January 30th, 2019

Consumers looking to buy homes may be starting to catch a break. According to S&P’s CoreLogic Case-Schiller Indices report, the pace of house price growth is slowing. November’s home price appreciation slowed all the way down to just 0.1% month-over-month and 5.2% year-over-year. David Blitzer, the Chairman of the Index Committee, stated, “"Home prices are still rising, but more slowly than in recent months. The pace of price increases are being dampened by declining sales of existing homes and weaker affordability. Sales peaked in November 2017 and drifted down through 2018. Affordability reflects higher prices and increased mortgage rates through much of last year. Following a shift in Fed policy in December, mortgage rates backed off to about 4.45% from 4.95%.”

This is good news for your borrowers! Be sure to motivate any potential homebuyers to get out and look for homes because they may be able to catch a break over the coming months.