Things Are Looking Good For 2021

The new year had some good news for us as mortgage credit availability increased to start the year according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (Mortgage Bankers Association)

  • The Total index rose by 2 points to 124.6 in January
  • The Conventional index increased 4.8%
  • The Conforming index rose by 7.7%

Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting, said in a statement, “The growth in credit availability in January coincides with a housing market that is poised for a strong start to the year. Improvements were driven by the conventional segment of the mortgage market…”

The recent NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index found that record-low mortgage rates offset record-high home prices to keep housing affordability steady in the fourth quarter of 2020. (NAHB)

  • The median home price jumped to an all-time high of $320,000 in Q4. This broke the previous record set in Q3 of $313,000.
  • Rising prices were offset by the average mortgage rates falling 20 basis points to a record low of 2.85% in Q4.

Mortgage rates, according to The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, were flat last week at 2.73%. With rates near the bottom and credit availability up 2021 is picking up right where 2020 left off. The only real speed bump is housing inventory which continues to remain at all-time lows. However, with record asking prices we could see more people get off the sideline and think about listing their home.