Chuck Barberini Real Estate

  The median down payment in the first quarter of 2024 was $26,000—an average of 13.6% down, according to Realtor.com’s latest down payment report. Based on its analysis of down payment trends at the national, state, and (top 100) metro levels, down payments have climbed three percentage points (roughly $12,000) from the first quarter of 2023. And while they’ve fallen from the record high set in Q3 2023,  down payments  are still well above pre-pandemic levels. Buyers put 87.8% more as a down payment in Q1 2024 ($26,400) than they did in Q1 2020 ($14,000). The current housing market’s overall unaffordability has an impact on who is buying homes right now. Given persistently high home prices and elevated mortgage rates, many of today’s purchasers are likely either high-earners or repeat buyers leveraging existing home equity to use as a down payment, and this may explain why down payments have dipped but remained relatively high.  Danielle Hale -  Realtor.com Chief Economist KEY TAKEAWA

  A new report from Redfin highlights a housing market situation that hasn’t happened in almost two years: home prices are not falling in any of the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas.  During the four weeks ending April 28, 2024, the median home sale price in all these metros increased year over year or stayed flat. The last time that happened was in July 2022.  Meanwhile, the national median sale price climbed 4.8% year over year to a near-record $383,188. And as mortgage rates remain above 7%, homeowners without a need to move who are locked into much lower rates are more likely to stay put.  For potential buyers, high home prices and mortgage rates have driven the median monthly housing payment up 15% year over year to a record $2,890. Metros driving that home price increase are mainly affluent urban hubs, with a pair of more affordable metros thrown in.  Metros with the biggest annual home price increases: Anaheim, CA (22.8%)  Detroit (14.9%) San Jose, CA (13.6%) West Palm Beach, F

  At the end of 2023, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted that three rate cuts were likely for 2024. Yet, leading up the the April 30- May 1 FOMC meeting, nobody was expecting the first cut to happen, as stubborn inflation has left the Fed in a holding pattern. Yesterday, it was announced that the Fed would continue to hold rates steady. During his FOMC press conference on May 1, 2024, Powell remarked that inflation is still too high, and the Fed needs more confidence that inflation is moving toward the 2% target before considering rate cuts. He also indicated that is unlikely the next policy move will be a rate hike—an announcement that led to a significant rally in major stock indexes. As the Fed looks for signs of cooling inflation, it is closely monitoring the labor market and is prepared to adjust its policies in response to any significant changes. The resilience of the job market is particularly important, as it could influence the timing of future rate adjustments. Additi