Renters are struggling to catch a break. In seven of the largest U.S. cities, the average household would need to make at least six figures to comfortably afford the rent on a two-bedroom apartment, according to a new study by SmartAsset, a personal financial website. SmartAsset researchers looked at how much it takes to afford average rental rates in the nation’s 25 largest cities.Households that spend more than 30 percent of their incomes on
Smoking in a home can reduce that property’s resale value by up to 29 percent, according to realtor.com®. And home buyers who fall for a home that reeks of smoke shouldn’t assume the odor will go away as soon as the smoker moves out.Tobacco-specific nitrosamines and nitrous acid can cling to walls and other surfaces within the house. “You could breathe in several hundred nanograms of these carcinogens long after the last cigarette burned o
The U.S. Senate approved a bill Tuesday to keep the National Flood Insurance Program operating for four more months. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill, which cleared the House last week, into law before midnight Tuesday, when the program expires.“We applaud lawmakers for taking this needed action to prevent disruptions to closings in thousands of communities across the country,” Elizabeth Mendenhall, president of the Natio
Despite being strapped with student loan debt, millennials are surpassing older generations when it comes to money management habits like saving and budgeting, a recent Bank of America survey shows.According to the Better Money Habits Millennial Report published earlier this year, 63 percent of millennials (ages 23 to 37) are saving. Fifty-seven percent say they have a savings goal, as compared to the 42 percent of Gen Xers and 42 percent of
Owners can often conserve more money once housing costs and living necessities are all covered. However, a new study shows those who rent can barely get by in some cities.PropertyShark and RentCafe teamed up for a study on discretionary income and analyzed the top 50 largest cities where an owner or a renter can save the most money after paying living costs. For living costs, estimates for food, health care, entertainment, and transportation were
While pending home sales were on the rise in June, closed sales of existing and newly built properties dropped. Home prices, too, showed signs of slowing growth, though they are still increasing. Some housing experts say the fall in sales may be tied to the rapid run-up in home prices.In Southern California, for example, new- and existing-home sales dropped sharply in June compared to a year ago, and more listings there are undergoing price redu
Many would-be move-up buyers are staying put in their current homes, unable to afford the increasing prices of larger properties. But they're learning a strategy to save for their next home—by becoming “accidental investors.“ More investment property owners today are everyday homeowners renting out their current home to take advantage of rising rental rates and save for a bigger home, CNBC reports.Some real estate professionals are recommen
The U.S. homeownership rate posted another increase, reaching 64.3 percent in the second quarter, up a tenth of a percentage point from the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported this week. The rate has increased 0.6 percentage points over the past year.Younger Americans, specifically those under the age of 35, are behind most of the recent increases in the ownership rate. The homeownership rate of this younger buyer group increased to
Consumers who make efforts to raise their credit scores from “fair” to “very good” may see big payoffs. LendingTree researchers analyzed loan request and average loan balance data to see how a lower credit score can increase borrowing costs for the average consumer. They compared the impact across several types of debt: mortgages, student loans, auto loans, personal loans, and credit cards.Overall, raising a credit score from “fair”
Ongoing housing shortages and rising home prices are prompting international buyers to pause in their recent homebuying sprees in the United States. International sales in the U.S. totaled $121 billion from April 2017 to March 2018, a 20 percent decline from a year ago, the National Association of REALTORS® reports.Foreign buyers and recent immigrants accounted for 8 percent of existing home sales, a decrease from 10 percent during the 12-month
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