February

Consumer Sentiment Continues to Warm in February

Consumers’ feelings continue to thaw toward the economy this winter, according to the latest data from the University of Michigan. Consumer sentiment grew an astounding 0.8% in February, following a 13.1% leap in January and a sharp increase in December. “The fact that sentiment lost no ground this month suggests that consumers continue to feel… […]

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Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, February 1, 2024

Mortgage interest rates ticked down slightly this week to 6.63% from 6.69% the previous week, down considerably from October 2023. www.nar.realtor – Research

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Existing-Home Sales Surged 14.5% in February, Ending 12-Month Streak of Declines

Existing-Home Sales Surged 14.5% in February February 2023 saw the largest monthly existing-home sales rise since July 2020. All regions had month-over-month gains and year-over-year declines. Media Contact:  Troy Green 202-383-1042

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February 2023 Commercial Market Insights

Commercial real estate started the new year on a slow note with lower demand, smaller rent price gains, and higher vacancy rates. www.nar.realtor – Research

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Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, February 16, 2023

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage ticked up to 6.32% from 6.12%. www.nar.realtor – Research

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Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates: February 3, 2022

Mortgage rates remained unchanged from the previous week at 3.55%. Following the trend of the 10-year Treasury yield, rates took a pause from their recent rally. www.nar.realtor – Research

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Refis Constituted Three-Quarters of Freddie Mac’s February Volume

Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 17.7 percent in February compared to a 16.1 percent gain in January. The portfolio balance at the end of the period was $ 2.818 trillion compared to $ 2.777 trillion the prior month and $ 2.350 trillion a year […]

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Stark Contrast: Refi Records in February vs Interest Rate Carnage Since Then

Despite your thoughts on the term “fake news,” we have to talk about it in the context of mortgage rates . It’s highly pertinent, even if deception is far from the intention. Thursday is a big day for mortgage rate news because that’s when Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey is published. Why does that […]

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Refinance Activity Broke an Almost 9-Year Record in February

It hasn’t exactly been a scramble, but homeowners have stepped up their refinancing activity over the last two months as they saw interest rates begin a slow but steady march higher.  The February Origination Insights Report from ICE Mortgage Technology shows the refinancing share of all loans originated during the month moved 1 point higher […]

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South Carolina Real Estate in February: Sales Up 13% YoY, Inventory Down 46% YoY

Note: I’m posting data for many local markets around the U.S. The story is the same everywhere … inventory is at record lows. From the South Carolina Realtors for the entire state: Closed sales in February 2021 were 7,127, up 13.4% from 6,284 in February 2020. Active Listings in February 2021 were 14,253, down 46.3% […]

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