Volume 149 | August 3, 2023

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.

From the General

Counsel's Desk

Housing Market 2023:

4 Predictions for August, According to Experts

The homeownership dream has been a difficult one to achieve for many Americans in recent months. And so far, in 2023, a combination of low inventory, high mortgage rates and inflation has continued to leave many potential homebuyers on the sidelines.

But what will be the conditions for August and will the housing market ease off a bit?

“Peering into my crystal ball, I see the trends from July continuing into August,” said James Allen, founder of Billpin.com . “The housing market is like a game of musical chairs right now. The music’s tempo has slowed, but there are fewer chairs to grab when it stops. Active listings are down by 60% year-over-year, creating a tight inventory and pushing median list prices up to $1.2 million, a 3% increase from last year. So, if these trends hold steady, August 2023 could look like a high-stakes round of musical chairs.”

Challenges Remain for Buyers and Sellers

as Market Avoids Crash

After record-breaking pandemic-era speed and price growth during 2021 and 2022, the housing market has largely settled down and avoided a crash in prices, but certain challenges remain. 

According to a new report by Zillow, home values have returned to growing at pre-pandemic rates, a trend that Zillow expects to continue; rent has also returned to an acceptable growth level. Buyers are still finding a costly and competitive market, but calmer, making it easier to plan and budget for. 

Ranking the Nation’s Most

“House Poor” Cities

Through an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, researchers have ranked the nation’s most “house poor” cities where many homeowners find themselves stuck in homes they cannot afford. Homeowners who are spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs are considered “house poor.”

According to the study, these cost-burdened homeowners have found themselves facing budget-busting housing expenses, including monthly mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and utilities.

The Federal Housing Administration has released a long awaited proposal that would change borrower contact requirements for mortgage companies.

Under the new proposal, which is aimed at updating the Department of Housing and Urban Development's "face-to-face" requirements, mortgage servicers would be able to use online and remote communications, as they did during the pandemic, to fulfill outreach mandates.

The mortgage industry has been watching for the proposal since Julia Gordon, FHA commissioner and assistant secretary for housing, announced at the Mortgage Bankers Association's servicing conference earlier this year that the agency was planning to update the traditional in-person outreach requirements.

May mortgage delinquency rates match all-time low

May mortgage delinquency rates matched the all-time recorded low, according to CoreLogic’s loan performance insight for July 2023. Serious delinquencies followed the same trend, said Molly Boesel, CoreLogic principal economist.

“Furthermore, the rate of mortgages that were six months or more past due, a measure that ballooned in 2021, has receded to a level last observed in March 2020,” Boesel added.

Mortgage rates rise to 6.9%:

Could they climb even higher?

30-year fixed mortgage rates rose to nearly 7 percent. Why are rates increasing? Yahoo Finance Reporter Dani Romero joins the Live show to break down the reasons for the high rates and whether they will continue to increase.

• The recent spike in mortgage rates has created a so-called golden handcuff effect.
• Nearly 82% of homeowners feel “locked-in” by their existing low-rate mortgage, according to data from Realtor.com.
• In the meantime, the shortage of homes for sale is pushing up prices.