“The good news is that the economy and incomes continue to grow at a solid pace, but the housing market remains fraught with significant affordability constraints,” Khater said in the report. “As a result, purchase demand remains at a three-decade low.”
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, purchase loan applications remain almost 20% behind last year’s rate.
Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, commented: “Mortgage rates persistently over 7% appear to be deepening the malaise consumers feel about the home purchase market. In fact, high mortgage rates surpassed high home prices as the top reason why consumers think it’s a bad time to buy a home, a survey first. Notably, the share of consumers expressing pessimism about homebuying conditions hit a new survey high in September, with 84% now indicating that it’s a bad time to buy a home.
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Source: mpamag.com