NAHB’s latest Housing Trends Report found in the second quarter of this year 11% of Americans were considering buying a home within the next 12 months. In fact, almost half (49%) of those surveyed, reported that they are currently in the process of purchasing a home. This figure is a lot higher than reported this time last year.

The Housing Trends Report is put out by the National Home Builders Association’s Economics team. The team researches and measures prospective home buyers’ perceptions about the availability and affordability of homes for sale in their markets.”

As seen in the chart displayed, Millennials were the most likely to purchase a home in the next 12 months at 19% which was a little higher than a year ago at 17%. Gen Z reported 14%, Gen X came in at 12%, and Boomers were the least at 5%. Among regions across the country 13% planned to purchase a home in the next 12 months, 12% in the South, 10% in the Northeast and Midwest came in at only 9%.

Even with the COVID-19 crises home buying is still a must on many American’s to-do lists. Record low mortgage rates at 3.13% coupled with a recovery in the labor market with 4.8 million jobs and a low unemployment rate has boosted the housing market.

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the total mortgage application volume rose 4.1% the week of July 13th from the week before. Homebuyer demand is hotter than ever, especially with the record low mortgage rates.

“Mortgage applications increased last week despite mixed results from the various rates tracked in MBA’s survey,” said Joel Kan, an economist for the trade group. “The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose slightly to 3.20%, but some creditworthy borrowers are being offered rates even below 3%.”

There was a small increase to 3.20% in the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance of $510,400 or less. For loans with a 20% down payment points (including the origination fee) went up from 0.33 to 0.35. The average on the 30-year fixed mortgage was 88 basis points higher than it was at the end of June.

This small jump encouraged homebuyers to act which increased the refinance application volume up 5% for the week and 122% from the same week a year ago. According to the seasonally adjusted index data “the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 64.8% of total applications from 64.2% the previous week.”

Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 2% the week of July 13th and were reported at 19% higher than this time last year. That marked the ninth straight week of annual gains. According to Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan, close to 60% of all outstanding loan balances have around a half-percentage point incentive to refinance.

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