Dive Brief:
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Just over half of parents with children under the age of 18 believe their ability to save money is significantly impeded by their mortgage payment, while more than one-third of homeowners overall said mortgages are a significant drain on their savings capacity, according to Bankrate's February Money Pulse survey.
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The survey noted that 15% of Americans who do not already own a home are considering buying one this year, while 84% said they were not mulling a purchase. Millennials ages 27 to 36 years old and Gen-Xers account for the largest share of homebuyers today.
- Renters take a larger share of the market in the Northeast, with 43% of respondents in that region saying they are not yet ready for homeownership. That’s compared to the Midwest (36%), South (33%) and West (30%).
Dive Insight:
Mortgage rates have begun to creep higher over the past few months and are set to be the biggest concern for affordability in the housing market this year. Continued home-price growth has done little to allay those fears. CoreLogic forecast home prices to rise 4.7% from December 2016 to December 2017, following a 7.2% jump from a year earlier.
Zillow noted that in addition to rising mortgage rates, tight inventory conditions, particularly in the bottom tier of the market, as well as the changing housing needs of baby boomers, will determine the size and shape of the housing market this year.
Although mortgage rates are of primary concern, they are expected to close out 2017 around 4.75% for a conventional fixed 30-year arrangement, short of the 5.5% needed to slow housing activity in any significant way, according to Zillow. That these are up from below 4% just over a year ago could keep some of the first-time buyers originally expected to consider a home purchase this year to hold off.
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