Finance
Mortgage rates average 6.43% this week, the lowest in a year
The low employment report added to the drop in rates. (iStock)
Mortgage rates dipped significantly this week, dropping to the lowest level in more than a year, according to Freddie Mac. Rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.47%, down from 6.73% last week.
“Mortgage rates plunged this week to their lowest level in over a year following the likely overreaction to a less than favorable employment report and financial market turbulence for an economy that remains on solid footing,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said.
Last year at this time, the average interest rate for 30-year mortgages was 6.96%, signaling that rates are finally starting to come down closer to the 6% mark.
Rates for 15-year mortgages also took a large dive, dropping to 5.63% from 5.99%. Last year, rates were much higher, at 6.43%.
“The decline in mortgage rates does increase prospective homebuyers’ purchasing power and should begin to pique their interest in making a move,” Khater said. “Additionally, this drop in rates is already providing some existing homeowners the opportunity to refinance, with the refinance share of market mortgage applications reaching nearly 42%, the highest since March 2022.”
If you are ready to shop around for a home loan, consider using Credible to help you easily compare interest rates from multiple lenders in minutes.
THE AVERAGE DOWN PAYMENT FOR THE TYPICAL US HOME REACHES $127,750: ZILLOW
The election is influencing prospective buyers’ timeline
The upcoming presidential election is having an effect on the homebuying market, a Veteran Homebuying Report, conducted by Veteran United Home Loans, found. The report asked veterans, active-duty military members and civilians how the election informed their decision to buy or not buy homes.
About 60% of people who plan to buy a home in the next few years said the current election is a factor in their purchasing timeline. Nearly 38% plan to wait to buy until after the election
“The upcoming election is clearly weighing on the minds of prospective homebuyers,” said Chris Birk, Veterans United Home Loans vice president of mortgage insight. “Americans are considering the potential impacts of political changes on the economy and housing market, leading many to adjust their buying timelines accordingly.”
Many buyers are waiting to see what happens to the market after the outcome of the election has been determined. All survey respondents ranked inflation and housing affordability as their top two election issues, which are both issues that seriously affect the housing market.
A site like Credible can let you view multiple mortgage lenders and provide you with personalized rates within just minutes, all without impacting your credit.
MORTGAGE PAYMENTS SOAR FOR PROSPECTIVE HOMEOWNERS IN SWING STATES: REALTOR.COM
More homebuyers are moving to disaster-prone areas, citing low prices and politics
A few years ago, Americans were leaving disaster-prone states in the thousands. That trend has turned around, particularly in states like Texas and Florida. High-fire-risk counties, many of which are in Texas, saw over 63,000 people moving in rather than out in 2023, a Redfin study found.
High-flood counties also saw a large influx of over 16,000 people, with many of those people moving to Florida. Despite high insurance costs in states like Florida, there are other factors driving these moves.
“Ballooning insurance costs and intensifying natural disasters are driving thousands of Americans out of risky areas, but those people are quickly being replaced by other people for whom climate change isn’t the top concern,” Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa said.
“For a lot of Americans, things like cost of living and proximity to family take precedence over catastrophe risk, which can feel less immediate and more abstract,” de la Campa said. “But the cost-benefit calculus seems to be shifting in places like California and Florida, where skyrocketing home insurance costs and an uptick in high-profile disasters have had a tangible impact on residents and made national news.”
Florida accounted for over 50% of the migration to high-flood-risk areas in 2023. Although that’s high for Florida, it’s down slightly from 57.3% in 2022. Meanwhile, Texas had five out of the 10 high-fire-risk counties Americans moved to.
“The main climate issue in Houston is flooding, but the major factor driving me away is the heat,” Redfin Premier real estate agent Nicole Nodarse explained. “But a lot of people are still moving here because they like the low prices and the politics. Homeowners insurance is becoming a big deal, though; it’s much more expensive than it used to be, and a lot of people who installed 30-year roofs are now having to replace them after 15 years because some insurers won’t cover the home if the roof is older than that.”
You can explore your mortgage options in minutes by visiting Credible to compare rates and lenders.
MANY HOMES ARE SITTING STAGNANT ON THE MARKET, CAUSING MORE FREQUENT PRICE DROPS
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Tencent’s Honor of Kings mobile game drew a record 33,000 fans to watch a final competition in Beijing on Nov. 16, 2024.
CNBC | Evelyn Cheng
BEIJING — Chinese gaming giant Tencent is betting on a rise in female players worldwide for its mobile game Honor of Kings, which rolled out to the U.S. and other countries in June.
Already a hit in China, the game drew a record 33,000 fans to a Beijing stadium on Saturday to watch two teams compete for a $3 million grand prize.
Surprisingly, many in the crowd were young women, reflecting how interest in mobile games has broadened out from the stereotypical male player in the days of console and PC gaming.
Launched in China in November 2015, the game’s appeal lies in its easy learning curve and relatively short sessions of around 15 minutes. Anyone with a smartphone can play for free in real time, on the go.
“Honor of Kings became an important way for me to socialize,” said Tianyun Gao, according to CNBC’s translation of her spoken Mandarin. She started playing the game in 2017 as a sophomore in college and became a professional commentator for the game’s competitions a year later.
Gao, an English major from Shanghai, has moderated Honor of Kings’ competitions in two languages, including an international event held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in August. She said her hope is to see esports become as mainstream as traditional sports, noting that one of her inspirations is a Chinese soccer commentator.
Tencent ramped up its global expansion plans for Honor of Kings this year, with its subsidiary, Level Infinite, in February announcing a $15 million investment in developing the game’s tournament worldwide.
An international version of the game has been available since 2016 under different names such as Arena of Valor, but the latest global push for Honor of Kings began in 2022. The game didn’t reach the Middle East until earlier this year and only launched in the key markets of North America, Europe and Japan in June.
Less than a month later, the game topped 50 million downloads outside China, according to the company.
Overwhelmingly mobile-focused
Growth in gaming among women stems largely from their preference in playing on their smartphones, without having to invest in consoles and other technology.
“Nearly half of female players play only on mobile platforms so we have a huge addressable audience,” said Jackie Huang, head of the Honor of Kings global esports division within Tencent Games’ TiMi L1 Studio. “Women make up a significant part of our player base but we want to see this continue growing.”
He said that 45% of gamers globally are women, and that the gender composition of Honor of Kings’ users is “relatively balanced. “We strive to provide users, no matter how they identify, with [a] high quality gaming experience,” Huang said.
Gaming is Tencent’s biggest revenue driver, with international games accounting for around 28% of the its overall gaming business in the third quarter.
The company also owns Riot Games, a developer whose PC-based League of Legends has become one of the most popular names in global esports with its own annual competition. Honor of Kings, which claims 100 million players a day, uses a similar format with two teams of five players each.
Such multiplayer games are the second-most popular category for female gamers, behind puzzles, said Xiaofeng Zeng, China-based vice president at gaming research firm Niko Partners. His analysis found that 95% of women prefer mobile games.
If Honor of Kings can hold first place in China, and achieve that position overseas, then Tencent can generate half its revenue from international markets, Zeng said. He said the game’s top overseas markets by revenue are the U.S., India, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
And in the key market of Southeast Asia, Zeng said that due to a low base, female players are growing two to three times more quickly than male gamers. A newly branded Honor of Kings global championship was held last month in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, with Malaysian team Black Shrew Esports winning the $300,000 first prize.
Early stages
For now, no matter how popular Honor of Kings may be among women, the competitions remain dominated by men. The two teams competing in Beijing on Saturday consisted only of male players.
Huang pointed out that the global championship this year featured a female player from France’s Team Vitality, which is also managed and coached by women.
He attributed the Honor of King’s popularity among women to the game’s playable characters that are also female. Many of the figures, each with different powers, are based on Chinese historical or mythological figures.
In 2021, organizers of the Honor of Kings competition in China also launched a tournament for female players. This year’s womens finals are set to take place in December, with a prize of around $41,000 for the winning team.
“The pandemic was a large accelerator of females into the games space and we have continued to see increased engagement from female gamers,” said Chirag Ambwani, SVP, gaming and entertainment, at SensorTower, which focuses on mobile games.
Reasons include specialized and easy to access content, he said, adding that gaming participation grew overall.
As for Honor of Kings’ global expansion, Ambwani said SensorTower research showed “healthy growth,” with average revenue of more than $5 per user in the U.S. and Canada.
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