Homebuilders say they are stretching their focus beyond higher-priced homes for move-up buyers. A greater inventory of affordable homes that cater to newbie buyers is coming. However, challenges remain—such as higher costs of building materials, labor and lot shortages—but builders say they know the market is eager for more new homes for first-time buyers, and they’re positioning themselves to answer the call.Few builders “can compete and
Hispanics are posting the largest homeownership gains of any ethnic group, new Census Bureau data shows. The wave of growth is a far cry from four years ago when the Hispanic homeownership rate reached a 50-year low. Since then, ownership among this segment has risen 3.3 percentage points, Census Bureau data shows.To be clear, whites still have higher levels of overall homeownership. The Hispanic homeownership rate is at 47.4%, which st
Buyers put a lot of their focus on the kitchen. After all, it can be one of the most expensive rooms to remodel and its features and conditions can make or break a sale.Designers recently shared a list of the items with realtor.com® that could be subtly sabotaging a kitchen’s attractiveness, including:Fluorescent lighting“Nothing screams ‘cheap kitchen’ more than outdated fluorescent tube lighting with a yellowing plastic cover,”
The longest economic expansion in the nation’s history—now approaching 10 years—may be nearing an end, writes Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS®, in his latest column at Forbes.com. But the housing market could help turn around some sluggish economic numbers, such as business and consumer spending.Consumer spending is slowing, despite a record number of jobs, rising wages, and plentiful wealth accum
Seventy percent of homeowners say they’re not currently living in their dream neighborhood, according to a new survey of more than 2,000 respondents from Improvement, a website focused on home improvement. The other 30% says that their dream neighborhood is located in a different town; 20% of that group say it’s three to 10 miles away, and 27% say it’s in a different part of the state or a neighboring state. So what qualifies as a “dream
After three weeks of mostly staying steady, average mortgage rates rose this week. However, rates still remain at multiyear lows, keeping borrowing costs low for those shopping for homes this summer.“The rise in rates was driven by continued improvement in consumer spending and partly due to optimism around a forthcoming cut in short-term interest rates, which should provide support for business and investor sentiment,” says Sam Khater, Fredd
Technology is entering more bathroom design, and it’s one of the top design trends of the year, according to the 2019 Bathroom Design Trends Study from the National Kitchen & Bath Association. The survey results are based on responses from 583 NKBA members, consisting of designers, remodelers, architects, and product manufacturers.Some of the technology solutions seeing the most growth in popularity are temperature control and thermostat sm
The 2019 hurricane season has begun, with tropical storm Barry last week threatening the Gulf Coast. The U.S. Census Bureau released new data that shows 60.2 million residents live in areas that are vulnerable to hurricanes, living near the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions.Populations are rising in the areas most vulnerable to hurricanes. About 8.3 million people moved to the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions between 2000 and 2017, a 16% inc
Homeowners are spending more to improve their homes, not necessarily on home maintenance.Homes may be aging in the U.S., but don’t assume the age of a home is prompting more spending. A new report from HomeAdvisor, a home remodeling resource, finds that homeowners spent $3.70 less for every year since a home was built. That means the owner of a 100-year-old home could spend an average of $370 less on emergency home projects per year than t
The homeownership rate of black Americans hit an all-time low in the first quarter of this year as black communities continue struggling to recover financially from the housing crisis a decade ago, recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows. The black homeownership rate has dropped 8.6 percentage points since peaking in 2004.“We can see that discrimination is still there, although it has changed its form,” Michela Zonta, a senior policy analyst at
This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.
