February seems to be a month of questions for homebuyers and homesellers. Nationally mortgage applications to purchase a home were unchanged for the week, despite strong showings at open houses in neighborhoods across the country. Buyers are out in force, but home prices are high and there is record low supply The past couple of days have shown zero new listings in the Rockland County MLS which is rare. Purchase applications were 8 percent higher that a year ago, a sign of increased demand even amid the low supply.
Mortgage rates pulled back a bit at the start of this week, after the big drop in the stock market sent investors running back to the bond market. Mortgage rates usually follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury. The yield was moving higher again Tuesday, when the stock market swung back to the positive. With another government shutdown looming who knows what interest rates and stock market will do.As I said February seems to be full of questions.