Steve Reed Benchmark Home Loans

Due in part to the rise in home prices over the past few years, tappable homeowner equity rose to its highest level ever in the second quarter of 2018. Data and analytics firm Black Knight, Inc. reports that tappable homeowner equity rose by $256 billion in the second quarter of 2018 to a total g...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that U.S. employers hired 201,000 new workers in August, above the 187,000 expected. However, June and July were revised lower by a total of 50,000 jobs. The big number within the report was the 0.4%t gain in wages from July to August, while year-over-year w...

Home loan rates were essentially unchanged in the latest week and remain near the low end when looking at rates going back 30 to 40 years. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose two basis points last week to 4.80%. In comparison, in the last week ...

Mortgage rates were essentially unchanged this week as they hover near the same levels for the past three weeks. Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at 4.52% for the week ended today with an average 0.5 in points and fees. Freddie Mac says that while sales and price growth...

Home prices continued to rise in June, but at a slightly slower pace than in the past. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index rose 6.3% from June 2017 to June 2018. This was slightly below the 6.4% expected and down from the 6.5% recorded in May. Month over month, prices rose 0.1% from May...

U.S. Stocks are higher to begin the week on news that the U.S. and Mexico are trying to reach a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 200 points in early trading. In addition, Fed Chair Powell said that gradual interest rate hikes will con...

The U.S. economy has been growing at a strong pace in 2018 with second quarter Gross Domestic Product at a robust 4.1%. This week, Target CEO said, "We're currently benefiting from a very strong consumer environment, perhaps the strongest I've seen in my career." Retailers have recently reported ...

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers reported strong earnings and forecasted solid guidance going forward in yesterday's corporate earnings release. Rising orders along with a healthy economy sent completed sales up 18% from a year earlier. The company reported earnings per share of $1.26, well above...

Home price gains continued in July though at a slightly slower pace than what the market has been seeing the past few years. Real estate brokerage Redfin reports that home prices rose 5.3% from July 2017 to July 2018 to a median price of $307,400. The rate of price gains has been declining for th...

After hitting a nine-month low in June, new home construction bounced back in July. Housing Starts improved to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.168 million units, up 0.9%from June's downwardly revised estimate of 1.158 million. However, from July 2017, Housing Starts were down 1.4%, likely ...