“The real estate market continues to grow and supports a stagnant economy that has lost strength in the last two months,” said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac.
He noted that record low mortgage rates have driven many potential buyers out. “Purchasing demand shows no real signs of decline towards next year,” he said.
But low rates also make it much harder to find those buyers.
“Buyers who are very excited to get a home during these holidays are likely to have difficulty, both in finding a home that marks all the boxes and in winning in a competitive market,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.
Still, he said, growing demand from buyers keeps home sales at their highest pace in more than 15 years.
Purchase requests have increased 26% from a year ago and refinancing is up 105% compared to that time last year, according to the Association of Mortgage Banks.
“The strength of the real estate market has been maintained until December,” said Joel Kan, associate vice president of MBA economic and industrial forecasting. “Applications to buy a home rose for the fourth time in five weeks as conventional and government market segments rose.”