Mortgage rates are now lower than a year ago, but house hunters remain cautious.Mortgage rates have been holding mostly steady this month, after dropping nearly a half percent from their peak earlier this year, Freddie Mac reports. “Despite these lower rates, buyers continue to pause, as reflected in tumbling new and existing home sales data,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.The National Association of REALTORS® reported thi
Existing-home sales fell again last month, even as home prices continued to surge to record highs. But opportunities for buyers are opening up. Read more from NAR’s latest housing report.Median home sales prices have never been higher, and that might be making home buyers skittish—but this may not persist for much longer, the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest housing report suggests.Existing-home sales, reflecting completed transac
Loan applications for home purchases remain sluggish, despite recent drops in borrowing costs.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a 6.77% average this week, its lowest level since mid-March and the biggest weekly drop in basis points since May, Freddie Mac reports.The drop in rates so far has not prompted a flood of home buyers into the market. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported this week that the number of people applying for a loan t
Despite 11 months of declines, Realtor.com said the typical renter is paying $305 more monthly for an apartment compared to 2019. The greatest rent increases are in Florida and the Midwest Despite the median asking rent declining for 11 consecutive months, renters are still shelling out $305 more per month for a 0-2 bedroom unit than they would have pre-2020. According to Realtor.com’s latest market report, the median asking rent in June decli
Interest rate buydowns involve a trade-off between upfront costs and long-term affordability. Clever CEO Luke Babich offers strategies to help clients make the choice Buying down interest rates (also known as buying points) may seem counterintuitive to many people. After all, why would a homebuyer willingly commit to bringing more cash to the table at closing or sign on for a larger loan?In fact, there are some excellent reasons buying
The number of homes international buyers purchased fell to the lowest level on record in the last year. Find out which markets are still attracting global attention.International home buyers are backing away from the U.S. housing market amid high home prices and low inventory, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ new report, 2024 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate. Foreign buyers purchased 36% fewer
Builder confidence dropped 1 point in July to 42, according to the latest NAHB Housing Market Index. That's the lowest score since December 2023 Homebuilders exhibited little optimism as the housing market showed little improvement month-to-month, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today.Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes
Fair housing expert Dr. Lee Davenport says that your low appraisal may have nothing to do with the lack of landscapingIn a perfect world, we will all buy low and sell high. Astonishingly, in some places, home prices have increased by 47 percent since the start of the 2020 pandemic, meaning many should be able to sell high. Unfortunately, not all appraisals have kept up with such fast-rising values. Sadly, some homeowners have had to enter
Inflation is easing and the job market has returned to the "tight but not overheated" situation seen before the COVID-19 pandemic threw the U.S. economy into disarray, the Federal Reserve said on Friday in a report to Congress that documented the steady emergence of more normal conditions in the aftermath of the health crisis."Inflation eased notably last year and has shown modest further progress so far this year," the Fed said in its latest Mon
Manhattan home sales rose for the first time in two years as impatient buyers who had been waiting for interest rates to fall took the plunge.Closings of co-ops and condos spiked 12.2% in the borough in the three months through June from the same period in 2023, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. While the median price of $1.18 million in the quarter dipped slightly from a year earlier, it was s
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