Volume 198 | August 30, 2024

Guardian Asset Management

Weekly Newsletter

Guardian endeavors to provide you with the latest in housing, industry and market news from Washington D.C. and around the country. It is our goal as your industry partner to be informative, relative and topical.

General credit delinquencies up,

new accounts down in July

Both consumers and lenders are getting more "credit cautious" as late payments for loans, including mortgages, are markedly rising. 

The rate of borrowers 30-to-59 days past due on auto, credit card, mortgage and personal debt saw its largest monthly hike in over four years, according to Vantagescore's Credit Gauge report for July. That includes 0.96% of all mortgage borrowers in early-stage delinquencies last month, the second-highest mark this decade per the company. 

While industry reports have found some monthly delinquency increases, late payments for home loans remain near historic lows.

Vantagescore blamed a weaker employment environment and the weight of high interest rates for the setbacks. Consumers last month opened fewer accounts of any type than the same time last year, while mortgage originations remain muted since the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes in 2022. 

"Both lenders and consumers are becoming more credit cautious as many consumers de-leveraged and reduced credit utilization," said Susan Fahy, executive vice president and chief digital officer at Vantagescore, in a press release. 

Join Guardian and Covius

During the Five Star Conference in Dallas!

Tuesday, September 24th, 2024

What Home Buyers And Sellers Can Expect This Fall

The housing market is poised for a dynamic shift this fall, driven by recent declines in mortgage rates and the Federal Reserve’s anticipated rate cuts. This presents challenges for both buyers and sellers who want to time the market. Here’s what home buyers and sellers can expect in the coming months:

Is the housing market going to crash?

What the experts are saying

The U.S. housing market had finally started slowing in late 2022, and home prices seemed poised for a correction. But a strange thing happened on the way to the housing market crash: Home values started rising again. So much for the now-quaint notion that the post-pandemic “housing recession” would reverse some of the outsized price gains in homes.

Prices hit a new all-time high in June 2024, with the median sale price for an existing home reaching $426,900, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). July’s median price was slightly lower at $422,600, but was still the highest July median on record and marked 13 consecutive months of year-over-year jumps. (Seasonal fluctuations in home prices typically make late spring and early summer the highest-priced times of the year.)

In another reflection of ongoing increases, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index for May was up 5.9 percent from a year earlier, its third consecutive all-time high.

Homebuyers Must Earn Nearly $80,000 to Afford the Typical U.S. Starter Home, Just Shy of the All-Time High

Homebuyers need to earn roughly $80,000 to afford the median-priced starter home, up 4.4% from last summer and only about $500 below the all-time high. That makes starter homes just barely affordable to families earning the median U.S. income, and unaffordable to families earning less than the median income.

In half of the 50 most populous U.S. metros, a family earning the local median income can’t afford a starter home. The gap is biggest in Los Angeles and Anaheim, where a family needs to earn double the local median income to buy a starter home. 

There are a few bright spots: Starter home listings are up, and mortgage rates are coming down.

Living Costs in the U.S.: How State-by-State Variations Shape Housing, Healthcare, and Lifestyle Choices

The cost of living in the United States varies widely, with certain states exhibiting significantly higher expenses than others. This variation impacts everything from housing to healthcare, influencing where people choose to live and work.

Mortgage Rate Cuts Loom: Here's How to Know You Should Refinance

Homeowners, would-be buyers, and potential sellers are heaving a collective sigh of relief. The high rates that have been choking the housing market for the past few years might finally be easing. This month, average 30-year mortgage rates slipped below 6.5% for the first time in a year.

The Fed looks set to reduce the federal funds rate at its upcoming September meeting, which may cause mortgage rates to drop even further. But do rate cuts mean you should refinance? That depends on a lot of factors, including how much you might save, why you're refinancing, what closing costs you'll pay, and how long you plan to stay in the property.

The best town in the South to retire to, according to data—plus, see the rest of the top 50

Redfin analyzed condo/co-op HOA dues and sale prices on MLS listings in 43 of the most populous metropolitan areas. HOA dues are maintenance fees required by shared housing developments that go toward building repairs, operation costs, staff, amenities like pools and fitness centers, landscaping and more.

It’s common for HOA fees to increase over time as property prices increase, but that’s not what’s happening in Florida. Condo prices are actually falling in many parts of the Sunshine State, in part because HOA fees have surged so much. There are two primary reasons HOA dues are on the rise: