Morning Briefing: Mortgage applications up by double figures

Mortgage applications up by double figures… These are New York’s hottest boroughs right now… Iowa sales, prices have strongest quarter for 8 years…

Mortgage applications up by double figures
There was an 11.8 per cent increase in mortgage applications during the week ending October 16 according to the Mortgage Bankers’ Association. The Market Composite Index increased 11.8 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier and taking into consideration that Columbus Day holiday.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1 per cent; the Refinance Index increased 9 per cent; the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 16 per cent; the unadjusted Purchase Index increased 5 per cent compared with the previous week and was 9 per cent higher than the same week one year ago. 

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 59.5 per cent of total applications from 61.2 per cent the previous week; ARM share decreased to 6.9 per cent; FHA share increased to 14.3 per cent from 12.6 per cent; VA share increased to 12.7 per cent from 11.5 per cent; USDA share increased to 0.6 per cent from 0.5 per cent.
 
These are New York’s hottest boroughs right now
Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx are driving sales and price rises in New York City with double-digit growth in volume. The Real Estate Board of New York says that buyers are looking beyond Manhattan for deals, leading to the strong markets in the boroughs. To put the growth in context, overall NYC sales totaled $11.8 billion in the third quarter of 2015, up 8.5 per cent; in Manhattan sales totaled $6.28 billion, a 4.1 per cent decline; in Brooklyn the total was $2.62 billion, increasing 31.1 per cent; Queens increased by 25.1 per cent to a total of $2.0 billion.

Average sales prices across NYC declined 2 per cent to $888,000 while Manhattan’s decline was sharper at 7 per cent to $1.609 million. In contrast, Brooklyn’s average was up 18 per cent to $822,000; Queens increased 7 per cent to $495,000; and the Bronx saw a 9 per cent increase to an average of $389,000.
 
Iowa sales, prices have strongest quarter for 8 years
Home sales and prices in Iowa increased in September to seal the strongest quarter in 8 years. Figures from the Iowa Association of Realtors show that the median sale price rose 5.9 per cent year-over-year to $139,500. Home sales were up 4.8 per with 3,570 homes sold last month. Homes sold in the first 9 months of 2015 outpaced the same period last year by 7.9 per cent. The Iowa real estate market experienced the best third quarter in 8 years. Median sale price is up 5.1 per cent and home sales are up 5.2 per cent from the third quarter of 2014.