MarketWatch: Weekly Real Estate Update for Riverdale, Bronx – 4/8/2024 – 4/15/2024

Did You Know?

* It is tax filing day today….don’t forget!

* Let’s start today with some really good news…..Nationwide, homicides dropped around 20% in 133 cities from the beginning of the year through the end of March compared with the same period in 2023. Philadelphia (down 35%),  Columbus (down 58%!) and San Antonio (down 50%) saw the biggest number drops. Boston saw an 82% decline! New York was down 16%, Miami-Dade and Chicago were down 9%. (WSJ)

* These are the 14 USA states where homes are most affordable, based on the annual income needed to cover homeownership costs without spending more than 28% on housing.

Mississippi: $63,043
Ohio: $64,071
Arkansas: $64,714
Indiana: $65,143
Kentucky: $65,186
Iowa: $65,314
Oklahoma: $65,443
Michigan: $66,343
Missouri: $66,986
Louisiana: $67,886
Alabama: $69,514
Kansas: $72,343
North Dakota: $73,414
West Virginia: $74,957.

(CNBC)

Mortgage Rate Updates

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was at 6.88% as of April 19th, edging 6bps higher from the previous week to the highest level in one month, in line with the increase in long-dated Treasury yields in the period. In the corresponding period of the previous year, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.27%. “Mortgage rates have been drifting higher for most of the year due to sustained inflation and the reevaluation of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “While newly released inflation data from March continues to show a trend of very little movement, the financial market’s reaction paints a far different economic picture. Since inflation decelerated from 9% to 3% between June 2022 and June 2023, the annual growth rate of inflation has remained effectively flat, ranging from 3.1% to 3.7% and averaging 3.3%. The March estimate of 3.5% annual growth is in the middle of that range.”.

Source: Freddie Mac