Morning Briefing: Renting less affordable, mortgages better option

Renting less affordable, mortgages better option… New home loan applications lower in July, up year-over-year… Williams sisters net $2.1 million for NYC apartment… Mortgage rates edge higher…

Renting less affordable, mortgages better option
Renting is becoming less affordable in many metros while mortgages remain affordable. New research from Zillow shows that in three quarters of major US markets rent is unaffordable, with renters paying at least 30 per cent of their income in rent. Mortgages in those same markets cost on average just 15 per cent of income.

In Denver and four California metros, both renters and buyers can expect to pay more of their income towards either rent or mortgage payments than in pre-bubble years. In hot San Jose, renters and buyers should each plan to put about 42 percent of their incomes towards housing.

Zillow data shows that even as mortgage rates increase; even if they reach 6 per cent in 2016 the average homeowner will pay 30 per cent or less of their income in more than 90 per cent of the metros Zillow analyzed.
 
New home loan applications lower in July, up year-over-year
Mortgage applications for new homes decreased by 4 per cent in July. "Mortgage applications to home builder subsidiaries for new homes declined at a rate in line with the slowdown observed in the overall purchase mortgage market," said Lynn Fisher of the Mortgage Bankers’ Association, "This was driven in part by an increase in interest rates relative to earlier in the spring. Nonetheless the number of builder applications was still up 15 percent compared to a year ago."

The MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 534,000 units in July 2015, based on data from the BAS. The seasonally adjusted estimate for July is an increase of 7.7 per cent from the June pace of 496,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimates that there were 44,000 new home sales in July 2015, a decrease of 2.2 per cent from 45,000 new home sales in June.
 
Williams sisters net $2.1 million for NYC apartment
Venus and Serena Williams have completed a real estate slam by selling their Midtown Manhattan loft for $2.1 million, a profit of $800,000, despite it not being completed. The home was bought a decade ago by the tennis stars but the renovation has not been finished reports the New York Post. Lawyer Ted Wells is the buyer.
 
Mortgage rates edge higher
Mortgage rates moved slightly higher in the last week according to the Freddie Mac mortgage market survey. 30-year FRM’s were up to 3.94 per cent from 3.91 per cent a week earlier; 15-year FRM’s increased to 3.17 per cent from 3.13 per cent; 5-year ARM’s were slightly lower at 2.93 per cent from 2.95 per cent; and 1-year ARM’s were up to 2.62 per cent from 2.54 per cent a week earlier.