Even for a top Federal Reserve official, this housing market has made the homebuying process extraordinarily difficult.
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Hello, LOs!
Even for a top Federal Reserve official, this housing market has made the homebuying process extraordinarily difficult.
"As we all know, a singular feature of the U.S. expansion since the COVID-19 recession has been the red-hot housing market," Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller said this morning. "Trust me, I know it is red hot because I am trying to buy a house here in Washington and the market is crazy."
Waller said that the Fed closely watches the housing market because it has a bearing on the central bank's dual mission of price stability and maximum employment. It makes up a large share of a "well-known inflation yardstick," the consumer price index, Waller said.
The Fed has been tracking trends in homeownership, household formation and affordability, and Waller said that despite the stunning increase in home prices over the past two years, he has not seen evidence that it has become more difficult for renters to become first-time buyers.
"The fraction of renters aged 20 to 45 who transitioned into home ownership last year was the highest since the Great Recession," he said.
Waller also noted that although the number of first-time homebuyers has risen, according to Census Bureau data, homeownership rates for Black and Hispanic families actually decreased in 2021.
LOs, have you noticed an uptick in first-time homebuyers in the past year? Do you find the process is more complicated for a first-time homebuyer than for someone who has already been through the process at least once before? Send a note to gkromrei@housingwire.com
The rollercoaster is still climbing. Mortgage rates have approached 4.5%, a level economists forecasted would not be reached until the tail end of 2022. And there's good reason to believe mortgage rates will be in the 5% range before too long.
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development is planning a new rulemaking that Tribal entities say could threaten national down payment assistance programs.
CarVal Investors, a global alternative investment manager and long-time player in the mortgage market, has launched a real estate mortgage investment conduit, that plans to work with loan originators around the country to develop and acquire innovative nonagency mortgage products.
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