In recent weeks, the stock market in the United States has had some turmoil. This comes as a domino effect from the Chinese stock market, which has been shaken up by serious economic problems.
If you are considering buying or selling a home, you are probably following economic trends rather closely. However, do not think that these problems in the stock market indicate housing issues- in fact, the opposite is true.
According to Florida Realtors and the International Business Times, US homeowners are in fact capitalizing on a low stock market.
At the end of the week of Aug. 28, mortgage applications were up 11.3% from the week prior, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association report. Refinances hit their highest point since April.
“You had some borrowers looking to refinance who really took advantage of the short availability of very low rates,” says Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni. “You had a number of people following the market very closely.”
Low interest rates on 10-year U.S. Treasury Notes resulted from the stock market “shake-up” that was triggered by China’s economy. These treasury notes are a key benchmark for the mortgage-lending sector.
Some economic analysts assert that this state will not last. They warn that this surge in home-loan activity is only tied to a temporary volatile period in the stock market. They think this will especially change if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates as rumored.
However, other positive factors in the US economy mean that the housing market will still continue to show strength and growth.
“We do expect that improvement in the housing market to continue,” Fratantoni says. “Job growth and declining unemployment rate and wage growth – those are really the factors that we focus on.”
As you can see, the housing market, for a variety of economic factors, is currently doing well. The stock market issues are having a positive effect, but even if those do not last, the US economy is doing well enough despite it. Check out the amazing homes in Miami available today!