Homebuyer mortgage demand drops further, as economic uncertainty roils the housing market

[DCPatriot]

Homebuyer mortgage demand drops further, as economic uncertainty roils the housing market

Diana Olick

Published Wed, Apr 30 2025 7:00 AM EDT

Key Points
* The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances decreased to 6.89% from 6.90%

* Even with rates much lower than a year ago, potential buyers are hitting pause.

* Applications to refinance a mortgage were still significantly higher than they were at this time last year.

Mortgage rates didn’t move much last week, but homebuyers continued to pull back amid concerns over the broader economy.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home dropped 4% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was just 3% higher than the same week one year ago, even though interest rates last year were considerably higher.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $806,500 or less, decreased to 6.89% from 6.90%, with points increasing to 0.67 from 0.66, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment. That rate is 40 basis points lower than the same week one year ago.


https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/30/homebuyer-mortgage-demand-drops-further-as-economic-uncertainty-roils-the-housing-market.html

[DCPatriot]

IMO, the main reason is because real estate prices are ridiculously over inflated.

Locally here in Montgomery County, Maryland I drive by new construction sites of plain brown-wrapper townhouses that are less that 18ft in width with signs touting "...from the HIGH $400K's"  No facade porticos...no brick...no garages...

They should be half that.

Home with 5,000sqft of LA (Living Area)  I sold for $610K less than a decade ago now has a market price of $1.4M

GTFOH!!!

[Free Vulcan]

Agree DC, even here in the hinterlands housing prices have gotten stupid. We are beyond a bubble thanks to Biden.

[DCPatriot]

Before prices fall, I fully expect them to introduce century-long amortizations or decade-long adjustable interest rates.

I've always felt that any fixed rate mortgage should be fully assumable under the initial interest rate.

After all...the primary lender factored in their 'yield' for a 30 year term at the beginning.

The national average used to be 5-1/2 years before people would move for one reason or another, providing mortgage lenders with "windfalls" because very little principle would be paid in the initial 10 years of a mortgage loan.

[DCPatriot]

Agree DC, even here in the hinterlands housing prices have gotten stupid. We are beyond a bubble thanks to Biden.

Prices are obscene!  LOL!  I keep thinking of that Black guy hollering "THE RENTS ARE TOO DAMN HIGH!!!"