Did you know that at 3.13% (30 year), interest rates are lower than they have been since 1971 (as reported by Freddie Mac )? I mean we are in truly amazing times! Buyers are out in full force (20% higher than last year at this time) trying to find a better home after realizing during the quarantine that theirs is not the perfect setup. Mortgage applications have reached their highest volume in more than 11 years. Wisely, buyers are taking advantage of these lower interest rates.
The pent-up demand and low supply is causing multiple offers on many of our home sales. On top of this, the sellers are hesitant to list now with COVID 19, so we are more than short of inventory. To make matters worse, builders are having the time of their lives with trying to build under the new rules of social distancing during construction, many subs not working, suppliers’ factories shut down, supplier delivery trucks not operating at full capacity, and so many of the supplies coming from Georgia where they were shut down due to protests!
The number of homeowners requiring mortgage relief has dropped for the 3rd week in a row. Even though 25% of the population filed for unemployment, there were only 9% of loans in forbearance, (where homeowners have at least 3 months delay in making mortgage payments) at its peak in May. Experts are not as worried about this recession causing excessive foreclosures as, unlike previously, sellers have more equity, which gives banks more options to work with them (Data Source).