Commentary

“The balance of power in the rental market is tipping back in tenants’ favor as supply catches up with demand. That’s easing affordability challenges and giving renters a little wiggle room to negotiate in some areas,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr.

“Higher mortgage rates, record levels of home price appreciation, constrained housing inventories, and economic inflation are challenging for both lenders and borrowers,” said Paul Doman, President and CEO of Accurate Group.

The Spring Legal League Summit, hosted by Five Star Institute, featured two days of classes, discussions, and networking, followed by a trip to a Texas Rangers Game.

“Even with high mortgage rates and reduced credit availability, the lack of for-sale inventory continues to be the biggest hurdle to more home purchase growth this year,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s VP and Deputy Chief Economist.

"Generally speaking, home prices are lower in expensive markets and higher in affordable markets, implying greater mortgage rate sensitivity for high-priced homes," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

However, in good news for buyers, mortgage rates averaged 6.38% in April, a full 17 basis points lower than was reported in March.

The Home Purchase Sentiment Index published monthly by Fannie Mae reported yet another increase to its highest level since May 2022, mainly due to greater consumer optimism about mortgage rates.

A majority (63%) of agents and brokers said promoting energy efficiency in listings is a valuable tactic to sell a home.

According to new research from Redfin, the historic drop in active listings due to the “lock-in” effect is bringing back the pandemic trend of bidding wars as homeseekers compete for a shrinking share of homes.

For the tenth time, the Federal Reserve raised the nominal interest rate—this time by 25 basis points. Click through for comments from the Fed and other industry leaders.