Every Monday Amber Kovarik with Guild Mortgage and I spend 15 minutes (or less) talking about what is currently happening in the real estate market, title, and lending. We give a few key points to share without taking up too much time.
Today’s Big Takeaways:
- Cromford Market Index, the best leading market indicator we have, was a 145.8 yesterday. Above 100 is a seller’s market, below 100 is a buyer’s market.
- Tuesday 5/12 1st day of inventory decline since March 20
- Thursday 5/14 1st day of no CMI drop since March 20, it fell nearly 100 points in about 2 months. The past 3 weeks the drop has slowed but hasn’t stopped
- Saturday 5/16 we had our 1st CMI increase and our first demand increase from March 20
- The demand dropped nearly 28% in the past 2 months and is now increasing
- We need more inventory. We are still 45% below where we should be
- Prices remain stable
- 33 million people have filed for unemployment benefits, however (only) 26 million are receiving unemployment because 7 million are already back at work.
- 40% of the unemployed make less than $40K a year, it is unlikely that a large proportion were potential home buyers, which is why demand remains more stable
- In April 76% of people paid their mortgage and/or rent in full
- In May 69% of people paid their mortgage and/or rent in full
- On Thursday the CFPB, FHFA and HUD in a joint effort launched a website with info on payment assistance for both renters and borrowers outlined in the CARES Act: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgage-and-housing-assistance/
- Small business owners who received PPP loans are eligible for a home loan.
- Still no updated guidance on forbearance. There is optimism that this will be addressed soon. Because this is an issue: Simply inquiring about forbearance puts a borrower into forbearance and they will not be able to obtain a new loan until they have 12 months of consecutive payments after being placed in forbearance. Look for this to change as this is very detrimental for those who never end up missing a payment.
copyright 2020 by Sarah Perkins
Sarah Perkins is an award winning account executive and has been in title sales since 2004. As the Director of Industry Research & Senior Account Executive, Sarah’s role is to bring real estate transactions to Navi Title. Sarah supports her clients by helping them navigate the ever-changing real estate space through thorough research and understanding of current trends impacting today’s home buyers and sellers.