June 2022 - Happening Around Town

The Federal Reserve, after chasing inflation for the better part of a year, will look ahead as far as 2025 in new projections this week that will show more fully the depth and length of the economic “pain” its policymakers expect to be needed to stop the current surge in prices.The tale so far is not a pretty one. The pace of price increases, which by the Fed’s preferred measure are running at more than three times its 2% target, have hardly budged in the face of the most [...]

 If you are thinking of buying a home, you may be hoping for a market crash. Home prices rose rapidly during the pandemic and mortgage interest rates have also been rising this year, so it may feel difficult to purchase a property under current conditions. But, if a crash happened and prices plummeted, houses would become more affordable. While some people believe a crash may be coming because they fear the real estate market became a bubble due to record low interest rates during COVID-19 [...]

Buying an older home and need help with energy-efficient windows, HVAC upgrade, etc? when team up with Rojo Mortgage Team at UWL we can help you accomplish this.When utilizing the Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) program on an FHA loan, the buyer not only gets energy-efficient windows, HVAC systems, solar electric systems, and cool roofs, but they also qualify for tax credits and rebates thru the new climate change legislation signed into law this month.Help your new buyers or those refinancing, [...]

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 5.65% from 5.45%."Last week's purchase results varied, with conventional applications declining 2% and government applications increasing 4%, which is potentially a sign of more first-time homebuyer activity," said Joel Kan, an MBA economist. Mortgage demand continues to weaken, still right around a 22-year low, but there was a sign in the weekly numbers that fi [...]

U.S. equities were mixed on the week as a blockbuster jobs report had investors bracing for the Federal Reserve to raise rates sharply at its next meeting.The S&P 500 index rose 0.4 percent to close at 4,145 in the five-day period for a third straight week of gains. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.1 percent on the week and the Nasdaq gained 2.2 percent.Employers added 528,000 jobs in July — far more than economists had estimated — and the unemployment rate dropped to mat [...]

Several factors affect how mortgage rates are determined today, but you can only control one aspect: the personal factors. Lenders look at your qualifying factors to determine your risk level. The better your qualifying factors, the better the interest rate they’ll offer. But it all starts with the current market rates, so you may wonder how the market affects interest rates. Mortgage rates are affected by the overall economy. When the economic outlook is good, rates tend to inc [...]

After underestimating the worst inflation outbreak in decades, central banks are now driving their economies headlong toward recession in order to tame prices. For now, central banks across many advanced and emerging economies have little option but to keep on hiking in the face of inflation that has yet to peak. Bloomberg Economics sees global inflation edging up from 9% year-on-year in the second quarter to 9.3% in the third quarter before slipping back to a still uncomfortable 8.5% by year e [...]

Inflation continued to heat up in June, hitting a fresh pandemic peak that keeps the Federal Reserve geared for another big interest-rate hike later this month, economists project.The consumer price index probably increased 8.8% from a year earlier, marking the largest jump since 1981, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Compared to May, the widely followed gauge is seen climbing 1.1%, marking the third month in the last four that inflation has advanced at least The ac [...]

As people realize their needs are changing, some are turning to luxury housing to find their dream home. Investopedia helps define what pushes a home into this category. In a recent article , they point out that a luxury home isn’t only defined by its price. Location is also an important factor. It could be a condo at a desirable city address, a spacious home on the water, or one with access to luxury activities like arts and entertainment, high-end shopping and dining, and more. The home itself will also boast some of the finest features available. According to the Luxury Market Report from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing , there’s been a substantial increase in how many buyers are purchasing luxury homes over the past two years. It says: “. . . North America recorded the fastest growth of demand during the first year of the pandemic. Also, demand has . . . consistently increased, and even in April 2022, we saw a higher volume of sales compared to 2021. ” If you own a luxury home, it could be a great time to list your house today while demand is so high. But first, let’s understand where the demand is coming from. What’s Driving the Heightened Buyer Demand for High-End Homes? The same report says more people have reached a certain net-worth threshold, and that’s contributing to the increased interest in luxury housing: “In 2020, we saw a 2.2% growth in the number of individuals with wealth of over $5 million in net value, but in 2021 that number grew by an outstanding 19.8%. This total increase has resulted in the introduction of over 660,000 new individuals into the high net-worth bracket, which, combined with the existing affluent looking to both diversify and add new properties to their portfolio, provides a true insight into why the demand for luxury properties skyrocketed during 2021 and into 2022 .” So, if you’re looking to make changes to your real estate portfolio or are looking to sell your current house, it may be a great time to list and benefit from the high demand for luxury homes today. Bottom Line If you own a luxury home and want to know how strong demand is in your area, let's connect so you can capitalize on current market conditions while buyer demand for upscale homes is so high.