Mortgage Rates worsened this week as the price of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) continued their downward trend. Rates are down about 0.5% from this time last year.
Inflation – the Fed’s favorite measure of inflation is the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index and the BLS repor swhoed that inflation rose 0.7% in March, the majority due to rise in higher oil prices. Year over year inflation is up from 2.8% to 3.5%. The Core reading, which strips out food and energy prices, rose 0.3% and the year over year is up 3.2%.
Home Values – Cotality/Case Shiller released their monthly report which showed home values increased 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis. Year over year appreciation growth has slowed from 0.8% to 0.7%.
Rents – Apartment List released their rent report and it showed that new rents are down 1.7% year over year, the lowest since 2017. Vacancy rates declined marginally from 7.3% to 7.2% which is essentially all-time high since Apartment List started collecting data.
Mortgage Applications to purchase homes were essentially flat week over week. Year over year purchases are up 21% and refinance applications are up 51%.