Heading for Homes

   Home sales, for both new and existing houses, continued to rise in May, according to the latest figures available. But as demand for housing rises, so do prices and mortgage rates, and that put a crimp in the number of loan applications made by hopeful buyers. Monetary policies by the Federal Reserve have tried to keep loan rates down, but demand for housing can counterbalance that somewhat.
   The Mortgage Bankers Association reported an 11.7 percent drop in loan applications for the week ended June 28 compared to a week earlier. Refinancing activity also is down as rates rise, the MBA said. The interest rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 4.58 percent, the MBA said, the highest since July 2011.
   The National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales rose to its highest level since 2006, and the NAR's chief economist estimated that the nationwide median price for an existing single-family home will rise more than 10 percent this year, as sales rise at almost the same rate.
   Price-wise, the nationwide median for a single-family home was estimated to reach $195,000, the NAR said. And the National Association of Home Builders, citing Census Bureau figures for May, said the median sales price for a new home was $263,900.
   These, of course, are nationwide figures, and do not apply to more expensive metropolitan living areas.
   
   All in all, the numbers indicate that sales are rising as families try to catch the wave of low mortgage rates before they are priced out of the market. Assuming, of course, there is job security and sufficient income to maintain the mortgage payments. But that's another story.