June Closing Rates Highest in 8 Years

Closing rates for mortgage loans were at the highest level in June since Ellie Mae began collecting the data in 2011.  The company, in its June Origination Insight Report, said 76.8 percent of all loans closed, up from a rate of 75.6 percent the previous month. Closing rates on purchase loans hit 78.8 percent while the rate for refinances was 73.4 percent. Ellie Mae basis closing rates on applications submitted 90 days earlier, in this case in March. The rate for 30-year mortgages originated during June dropped to 4.40 percent from 4.52 percent in May, the sixth consecutive month that rates declined. The 30-year note rate for FHA loans decreased to 4.49 percent from 4.63 percent and the 30-year Conventional rate and VA rate each fell 11 basis points to 4.41 percent and 4.20 percent respectively.

NAR Reports Sharp Drop in International Home Purchases

There was a huge decline in foreign investment in U.S. real estate during the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2019.  The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said the reduction was evident in both the purchases of resident (i.e. recent immigrants) and non-resident foreign buyers and explained the drop as the result of slowing global economics and low U.S. housing inventories. NAR's annual Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate shows that international buyers bought $77.9 billion worth of U.S. existing homes between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019.  This is a 36 percent decrease from the 2018 report's survey's $121 billion in spending.  Non-resident foreign buyers accounted for $33.2 billion of U.S. existing-home sales, a 37 percent decline from the prior level of $53 billion and residents purchased $44.7 billion, down 34 percent from the $67.9 billion previous level. Global economic growth, which increased in 2016 to 2017, slowed to 3.6% in 2018 and is on pace to taper to 3.3% this year.

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June Construction Numbers Tried to Hang on, But Failed to Impress

The residential construction numbers in June were expected to come in largely in the same neighborhood as in May.  Analysts however got it only half right. While starts fell fractionally, permits took a dive, falling by 6.1 percent compared to the previous month. The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development said permits for residential construction were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,220,000 compared to a revised 1,299,000 in May.  May permits were originally reported at an annual rate of 1,295,000.  The June number put the year-over-year results down by 6.6 percent. Analysts polled by Econoday had expected an annual pace of 1,300,000 for permits. Their forecasts ranged from 1,252,000 to 1,300,000, missing the actual results completely.