Yo Adrian! Homebuyers Throwing in the Towel? Mortgage Rates Do the Rope-a-Dope!

Ain't Gonna Fly Now! Homebuyers Take a Beating

Yo Adrian! It's your favorite palooka Rocky here with the lowdown on the housing scene. Seems like folks are pullin' back like Apollo Creed when I started landin' punches. Applications for mortgages are down 4% last week and that's got me thinkin' maybe everyone's scared of gettin' knocked out by these prices. It's like Mickey always said 'Fear is like fire. If you don't control it it's gonna burn you up!' So what's burnin' up these potential homeowners? It's this whole economy see? It's punchin' everyone in the gut.

Rates Dancin' Like Apollo But No Championship Belt!

Now these mortgage rates they're playin' peek a boo. The average for a 30 year fixed you know for loans under $806,500 it's sittin' at 6.89%. Last year it was higher but still people ain't jumpin' in the ring. They expect that to change but when? It's like waitin' for the bell to ring for the next round you know? "Yo I can't believe it!" But the points went up a bit too so the house still has a cost! I am thinking to myself maybe they're waitin' for rates to go down more or maybe they're just tired of gettin' punched in the face by the economy. I don't know.

Rocky Knows Slow and Steady...But This Ain't a Turtle Race

This Joel Kan fella from the Mortgage Bankers Association he's sayin' it's all about the economy bein' shaky and the job market lookin' kinda weak. It's like when Mickey told me 'You're gonna have to go through hell worse than any nightmare you've ever dreamed. But when it's over I know you'll be the one standin'. You know what you gotta do. Now go get 'em Rocky!'. But people don't seem to wanna get it right now. The inventory is slowly increasing but still the market is a seller market.

Refinance? More Like Re Financial Mess!

Even refinin' that's down 4%! People aren't bitin' because they're waitin' for rates to take a dive they want to come from the top rope!. That means they're not gonna change their mortgage see? They're holdin' out. That means the average loan size for refinances went down too. It's all connected like me and Adrian or me and Apollo...in a weird sweaty punch filled way! It's like me and Paulie sometimes things go down and sometimes things can't get fixed at all.

The Waiting Game: Will Wednesday Be the Day?

So here we are waitin' for somethin' to happen. This week is gonna be a real slobberknocker with all sorts of economic reports comin' out. It all builds up to the big one on Friday: the employment report. Will the rates go up? Will they go down? It's like before a fight when you're starin' at your opponent tryin' to figure out what he's gonna do. All I can say is keep your guard up and maybe start shadow boxing at your house for the future!

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over! (But Maybe Pack a Lunch)

Look I ain't no fancy economist or nothin'. I'm just a guy from the neighborhood who's taken a few punches in his day. But I know this: Don't count yourself out even if things look tough. Keep trainin' keep savin' and keep hopin' for that chance to step into the ring and buy that dream house. Cause yo Adrian it ain't over 'til it's over! And maybe just maybe the market will stop doin' the rope a dope and give us all a break. One thing for sure is that "Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up."