Kavita Kumari - Realtor

Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates
August 24, 2023Financing & Credit, Mortgage Financing By: Jessica Lautz

Mortgage rates jumped this week to 7.23% from 7.09% last week, the highest monthly mortgage payment since June 1, 2001, when they were 7.24%.
From June 1991 through May 2001, mortgage interest rates averaged 7.81%. Consumers may have felt comfortable taking on a mortgage in the 7% range. However, there’s a big difference between 22 years ago and today: home prices and inventory were more in line with wages and the population then. In June 2001, there were 2.11 million existing homes on the market. In data for July 2023, there were just 1.11 existing homes in the market.
The highest interest rate in 22 years translates into a monthly payment for the typical existing single-family home of $2,246 and a $1,948 payment for a condo. New home sales are on the rise while existing-home inventory is limited. However, the sales price is about $30,000 more than the typical existing home, which means a monthly mortgage payment of $2,379 for the typical new home. Until rates come down, this will hurt buyers’ opportunities to enter the market and the willingness of sellers to make a needed move.

Dr. Jessica Lautz
Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®.

Q2 2022 Housing Affordability Index

California housing affordability slides to lowest level in nearly 15 years in second-quarter 2022 as home prices set record highs and interest rates surge, C.A.R. reports

Sixteen percent of California households could afford to purchase the $883,370 median-priced home in the second quarter of 2022, down from 24 percent in first-quarter 2022 and down from 23 percent in second-quarter 2021.

A minimum annual income of $199,200 was needed to make monthly payments of $4,980, including principal, interest and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 5.39 percent interest rate.

One-fourth of California home buyers were able to purchase the $677,000 median-priced condo or townhome. A minimum annual income of $152,800 was required to make a monthly payment of $3,820.

Monthly Market Report June 2022