May 7, 2020
Mortgage rates stayed at or near record lows for the fifth straight week and homeowners are taking advantage with refinance activity remaining high. Although purchase demand declined thirty-five percent year-over-year in mid-April, demand has improved modestly over the last three weeks.
Information provided by Freddie Mac.
While the initial unemployment insurance claims number was down from last week, claims remain at a high level with over 4.4 million people filing for the first time in the latest Department of Labor report. Weekly initial claims are likely to continue to decrease in coming weeks while still remaining significantly elevated. Mortgage rates have stabilized over the last few weeks at nearly three-quarters of a percent lower than a year ago, while showing activity nationwide has increased 39% in the last two weeks as agents and consumers are adapting to the new environment, including using virtual showings in many cases.
In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending April 25:
For the month of March:
All comparisons are to 2019
Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.
April 30, 2020
The size and depth of the secondary mortgage market is helping to keep rates at record lows. These low rates are driving higher refinance activity and have modestly helped improve purchase demand from their extremely low levels in mid-April. While many people are benefitting from low mortgage rates, it’s important to remember that not all people are able to take advantage of them given the current pandemic.
Information provided by Freddie Mac.
The Department of Labor’s initial jobless claims report released April 16th showed 5,245,000 new weekly claims, which is a decrease of nearly 1.4 million from last week. New initial claims are expected to continue to decline but still remain at high levels in the next few weeks. This week the Commerce Department reported new construction building permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.35 million in March, which is 5% higher than last year. However, that is expected to decline in April as the impact of COVID-19 is more fully realized.
In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending April 18:
For the month of March:
All comparisons are to 2019
Click here for the full Weekly Market Activity Report. From MAAR Market Data News.
April 23, 2020
Mortgage rates have stabilized over the last few weeks as the market searches for direction in the fog of economic data. While financial markets initially rallied on the news of Federal Reserve support and are improving due to the Senate’s passage of a new small business stimulus, we continue to see a deep economic contraction amidst uncertainty about the recovery formation.
Information provided by Freddie Mac.
