Slight Rate Drop Drives Mortgage Application Activity Upward After Weeks of Declines

While mortgage rates remain elevated, a slight retreat this past week drove home-purchase application activity up for the first time in several weeks.  The latest Market Composite Index from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)—its measure of mortgage loan activity volume and includes purchases an

Where Is Housing Affordability Improving?

Key Takeaways Housing affordability is improving in most U.S. cities, led by San Jose, Seattle, and Oxnard, CA. Costs are falling the fastest in pricey coastal metros, as well as some Sun Belt markets that overheated during the pandemic. Nationwide, affordability has been slowly increasing since 202

They Just Built Their Dream Home on Cape Cod—Now the State Will Tear It Down

Last summer, Marc and Joan Hendel were among the owners of 13 homes Massachusetts planned to seize by eminent domain to make way for the new Sagamore Bridge. Now, most of those homes belong to the state. By April of this year, Massachusetts had taken 11 of the 13 properties, including the Hendels' n

Mortgage Applications Rise After Hope of Iran Peace Deal Drove Brief Dip in Rates

Mortgage applications to purchase and refinance a home both rose last week, when hopes of a deal to end the Iran war drove a brief dip in mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. For the week ending Aug. 7, MBA's Market Composite Index—a measure of total mortgage loan applicati