A Tale of Two Curves

Biggest weekly mortgage rate drop in a decade... K&A is prioritizing the "Smile" regions for home and building products marketing

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 4.06 percent to end the month of March... down 4.28 percent from the week prior. At the same time last year, the rate was 4.40 percent.

Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said “the economy continues to churn out jobs, which is great for housing demand.” He expects housing demand to continue to grow.

Green shoots? Housing market conditions are beginning to shift in favor of first-time home buyers. The value of entry-level homes, which rose 12.5 percent from 2017 to 2018, are up only 9.2 percent, year over year, in 2019. The inventory of entry-level homes, which had fallen for the past four years, increased 4.1 percent in February – the seventh consecutive month of increasing inventory. In other words, we’re beginning to see a trend toward lower home prices and more choices, which is a victory for those entering the housing market for the first time.

K&A clients are increasing regional marketing budgets to take advantage of improving confidence and accordingly, our brand teams are targeting metro DMA's with a strategic pattern of economic influence which we call "the smile".