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Friday, February 2, 2024 • B3
THE GARDEN ISLAND
HOME PRICES JUMPED IN NOVEMBER Closely watched barometer says increase the largest in over a year Alex Veiga AP BUSINESS WRITER
U.S. mortgage rate eases to 6.63 percent Alex Veiga AP BUSINESS WRITER LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate eased this week, welcome news for prospective homebuyers as the spring homebuying season approaches. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.63 percent from 6.69 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.09 percent. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell this week, pulling the average rate down to 5.94 percent from 5.96 percent last week. A year ago it averaged 5.14 percent, Freddie Mac said. The cost of financing a home has been mostly easing in the weeks since the average rate on a 30-year mortgage hit 7.79 percent, the highest level since late 2000. So far this year, the weekly average has ranged between 6.60 percent and 6.69 percent. The decline in rates since their peak last fall has helped lower monthly mortgage payments, providing more financial breathing room for homebuyers facing rising prices and a shortage of homes for sale. The pullback in mortgage rates loosely tracks the moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. The yield has largely come down on hopes that inflation has cooled enough from its peak two summers ago for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates this year. Investors’ expectations for future inflation, global demand for U.S. Treasurys and what the Fed does with interest rates can influence rates on home loans. On Wednesday, the Fed left its main interest rate steady and made clear it “does not expect it will be appropriate” to cut rates “until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward” its goal of 2 percent. It also signaled it won’t likely begin cutting rates in March, something many traders on Wall Street had been betting on. Still, many economists are projecting that mortgage rates will continue heading lower this year, though forecasts generally have the average rate on a 30-year home loan hovering around 6 percent by the end of the year. “Mortgage rates have been stable for nearly two months, but with continued deceleration in inflation we expect rates to decline further,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. If rates keep easing that should help boost purchasing power for prospective homebuyers this spring, traditionally the busiest period for home sales. Elevated mortgage rates and a dearth of available homes have kept the U.S. housing market mired in a slump the past two years. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank to a nearly 30-year low last year, tumbling 18.7 percent from 2022. For now, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.55 percent.
LOS ANGELES — A closely watched housing market barometer shows U.S. home prices in November posted their biggest annual gain in more than a year. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index rose 5.1 percent over the 12 months ended in November. That’s the index’s fifth straight annual gain and the biggest since December 2022, according to data released this week. The jump “is pretty strong, given where mortgage rates have been and the impact on affordability,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic. U.S. home prices are now up 45 percent since March 2020, the early days of the pandemic. A tight supply of homes for sale nationally has kept upward pressure on home prices despite a severe housing market slump deepened by a sharp runup in mortgage rates last fall. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rate reached 7.79 percent in late October, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Since then, home loan borrowing costs have been mostly easing, though they remain well above the rock-bottom levels seen just three years ago. Elevated mortgage rates and
RICH PEDRONCELLI / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE
A “for sale” sign is posted in front of a home in Sacramento, Calif., on March 3, 2022. a dearth of available homes have kept the U.S. housing market mired in a slump the past two years. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank to a nearly 30-year low last year, tumbling 18.7 percent from 2022. While annual home price gains remain solid, the monthto-month changes in the latest index paint a less definitive picture of home price trends. Consider, the November reading was down 0.2 percent from October, marking the first
monthly decline in the home price index since January 2023. “Surging mortgage rates in late 2023 started to impact prices in November, which declined from the month before,” Hepp said. “That suggests pivoting of annual gains over the next few months.” CoreLogic forecasts that U.S. home prices will rise by an average of 3 percent this year. A version of the index that tracks the value of homes in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas showed that home prices in No-
vember increased in all but one of the metros in the index: Portland, Oregon. Among the biggest gainers: Detroit, where the index surged to an annual gain of 8.2 percent, and San Diego, where the index registered an 8 percent annual gain. Many economists are projecting that mortgage rates will head lower in 2024, though forecasts generally have the average rate on a 30-year home loan hovering around 6 percent by the end of the year.
Hawaiiana Management Company, Ltd. Serving Kauai’s Condo & Community Associations with award-winning service
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awaiiana currently serves over 60 residential and commercial associations on the Island of Kauai. Kauai native Sunshine Ruiz Hatto serves as Hawaiiana’s Vice President of Kauai Operations from its office at the Kukui Grove Executive Center in Lihue.
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Hawaiiana’s Kauai Properties: Alihi Lani Alii Kai at Hanalei Alii Kai II Aliomanu Estates Apopo Hale Emmalani Court Halaulani Condominium Hale Honu Halelani Village at Puhi Halemalu at Puhi Hanalei Bay Villas Hooluana Condo at Kohea Loa Hookena at Puhi Kahala at Poipu Kai Ka‘iulani of Princeville Kakela Makai Oceanview Kalaheo Pali Kai Kalihiwai Ridge Kamahana Kapaa Shore Kauai Beach Resort
Kauai Beach Resort Association Kawaihau Sports Villa K.G. Enterprises Condominium Kiahuna Plantation AOBO Kohea Loa Master Association Koloa Garden Apartments Kuhio Shores at Poipu Kukui‘ula Kulana Lae Nani Lihue Townhouse Makanui Manualoha Marriott’s Kauai Resort and Beach Club AOAO Nawiliwili Estates Paradise Court Pali Ke Kua Paliuli Pikake Pili Mai at Poipu
Plantation at Princeville Poipu Crater Poipu Kai Association Poipu Kai Racquet Club Poipu Kai Water Reclamation Poipu Kapili Poipu Sands Princeville II Community Association Princeville II Community Association - Queen Emma Bluff Princeville Makai Ranch at Halele‘a Princeville Paniolo Princeville Sealodge I
Puamana Puhi Industrial Park Pu‘u Po‘a Regency at Poipu Kai Regency Hule‘ia Regency Villas at Poipu Kai Sandpiper Village I Sealodge II The Villas at Poipu Kai Villas at Puali Villas of Kamali’i Villas on the Prince Waikomo Stream Villas Wailua Bay View Waipouli Beach Resort
For more information about Hawaiiana’s services, contact Sunshine Ruiz Hatto at 808-792-0515 or email sunshine@hmcmgt.com.