January 22, 2022
Dec. Home Starts Increase for Third Straight Month
For all of 2021, home starts were up 15.6% compared to 2020. Builders are slowly ramping up construction in spite of...
January 21, 2022
MBA: Lenders Make it Easier for Buyers to Qualify
As interest rates rise, fewer homeowners refinance. As a result, lenders are sitting on more cash and willing to ease...
January 20, 2022
2022 Market? AP Interviews NAR’s Top Economist
Increased supply and some chopping of demand due to rising interest rates should make the market less competitive, with...
January 19, 2022
How to Get HOA Approval with a Low Credit Score
RE Q&A: A potential condo buyer avoids credit cards and debt, but is financially secure. How can she make that clear...
January 18, 2022
Buyers Rushing to Lock in Mortgages
Mortgage rates remain in near-all-time-low territory, but recent upticks have panicked some buyers who now hope to land...
January 15, 2022
‘Energy Efficient’ a Selling Point for Older Homes
Sometimes buyers’ general desire for a newer home can be countered by an older home that has been upgraded to be...
January 14, 2022
More Middle-Class Buyers Using Cash-Offer Services
In today’s competitive market, more buyers are turning to a cadre of relatively new companies that help them submit an...
January 13, 2022
Fannie Announces Free Courses for New Homebuyers
The online service aligns with national course standards – the level first-time buyers need to qualify for some mortgage...
January 12, 2022
Home Prices Settling in West, Rising in East
FAU and FIU: The hot housing market appears to be cooling in the West, but for some reason eastern U.S. cities continue...
January 11, 2022
Some Owners Have ‘Seller’s Market’ Misconceptions
“Aspirational pricing” doesn’t work well in any real estate market. Buyers will risk a bidding war only if they first...
January 10, 2022
Solar Shingles Could Soon Be Available, Affordable
Energy companies are racing to create shingles that generate solar energy, and one firm says the cost might be only $15K...
January 8, 2022
2021 Home Loans Broke Records with 9% Increase
Mortgage bankers say buyers borrowed $1.6T last year for home purchases, topping the 2005 housing bubble’s $1.5T. They...
January 7, 2022
Millennials Are Supercharging the Housing Market
CoreLogic: From Jan.-Aug. 2021, millennials made up about 67% of first-time home purchase loan applications and 37% of...
January 6, 2022
How Profitable Will Commercial Real Estate Be This Year?
A Dec. national poll found 69% of commercial RE brokers said they made more money in 2021 than in 2020, and a NAR report...
January 5, 2022
2022 Property Tax Appeals May Be Less Successful
Property owners who wish to appeal their taxes must prove that their house is over-assessed – a tall order in an era of...
January 4, 2022
Dec. Consumer Confidence: Americans More Optimistic
While attitudes about the current economy dropped slightly, consumers seem to think the future is brighter with the...
January 3, 2022
More Millennials Are Renting Because They Have To
A competitive housing market has fueled a surge in rental applications by the generation, especially in smaller...
January 1, 2022
Case-Shiller: Home Prices Surge 18.4% in Oct.
The 20-city home price index climbed 18.4% in Oct. year-to-year – though the pace of that rise is down a bit from...
December 31, 2021
Mortgage Rates End 2021 Slightly Higher: 3.11%
One week earlier, a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.05%; a year ago, it averaged 2.67%. Most economists predict...
December 30, 2021
CFPB-DOJ to Landlords: Protect Veterans’ Rights
The agencies sent letters to landlords and mortgage servicers, saying they’ve identified illegal treatment of military...
December 29, 2021
What Does 2022 Hold? NAR Asked 20 Experts
Housing prices will climb 5.7% and inflation, while declining, will be 4%. NAR Chief Economist Yun predicts interest...
December 28, 2021
New Lending Rules Threaten Some Condo Sales
Fannie and Freddie tighten condo-lending rules. Details vary, but they generally won’t back single-unit condo loans if a...
December 27, 2021
Loan Approval Period and Possible Pitfalls
Buyers who want to make their offer more appealing sometimes consider changes to the contract’s “Loan Approval Period.”...
December 25, 2021
Mortgage Rates Up Slightly – But Still-Low 3.12%
Mortgage rates changed little this week, though the survey took place before the Fed announced three possible 2022 rate...
December 24, 2021
More Lenders and Sellers Accepting Cryptocurrency
Your buyer wants to go to closing using cryptocurrency? You don’t have to be a technology expert, but it helps to know...
December 23, 2021
Study Suggests More Owners Are Ready to List
The current market favors sellers, but owners see slowing price increases and buyers being priced out of the market....
December 22, 2021
Owners in Aging Condos Getting ‘Sell Out’ Offers
With buildable land drying up, more condo owners in older buildings are receiving deal-of-a-lifetime offers from...
December 21, 2021
Buyers Who Waited for Lower Prices? Many Regret It
Some buyers postponed searches, assuming prices would drop as they did in the last recession. But now homes they once...
December 20, 2021
Boomers and Millennials Competing for Homes
And the boomers are winning. Despite huge millennial demand, they make up a smaller share of the market, suggesting...
December 18, 2021
Why Will the Fed Raise Interest Rates? What Happens Next?
For months, the Fed chair considered inflation a short-term problem, but Wed. he suggested that his patience ran out....
December 17, 2021
New-Home Starts Surge 11.8% Higher in Nov.
The jump follows a few months of moderate growth, and both single-family and multifamily improved. Building permits, a...
December 16, 2021
1 in 5 Buyers Single Women – Twice the Percentage of Men
Single men and women buy homes for the same reason – a desire for ownership – but while 19% of all homebuyers are...
December 15, 2021
No Foreclosure Wave on the Horizon
Of the at-risk homeowners leaving forbearance, 73% have at least 20% home equity – and 28% have at least 50%. They may...
December 14, 2021
Be Careful Using Emojis: Interpretations Vary
Study: Men and women often interpret emoji facial expressions differently. Men see the yellow thinking face as positive,...
December 13, 2021
American cities are short by 1.35 million homes, Zillow study shows
Zillow has good and bad news. Let’s start with the good.In a study comparing population growth with new home...
December 11, 2021
Some Credit Scores Could Move 80 Points Higher
A study to find the impact of new credit score data – rent and utility payments – found the biggest boost for consumers...
December 10, 2021
“Are we in a bubble?” Home sales and price growth to slow in 2022, experts say
The country’s housing market is expected to cool in 2022, as mortgage rates tick up and inventory grows, a panel of...
December 9, 2021
Buyer Preferences for Home and Work Have Changed
Survey: Long-held ideas about work, home and commute times have been upended, and 41% of Americans would take a pay cut...
December 8, 2021
How Many Homes Go to Investors? About 18%
According to the analysis, only Fort Lauderdale (18.6%) comes close to that number. In Jacksonville, more than 1 in 4...
December 7, 2021
Mortgage Rates Hold Steady This Week, Average 3.11%
Rates ticked slightly higher than last week’s 3.10%. Many economists predict increases since the Fed says it will...
December 6, 2021
Hanging Outdoor Lights? Also Do a Home Inspection
Owners rarely study the outside of their home, but hanging lights presents an opportunity. How’s the roof? Any...
December 4, 2021
Trend No More? Escalation Clauses Losing Appeal
More real estate pros are advising clients not to use the clauses, which may give away too much info in a bidding war...
December 3, 2021
NAHB: Home Price Appreciation Slows in Sept.
Home prices continue to rise, but the pace of that rise seems to be slowing. Since June, year-to-year increases have...
December 2, 2021
In 2018, Warehouses Overtook Offices in Total U.S. Space
Office markets’ future – who will/won’t return – still isn’t clear, but it lost its No. 1 spot in total space in 2018 as...
November 30, 2021
Americans Moving Less and Less Often: Why?
In the 1950s, 20% of Americans moved every year. Now it’s about 8.4% because a sedentary aging population and the Great...
November 27, 2021
New Single-Family Homes Get Bigger Again
After years of expansion, the average size of a new home started to come down – but a desire for more space in 3Q 2021...
November 26, 2021
Single-Family Rental Demand ‘Through the Roof’
The listing shortage forced some families to rent, but many recent sellers are opting to pocket profits and wait a year...
November 25, 2021
Builders’ Hope Manufactured Homes Will Find Buyers
Homes largely built in factories and assembled onsite cost notably less, and builders say that option can help solve the...
November 24, 2021
One Pandemic Perk? Credit Scores Reach All-Time High
Relief programs and slower consumer spending boosted the average credit score 8 points, to 716, putting homeownership...
November 23, 2021
NAR: Oct. Sales Up 0.8% – but Down 13.1% Year-to-Year
Despite rising mortgage rates and a tight listing inventory (down 12% year-to-year), determined Americans kept...
November 22, 2021
New Bidding Wars Expected as International Buyers Return
Inventory remains tight, but it could get tighter if more buyers arrive. Some agents say they’re already getting calls...
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