This article was originally published by a www.houzz.com . Read the Original article here. .
Mortgage application activity decreased month-over-month as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, declined 12.4% month-over-month in April on a seasonally adjusted basis. However, overall activity remained 14.2% higher than a year earlier. Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) also fell 12.4% month-over-month, while the ARM share of total applications was unchanged at 8.3%.
The average contract rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased four basis points (bps) to 6.41% as the conflict in Iran pushed yields higher. Nonetheless, the rate remained 39 bps lower than its level a year ago. Refinance applications fell sharply by 23.5% from March, while purchase applications held steady. Relative to April 2025, refinance and purchase activities were up 24.5% and 5.7%, respectively.
By loan type, applications for both adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) and fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) decreased approximately 12.4% month-over-month. On a year-over-year basis, FRM applications were up 13.9%, while ARM applications rose 13.2%. As of April 2026, ARMs applications, including both purchase and refinance loans, accounted for 8.3% of total applications on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, unchanged from the prior month and a year earlier. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs was 5.6% in April.
Loan sizes declined across all categories except purchase loans in April, edging the overall average loan size down 0.9% to $397,800. The average purchase loan size increased marginally by 0.9% to $454,800, while the average refinance loan size fell 7.1% to $326,000. The average ARM loan size declined 1.1% to $919,500.
This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .
After a strong rebound in May, consumer confidence resumed its downward trend in June. Consumers remain concerned about the economy and labor market amid ongoing uncertainty, especially around tariffs. This month’s decline erased almost half of last month’s sharp gain, suggesting continued volatility in consumer sentiment.
The Consumer Confidence Index, reported by the Conference Board, is a survey measuring how optimistic or pessimistic consumers feel about their financial situation. This index fell from 98.4 to 93.0 in June, the second lowest level since February of 2021. The Consumer Confidence Index consists of two components: how consumers feel about their present situation and their expected situation. In June, the Present Situation Index decreased 6.4 points from 135.5 to 129.1, the lowest since October 2024; and the Expectation Situation Index dropped 4.6 points from 73.6 to 69.0. This is the fifth consecutive month that the Expectation Index has been below 80, a threshold that often signals a recession within a year.
Consumers’ assessment of current business conditions turned negative in June. The share of respondents rating business conditions “good” decreased by 2.4 percentage points to 19.0%, while those claiming business conditions as “bad” rose by 1.6 percentage points to 15.3%. Meanwhile, consumers’ assessments of the labor market cooled somewhat in June. The share of respondents reporting that jobs were “plentiful” fell by 1.9 percentage points at 29.2%; meanwhile, those who saw jobs as “hard to get” decreased by only 0.3 percentage points to 18.1%.
Consumers were more pessimistic about the short-term outlook. The share of respondents expecting business conditions to improve fell from 19.9% to 16.7%, while those expecting business conditions to deteriorate declined from 25.4% to 24.0%. Similarly, expectations of employment over the next six months were more negative. The share of respondents expecting “more jobs” decreased by 3.2 percentage points to 15.4%, and those anticipating “fewer jobs” fell by 0.3 percentage points to 25.9%.
The Conference Board also reported the share of respondents planning to buy a home within six months. The share of respondents planning to buy a home fell slightly to 5.9% in June. Of those, respondents planning to buy a newly constructed home decreased to 0.2%, and those planning to buy an existing home dropped to 3.2%. The remaining 2.0% were planning to buy a home but were undecided between new or existing homes.
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This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .
Before Photo
“After” photos by Becky Rees Creative; staging by Catherine Heleniak
3. Modern Rustic With Japanese Influences
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Two doctors who like to relax outside
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Size: 590 square feet (55 square meters)
Designer and builder: Outdoor Dreams
Before: Two busy doctors loved relaxing outside at their Richmond, Virginia, home but were frustrated by their small patio and patchy lawn. They turned to landscape designer Greg Koehler, whom they found on Houzz, with a wish list that included a wood-burning fireplace, an outdoor kitchen, a lounge area and a beautiful view.
This article was originally published by a www.houzz.com . Read the Original article here. .
2. Aging Gracefully
Porch at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two young boys
Location: Los Altos, California
Architect: Kendra Rosenberg of KNR Design Studio
Contractor: Changras & Frey Construction
One of the homeowners grew up in this Northern California ranch house, and now she and her husband live here with their two young sons. To make it their own, they brought on designer Kendra Rosenberg for a down-to-the-studs whole-home and yard renovation — one that would support indoor-outdoor living and allow them to age in place comfortably after their boys have grown.
Seen here is the new front porch, designed for rocking away the afternoons. Cedar shingles for the siding and walnut slab for the front door bring rich natural beauty to the backdrop, set off by fresh white trim and porch posts. The patio surface is Connecticut bluestone, offering cool contrast. And just inside the two new windows is a bench that the homeowners’ two dogs can perch on to keep a lookout.
10 Tips for Creating a Garden for Aging in Place