Market Studies

According to Trulia, for the first time since July 2012, none of the 100 largest markets in May—anywhere in the United States—saw home prices rise more than 20 percent year-over-year. This is the first sign of sustainability in the housing market in years and is a welcome change from the hyper-rebounding that occurred in some markets—particularly in the West, where asking prices rose by as much as 30 percent from 2012 to 2013.

Recently, Dave Stevens, head of the Mortgage Bankers Association, revealed a shocking statistic—the GSEs denied 56 percent of African American mortgage applicants. Many, including Fannie Mae, responded that the MBA's numbers overestimated the denial rate for minorities. A new blog post from the Urban Institute commented that the MBA’s denial rate wasn't too high; rather, it was much too low.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA)Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a monthly gauge of credit access based on metrics and underwriting criteria from more than 85 lenders, increased 1.14 percent from April to May, reading 115.1 in the latest measure.

In its latest survey results, Freddie Mac recorded the average 30-year fixed rate at 4.14 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending June 5, up from last week's average 4.12 percent. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.91 percent and rising.

Among the 36 million people who moved between 2012 and 2013, a new study from the United States Census Bureau found that the most important reason to move was to find a new/better home or apartment. The study reported that 8 percent cited a desire for cheaper housing, while 5 percent said the most important reason for moving was to be closer to work or for an easier commute.

The First American Leading Markets Index (LMI) , a report released Thursday by the National Association of Home Builders showed that 56 of approximately 350 metro markets nationwide have returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity, as recorded before the recession. This is nine more metros than a year ago, suggesting that even though the lion's share of metros in the U.S. are still underperforming, more are coming back to stable ground.

CoreLogic released an analysis of residential properties in the first quarter of 2014, focusing specifically on homes with negative equity. The company found that more than 300,000 homes returned to positive equity in the quarter, bringing the total number of mortgaged residential properties with equity to more than 43 million.

According to a consumer survey conducted by Trulia, 60 percent of American adults age 18–34 say a lack of savings, poor credit, and severe debt stand between them and homeownership. As a result, 50 percent would have to ask for help from their parents or grandparents to put together enough money to clear the initial hurdle of making a down payment.

In a blog post, RealtyTrac VP Daren Blomquist analyzed data from the company's newly created and interactive, county-level heat map, which shows the returns on home flipping over the last 12 months in 1,050 counties nationwide. He found that although flipping was down nationally in the first quarter of 2014 compared to a year ago, flippers are making bigger profits per flip.

Credit Unions continued to grow during the first quarter of 2014, although higher interest rates slowed mortgage originations, according to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The group found that total first mortgage real estate loans reached $272.6 billion, up 9.7 percent from Q1 2013.