Demand For Mortgages on the Rise
Mortgage application volume rose 2.8% earlier this month as potential homebuyers responded to a combined dip in mortgage rates and higher inventory.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.69% from 6.86%, with points falling to 0.67 from 0.70 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. These numbers were the lowest in over a month.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home jumped 6% for the week, the highest level since January, although they were 21% lower year-over-year. However, keep in mind that Thanksgiving fell on a different week this year than last.1
Housing Price Trends Pre- and Post-COVID
While median house pricing statistics may show which way prices are headed, they aren't always helpful, especially if your territory includes a metropolitan area that's not in step with national trends.
For example, the #1 market for house appreciation during the past four years (1Q 2020 vs 3Q 2024) is Knoxville, Tennessee. It's closely followed by two smaller towns: Hinesville, Georgia and Morristown, Tennessee. While both of these states offer a lower cost of living than many others, they're followed by the #4 market of Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey.
On the other side of the price spectrum, homes in Louisiana are the biggest overall losers, with seven out of 10 markets with tanking home values within the Pelican State.
Wondering why some areas are more popular, while others are suffering? This isn't always obvious, although one can guess that hurricane-shy buyers are avoiding Louisiana, especially cities near the coast. In addition, large areas of the state are within flood zones.2
Verbal Thinker? How to Create Social Media Your Way
If you have no problem selling your skills during a conversation, but get stuck when creating content for your social media, you may be a verbal thinker. People who excel in sales professions often share this trait. However, they sometimes have problems creating their social media posts on their own. If you're one of these, here are some tips to remember.
Capture your thoughts during conversations. Sometimes your best thinking happens when you're talking about business with others. Think about your last seller presentation, or a time when you were introducing yourself to others. What did you mention that you consider a strong point of yours, and would make a good social media message?
Ask a chatbot for help. Chances are, you're already using an online chatbot to draft messages. You can create an AI prompt to help you brainstorm a social media campaign. Or you can check out this list of LinkedIn prompts if you need inspiration.
Turn your notes into content. Editing text to create social content should be much easier than starting with an empty page. However, if you're still having some problems, you can leverage an AI chatbot to generate a draft for you or suggest what you should prioritize.3
Consumer Optimism Creeps Up
The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased by 0.4 points in November to 75. This represented a significant year-over-year rise in consumers' feelings and beliefs about home buying. However, these feelings are largely driven by optimism that mortgage rates will decrease, which suggests that the current interest rates haven't become the new normal.
Although only 23% of HPSI respondents view the present as a "good time to buy," this was an improvement from last year's 14%. The share of those believing it's a "good time to sell" also showed year-over-year growth.
However, Fannie reported that it didn't expect consumers' increased optimism to last, especially since mortgage rates may remain stubbornly high in 2025.4
Is There Any Such Thing as Too Much Curb Appeal?
An English homeowner, Mike Cutbill, never expected his recent renovation efforts would turn his Hampshire home into a favorite with selfie-snappers. However, his security camera has picked up everyone from passers-by to delivery drivers using his place for a background for selfies.
Mike's thoughts about the situation? "I'm not too fussed. I see the funny side to it. It's cheeky and rude but funny still."5
Sources: 1cnbc.com, 2eyeonhousing.org, 3buffer.com, 4nationalmortgageprofessional.com, 5uk.news.yahoo.com
Recent Comments