Recession fears are growing, and that may prompt some Americans—who are still haunted by the last one—to get skittish about the housing market. Don’t expect another “real estate fire sale” if the economy heads into another recession, economists say.“This is going to be a much shorter recession than the last one,” George Ratiu, senior economist with realtor.com®, notes in a recent article at the site. “I don’t think the next rec
The lower price of a fixer-upper and the added resale value after a remodel can be alluring to some home buyers. For example, the average price of a fixer-upper home on the TV show “Fixer Upper,” based in Waco, Texas, is $178,449, with the average resale value being $297,488.But a new study from the remodeling site Porch.com, based on a survey of more than 1,000 homeowners, shows that the majority of fixer-upper homeowners who thoug
The number of single-family rentals is growing, and landlords continue to accrue high profits from their investments. Single-family rents rose 2.9% year over year in June, according to CoreLogic’s Single-Family Rent Index, which measures rent changes among single-family rental homes, including condos.Phoenix continues to outpace many other large metros for single-family rent increases. Year-over-year rent growth in its single-family rental mark
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.55% this week, the lowest average since November 2016, Freddie Mac reports. The lower mortgage rates are boding well for the housing market.“The drop in mortgage rates continues to stimulate the real estate market and the economy,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Home purchase demand is up five percent from a year ago and has noticeably strengthened since the early summer months,
Young adults may need more resources for learning about mortgages and homeownership. More than half—55%—of young adults recently surveyed say that they’re lacking knowledge on homeownership and mortgages. That confusion has prevented them from becoming a homeowner, according to a new survey of 1,000 consumers between the ages of 23 and 38 conducted by LendEDU, a personal finance resource.Homeownership preparation is not typically
Existing-home sales showed improvement in July, a welcome sign for what has been a mostly sluggish summer real estate market. Reversing course last month, sales climbed 2.5% over June, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. The Northeast was the only major region of the U.S. to see sales decline in July. The bulk of sales growth was attributed to the West.“Falling mortgage rates are improving housing affordability and nudgin
Small-town living isn’t always cheaper than urban life. In fact, in some burgs, residents may find it to be less expensive to live in a major metro area.Vineyard Haven, Mass., and Summit Park, Utah, are the two most expensive small towns in the U.S., according to a new study by LendingTree. In Vineyard Haven, the median home value is $674,600; in Summit Park, it’s $558,300. However, researchers found that the majority of residents who live in
Mortgage rates are hovering near three-year lows, and more homeowners may want to start taking advantage. Up to 20 million homeowners could “theoretically” see a 75-point drop in mortgage rates by refinancing, according to a recent analysis from Black Knight.For homeowners with a credit score of at least 720 and with 20% of equity in their property, they could see savings of nearly $270 per month from lower rates.“Millions of homeowners cou
The cheapest places to live in the U.S. are El Paso, Texas, and Lincoln, Neb., according to a new study by Move.org that ranks cities based on cost of living. In El Paso, the average cost of living is $1,182.96 per month and, in Lincoln, it’s $1,291.50. On the opposite end of the spectrum, San Francisco (at a $4,210.60 average cost of living per month) and New York (at $3,956.11) have the highest costs of living in the nation.Move.org analyzed
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continued to hover near historical lows this week, lowering borrowing costs for home buyers and refinancing homeowners. Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.60% this week, unchanged from last week’s average.“The sound and fury of the financial markets continue to warn of an impending recession; however, the silver lining is mortgage demand reached a three-year high this week,”
This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.
