Kelly Burke at Compass Real Estate

Haven’t closed escrow yet but received THE SWEETEST note from my clients and their kiddos. Real Estate can be INSANE, but this is why we do it.

DID YOU KNOW? Homebuyer demand and an already strong refinance market pushed mortgage application volume up 4.1% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. Refinance application volume was up 5% for the week, and 122% higher than a year ago! Mortgage lending is set to reach $3.14 trillion this year, the highest since 2003, as the annual average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan falls to a record low of 3.2%.(Housingwire)

Sellers, we need you! Buyers are waiting! Mortgage rates reached a new all-time-low: The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.07%, down from 3.13% the week prior and 3.75% a year ago this time. That is a roughly $200 per month savings on a $500,000 mortgage.

HOUSING MARKET REBOUNDS After two consecutive months of decline, the index of pending home sales soared 44.3% in May, according to the National Assoc of Realtors. The monthly increase was the largest ever since the NAR started the index in January 2001. Compared with a year ago, contract signings were still down 5.1%, a sign of how steep the declines in March and April were. But every region saw a monthly increase in pending home sales, led by the West, up 56%. (Marketwatch)

HOUSING MARKET REBOUNDS After two consecutive months of decline, the index of pending home sales soared 44.3% in May, according to the National Assoc of Realtors. The monthly increase was the largest ever since the NAR started the index in January 2001. Compared with a year ago, contract signings were still down 5.1%, a sign of how steep the declines in March and April were. But every region saw a monthly increase in pending home sales, led by the West, up 56%. (Marketwatch)

According to the Federal Reserve FOMC statement, the Federal Reserve announced it will be keeping interest rates unchanged following its June meeting - leaving the Federal Funds rate at or near zero for the foreseeable future. While it expects the economic shocks of the coronavirus to continue to be felt throughout 2020, the Fed also maintained its commitment to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time.

According to the Black Knight/Urban Institute, when comparing Feb 2020 to Feb 2007 (as the Great Recession was just beginning), only 6.6% of home owners today have less than 10% equity in their homes. In 2007 that figure was more than DOUBLE at 14.5%. The average loan-to-value ratio is around 53% today, where it was about 62% in 2007. Almost 10% fewer homeowners have mortgages, too.

HOW IMPORTANT IS GOOD CREDIT? Coming this Tuesday, CHASE customers applying for a new mortgage will need a credit score of at least 700, and will be required to make a 20% down payment of the home’s value. The change highlights how banks are quickly shifting gears to respond to the U.S. economic outlook and stress in the housing market. (CNBC)

DID YOU KNOW? According to the NY Times, staff at Mount Sinai South Nassau, a hospital in Oceanside on Long Island, devised its own method for marking good news. Every time a patient infected with the coronavirus recovers and goes home, Here Comes the Sun is played on the public address system. By Thursday evening, the old Beatles number had been blasted overhead 245 times.

DID YOU KNOW? Redfin will cut 7% of its staff and furlough 41% of its agents, with a majority furloughed until Sept. 1, and the remaining laid off due to the Coronavirus. Zillow will slash expenses by 25% this year, freeze hiring across the company, cut nearly all marketing spend, and suspend home-buying through its Zillow Offers. (GW) But I am happy to report that independent contractors of well-funded brokerages are still helping buyers and sellers!

Deemed part of essential services, here’s how we’re showing vacant property: Opening appliances, cabinet doors and drawers so you don’t have to; offering disinfecting wipes, booties and even masks; no more than 2 people inside at a time; and observing all social distancing practices. Doing our best to keep us ALL safe. #pandemicprotocols

DID YOU KNOW? As expected, the Federal Reserve announced an emergency rate cut yesterday of half a percentage point in response to the growing economic threat from the coronavirus, the first such cut since December 2008 during the financial crisis. The Fed’s benchmark funds rate will now be targeted in a range between 1%-1.25%. The Fed had reduced the rate three times in 2019 for a total of 75 basis points. (CNBC)