Retailers rejoice: The holiday spending season is expected to be a lively one this year, and brick-and-mortar stores remain a critical component to the shopping season.ICSC, a retail real estate researcher, forecasts a 4.9% increase in holiday spending over last year, reaching an $832.3 billion total. The average adult is expected to spend $683 on holiday-related items.Ninety percent of adults say they plan to shop in retail locations for gifts a
More consumers are feeling richer and that’s fueling a stronger vacation home market, shows the National Association of REALTORS®’ newly released 2019 U.S. Vacation Home Counties Report.“As of 2018, household net worth reached an all-time high of $100.3 trillion—that’s nearly double from a decade ago when wealth declined during the recession,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Some of this tremendous growth in wealth, al
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that it is allocating $112 million to expand the supply of permanent affordable housing to low-income people with disabilities. Funding is available through the Section 811 program.About half of the new funding will go toward the development of new supportive housing for people with disabilities. About $37 million also will go toward rental assistance, which will be availabl
Central metros dominated realtor.com®’s rankings of top-performing housing markets for September, claiming nearly half of its 20 spots. For the third consecutive month, Fort Wayne, Ind., landed first on the list.Realtor.com® bases its monthly hottest market rankings on the metros that are seeing some of the quickest sales in the nation as well as those that are garnering the most views of listings at realtor.com.Thirteen of the
Certain home sales of $400,000 and below will no longer require an appraisal, under a new rule that takes effect today. Homes that qualify for the appraisal exemption can receive an evaluation instead.This is the first time in 25 years that federal regulators have increased the property value limit of the homes that require an appraisal as part of the selling process. Federal regulators cited price appreciation in residential real estate transact
Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law this week a measure that would cap rents throughout the state, a move that the real estate industry has warned could have dire long-term consequences.The law limits annual rent increases that landlords can enact on tenants in the state to 5% after inflation. The new limit will take effect in January.Lawmakers said the rent cap was driven by skyrocketing affordability in the state. Fifty-five percent of ren
Homeowners 62 and older are feeling richer thanks to homeownership. Senior housing wealth grew by 0.5%, or $32 billion, in the second quarter, on top of a cumulative $7.17 trillion reached in the first quarter of 2019, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association reports.The increase in senior homeowners’ wealth was mainly driven by an increase in home values.“Many retired and soon-to-be-retired Americans lack financial assets for a comf
Mortgage denials have fallen to the lowest rate since the financial crisis and dating back to 2004, according to data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Still, that doesn’t mean all borrowers on the path to homeownership will qualify for financing. Nearly one in 10 borrowers get denied for a mortgage, according to a new analysis from LendingTree.LendingTree researchers analyzed more than 10 million applications available through the Home Mo
Homeowners seem to have a love-hate relationship with their homeowners associations. They appreciate those that mow the lawn, manage neighborly disputes, offer amenities, and organize social events, but they don’t agree with all their rules.The number of Americans living in a community association has grown over the last 50 years from 10,000 communities in the 1970s to more than 300,000 as of 2016, Porch.com reports. (Those figures also include
Homebuyers looking for a purchase loan and homeowners who want to refinance are responding well to low mortgage rates. “While mortgage rates generally held steady this week, overall mortgage demand remained very strong, rising over 50% from a year ago thanks to increases in both refinance and purchase mortgage applications,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "As economic growth decelerates, it is clear that low mortgage rates wi
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