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The U.S. homeownership rate fell to the lowest in more than 50 years as rising prices put buying out of reach for many renters.
The share of Americans who own their homes was 62.9% in the second quarter, the lowest since 1965, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report Thursday. It was the second straight quarterly decrease, down from 63.5% in the previous three months.
After drifting higher for nearly a month, mortgage rates retreated this week but remain within a tight band.
As the markets calmed, home loan rates stabilized. With several key economic reports coming up, volatility could return. An unexpected global event would also cause a jolt to rates. But it seems more likely that they will continue to hover about where they are.
Mortgage credit continues to tighten
The U.S. economy may be on the upswing, but your chances of securing a mortgage are not.
Mortgage rates moved solidly higher last week, but lenders saw no letup in loan demand.
Mortgage application volume rose 4 percent from the previous week. The Mortgage Bankers Association included an adjustment for the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Volume continues to lag last year, however, by 18 percent, mostly due to the falloff in loan refinances since rates shot up after the presidential election.
Overall housing production declined in January after an unusually robust reading in the multifamily sector in December, but economists were unfazed. “As we move forward in 2017, we can expect the multifamily sector to continue to stabilize and single-family production to move forward at a gradual but consistent pace,” says Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.
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The median price for a new single-family home reached a record high in May of $345,800, the Commerce Department reports. Buyers will be paying a huge premium for new construction, as new-home prices are now 16.8 percent higher than they were a year ago.
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The digital world is slowly creeping its way into mortgages, as more lenders start to unveil digital mortgage applications and boast a fully online digital mortgages.
Read MorePORT ORCHARD – Newly adopted city design standards for new and modified single family residences, duplexes and residential fences can be on the City of Port Orchard’s website.
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