a woman who redesigned the White House Rose Garden for her friend Jacqueline Kennedy could achieve. Bunny Mellon (famed horticulturist, member of the International Best Dressed List, granddaughter of the inventor of Listerine) and her husband Paul (heir to the Mellon banking fortune, one of five national designated “Exemplars of Racing”) had the 11,000-square-foot, 14-room mansion built in 1965, to—and this is something of an understatement—exacting standards. The house, which features three exposures, and a garden with a reflecting pool, last sold in 2006 for $22.5M and now finds itself back on the market for $46M, because sure, why not. Thankfully, not much seems to have changed, save, perhaps, an updated kitchen, since the Mellons’ heyday.
