First-time and low-income homebuyers may have more difficulty purchasing a home due to a policy shift by the Federal Housing Administration, which insures federally-backed mortgage loans.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest data, mortgage application volume increased 8.9 percent over the previous week, and 5.7 percent annually.
The Federal Housing Administration recently informed lenders that it would be flagging more loans as high risk, as part of an overall effort to tighten the manual underwriting process.
Home-flipping tech startups like Opendoor, and expanding real estate platforms like Zillow are using algorithms to consolidate and streamline the homebuying and selling process into an all-in-one experience.
A new opinion piece claims that housing may be in for a boom period, following the Fed's new, dovish policy to halt interest rates hikes for 2019, and February's strong existing-home sales data.
Existing-home sales had one of the biggest monthly gains on record in February--up 11.8 percent, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
Following the recent Fed announcement that there will be no further rate hikes in 2019, the average rate for 30-year fixed home loans dropped from 4.40 to 4.34 percent, according to Mortgage News Daily.
While supply is ticking up, interest rates are down, and home value growth is slowing, homebuyers still face a major headwind in the spring market: a lack of affordability.
A recent Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision is being called a victory for the mortgage industry, as homeowners in non-judicial states now have less power to fight foreclosures.
