New data from real estate data firm Black Knight shows that residents of Southeastern New Hampshire are still raring to jump into the housing market, despite huge shortages in housing inventory.
Data the company released in its monthly Mortgage Monitor report shows mortgage rate locks rose 45.4 percent month-over month in Strafford and Rockingham counties along with Greater Boston, more than the 41 percent growth seen last March.
A large increase in rate locks – the result of a prospective homebuyer signing receiving preapproval from their mortgage lender – in any March is normal as buyers prepare to enter the spring housing market. March 2020 saw 68 percent month-over-month growth in Boston just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Black Knight said, and March 2019 saw 67 percent month-over-month growth.
But it’s noteworthy that this year’s increase is so similar to last year’s despite mortgage rates that are still higher than at any time since 2008.
“This continues to be an incredibly rate-sensitive housing market, and March’s rate lock activity perfectly illustrates this dynamic,” Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise research at Black Knight, said in a statement accompanying the latest data release. “In the wake of uncertainty in the banking sector and investors’ flight to the safe haven of U.S. Treasuries, rates came down roughly a quarter of a point. The result? Another quick surge in originations, particularly in the purchase market.”
Black Knight reported that the average loan amount preapproved in March in Greater Boston and southeastern New Hampshire was $543,684, with an average interest rate of 6.31 percent. The average borrower credit score was 742.24 and the average loan-to-value ratio was 27.93.
It’s possible local buyers and sellers may still find a market that’s more balanced than in prior years.
According to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, combined single-family and condominium inventory was up slightly year-over-year in March.
However, Black Knight found the total volume of rate locks in Greater Boston and southeastern New Hampshire was 54 percent below the volume seen in March 2022, and 30 percent below that seen in March 2019.
