Rising prices in the new-home market prompted buyers to take a step back in April. The sale of newly built, single-family homes fell 16.6% in April, dropping to their weakest pace in two years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Rising mortgage rates are worsening affordability conditions, builders say.New-home sales are down nearly 27% compared to a year earlier, the report shows.“The v
The typical home buyer could save $260 per month with an adjustable-rate mortgage over a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, or more than $15,000 in five years, a new study from Redfin shows. That marks the largest savings since at least 2015.A 5/1 ARM means the interest rate is fixed for the first five years and then adjusts once a year for the remainder of the loan term, usually 30 years. ARMs that first reset in seven years or 10 years also are commo
With rising home prices and inflation, an area’s cost of living may be a growing factor when finding a place to live. U.S. News & World Report surveyed about 3,500 people to find the factors most important to determine a place to live and factored the results into its annual Best Places to Live rankings. To identify the most affordable places on its list, U.S. News calculate the median annual household income that goes toward
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell slightly this week, a temporary retreat after weeks of steady increases. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.25%, Freddie Mac reports. Rates dropped following the 10-year Treasury yield trend this week. Last week’s average was 5.30%.“Economic uncertainty is causing mortgage rate volatility,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “As a result, purchase demand is waning, and homeb
For the third consecutive month, existing-home sales fell, but buyers are still eager. Higher mortgage rates and prices and low inventory continue to chip away at affordability. Some regions of the U.S., however, continue to see gains.Nationwide, existing-home sales—completed transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—decreased 2.4% in April compared to March, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ late
As home buyers have stretched their budgets to buy, they have discovered more unexpected costs of homeownership. Forty-four percent of recent buyers surveyed said they already spent over their personal budget for the home, according to a new ConsumerAffairs survey of about 1,000 adults.Home buyers said they spent an average of $10,334 more than they intended for their home, and younger adults—millennials—were the most likely to overspend. The
The rental market boom continues, and renters are paying a lot more. The U.S. median rental price reached a new high in April—$1,827, realtor.com® reports. Rents have maintained their record-breaking streak that began in January 2021.“April data illustrates the perfect storm of supply and demand dynamics behind the continued rent surge, from a low number of available rentals to higher for-sale housing costs forcing many would-be buyers to re
Fifty-six percent of home buyers went with the first mortgage rate offer they received, according to a new survey from LendingTree of more than 1,000 homeowners. But nearly half of those who gathered multiple quotes reported that they saved money by doing so—46% of borrowers who shopped around said the first offer they received was not the lowest rate.Overall, only about a quarter of survey respondents said they received offers from two lenders
Florida has five of the hottest commercial real estate metro markets in the first quarter: Orlando, Miami, Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Myers, according to new research from the National Association of REALTORS®.NAR’s Commercial Real Estate Market Conditions Index is calculated by factoring in 25 variables that reflect a metro area’s economic conditions, demographics, and employment, such as job growth, wage increases, and popul
As home prices climb, the number of homes considered equity rich is growing nationwide, but some areas are outpacing others. A home attains an equity rich status when a loan balance secured on a property is less than 50% of the home’s estimated market value.In the first quarter, about 45% of residential homes with a mortgage were considered equity rich, according to the first quarter of 2022 U.S. Home Equity and Underwater Report published by A
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