Consumer confidence in housing market dropping, data shows, but now is still a good time to refinance

Consumer confidence in the housing market appears to be lowering, according to a new report from housing data provider BuildFax.

"Housing activity continues to show signs of stabilizing as the pace of growth across key indicators has slowed in recent months," BuildFax Managing Director Jonathan Kanarek said. "The slight decline in remodel volume could suggest consumer confidence is waning amid [coronavirus] delta variant concerns and higher inflation. 

"These factors have led to historically high building material costs and labor shortages that may price consumers out of a home renovation," he said. "However, it’s too early to tell if consumers will completely curtail spend in the existing housing stock in the coming months."

As the housing market slows, there are still options for current homeowners to utilize and save money. Refinancing a mortgage, for example, can help homeowners save significantly on their monthly payments amid today’s low interest rates. Visit Credible to find your personalized interest rate and review loan terms to see how much you could save.

Increasing construction marks good news

One reason for low consumer confidence is low levels of housing supply, BuildFax explained. The report showed confidence levels have fallen to their lowest levels since February.

"While the pace of growth has decelerated in recent months, new construction activity still saw healthy increases in August—a positive sign to help alleviate the housing supply shortage," BuildFax said in its report. 

Single-family housing authorizations increased by 9.05% annually in August, and 0.29% from July, meaning builders are slowly increasing the number of homes they will be building.

Remodeling activity declined slightly for the first time since June 2020, but even amid rising prices, lower interest rates could help homeowners pay for their home improvement projects. Consider taking out a cash-out refinance using your current mortgage home equity to fund your home improvements and repairs. Visit Credible to get prequalified in minutes without affecting your credit score.

Is now a good time to refinance? Here's what you should know

Despite the waning confidence in the housing market, now is still a good time to refinance a mortgage loan, and some experts say it’s even still a good time to buy a home. That’s because interest rates remain at record lows. The current average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remains below the 3% mark, according to data from Freddie Mac.

Similarly, the average 15-year mortgage remains near record lows at 2.12%, and the five-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.51%, Freddie Mac data shows. If you are interested in taking out a mortgage with a lower rate to lower your monthly mortgage payments, visit Credible to compare multiple lenders at once and choose the loan option with the best rates for your new loan.

When annual percentage rates decline, borrowers will pay a lower monthly payment, even if the home’s value is high. A borrower can put more money toward the home price and any other improvements the lower the interest rate becomes. If you are interested in a mortgage refinance on your loan amount, contact Credible to speak to a home loan expert and get all your questions answered.

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