A new article from Bankrate highlights some of the housing reports that were released this past week, indicating a much healthier market materializing after a slower winter season.
Mortgage rates didn’t move much this week, but that did nothing to cool the housing fever that has emerged since the temperatures have warmed up across the country.
The volume of purchase applications this week increased by 5 percent from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That marks the fourth rise in five weeks and the highest level since June 2013. Overall, mortgage applications rose by 2.3 percent, with refinances up by 1 percent.
Sales of existing homes jumped 6.1 percent in March to an annual pace of 5.19 million units, the strongest month-over-month increase since December 2010 and the highest annual rate since September 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median price was up 5.1 percent to $212,100 from February.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s home value index also showed housing prices started improving in February with a 0.7 percent increase month-over-month and a 5.4 percent rise year-over-year.
