Housing Market: Reopened Homes

 As parts of the U.S. economy reopened in June, housing market sales of previously owned homes went up 16.4%. A sales slump of 9.7% in May reflected weaker contract signings during multi-state shutdowns in March and April, according to the National Association of Realtors.1   

Rising Refis

 Mortgage refinance originations aka “refis” surged in the first half of 2020 as a result of the low mortgage rate environment. Expect to see refis to stay at high levels for the full year as mortgage rates hold steady at all-time lows. Freddie Mac predicts refis will reach $1.9 trillion in 2020 then decline to $1.3 trillion in 2021. 2 Sources: 1Wall Street Journal; 4Freddie Mac