During the last quarter of 2023, homebuying finally started to pick back up. For a long period of time, the housing market appeared to be in a deep freeze like state, but with the spring of 2024, industry experts are hoping that things are starting to shift. Many industry experts are attributing this new burst in homebuying to a long-overdue acceptance of high mortgage rates.
From December of 2023 to January of 2024, homebuying increased by 3.1% according to the National Association of Realtors.
Supply pressures remain high, though, especially in some states, like Texas. The Lone Star state reportedly had one of the biggest gaps between the number of households who make an extremely low income and the number of available affordable homes. Around March of 2023, these numbers in Texas were abysmal. There was an average of 25 available rental units for every 100 extremely low-income households.
The current mortgage rates are also not helping the housing market recover. For years, homeowners have been waiting for mortgage rates to fall off, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. Instead, homebuyers are now simply accepting the ‘new normal’ mortgage rate that hovers around 7%.
Aside from supply pressure remaining high and the housing market supply being low, there are even more challenges that are preventing Americans from taking out traditional home loans. An increasing number of citizens are facing uncommon financial situations, like being self-employed or having high levels of debt. For that reason and others, more Texans are looking towards non-QM home loans as a solution.
Non-QM Home Loans: Is Getting One Right for You?
Unlike traditional home mortgages, non-QM home loans can provide funding for you even if you’re facing an unconventional financial situation. For instance, if you’re self-employed or have inconsistent streams of income due to the nature of your work, a traditional lender may not work with you, but a non-QM lender would be happy to find an option for you.
Non-QM home loans have more flexible underwriting standards, which means you can still qualify for a loan even if you have high levels of debt, you aren’t a U.S. citizen, or you don’t have a credit history yet. These lenders aren’t obligated to meet agency-standard documentation requirements, so you’re much more likely to get approved for this type of loan.
In the current housing market, non-QM loans are gaining traction. Since the average mortgage rates are already high at 7%, non-QM’s rates of an average of 8-12% aren’t that drastically different. Many more Texans are opting to pay the slightly higher interest rate in exchange for less stringent borrowing requirements, lower down payments, and greater flexibility.
Are you interested in learning more? Are you curious as to whether you could qualify for one of our Non-QM Home Loan products? Check out our non-QM home loan options to see if we have a solution that works for your needs. If you need more help, then give us a call at (800) 413-0240.
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