Finance - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Rents Taking a Bigger Bite Out of Pay

Americans spent 30% of their monthly budgets on rents in February, a percentage that most financial experts consider debt-burdened for households. In 14 of the 50 metros tracked, rents accounted for an even higher portion of household incomes, led by Sun Belt metro areas like Miami, Tampa, Fla., and San Diego, according to realtor.com®’s Monthly Rental Report.The U.S. median rental price nationwide jumped to a new high of $1,792 in February. T

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Where Homelessness is Most, Least Prevalent

More than 575,000 people in the U.S. are considered homeless—that’s larger than the total populations of major cities like Atlanta and Miami, according to a LendingTree study, citing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data.California, New York, and Florida have the largest homeless populations in the nation. Those states alone comprise nearly half of the total U.S. homeless population. On the other hand, North Dakota, Wyomi

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Mortgage Rates Continue to Climb

As mortgage rates rise, levels below 4% for the most popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are likely to remain in the rearview mirror. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.16% this week, Freddie Mac reports.“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage exceeded 4% for the first time since May of 2019,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The Federal Reserve raising short-term rates and signaling further increases means mortgage rates

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Single-Family Rents Jump to Record Highs

The demand for single-family rental homes is climbing, sending rental prices soaring. The annual gain in single-family rents rose to a record level of 12.6% in January, the fastest yearly increase in more than 16 years of reporting, according to a newly released report from CoreLogic, a real estate data firm. That annual rent growth was more than triple the increase in January 2021.Single-family rent growth extended its record-breaking price grow

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Markets Reached New Peak in February

The top-performing real estate markets in February reached a peak median price: $562,000, according to an analysis by realtor.com®. That marks a 43% jump over last month’s national median list price of $392,000, also a record high.Realtor.com® releases a monthly report of the hottest housing markets in the country, tracking metros that have seen the fastest sales and the highest listings traffic at its site.Manchester, N.H., remained the

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Mortgage Rates Rise to 3.85% this Week

Following two weeks of declines, mortgage rates edged up, and economists say that consumers should expect further increases over the coming weeks.The Federal Reserve will likely raise its short-term interest rates at its meeting next week. While the Fed’s benchmark rates do not have a direct effect on mortgage rates, they do often influence them and likely will lead to an increase, the National Association of REALTORS® notes on its Economists

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State-by-State Breakdown of Fourth-Quarter Equity Gains

Rising home prices have brought rising equity gains for homeowners. In the fourth quarter, the average homeowner nationwide gained about $55,300 in equity over the past year, according to a new analysis released by CoreLogic, its latest quarterly “Homeowner Equity Insights” report.Western state homeowners are continuing to see some of the largest equity gains by dollar value.For example, Hawaii, California, and Washington saw the largest incr

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Housing Wealth Skewed to Rich Homeowners

Homeowners across the board are feeling richer from rising home prices, but the wealthiest have enjoyed the largest gain, according to a report from the National Association of REALTORS®.From 2010 to 2020, about 71% of the increase in housing wealth was in high-income households. Low- and middle-income households received a smaller share of housing wealth gains, according to the NAR report. Low-income homeowners comprise a smaller shar

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Mortgage Delinquencies Drop to Record Low

The percentage of homes with mortgages that have late payments or are in foreclosure has dropped to the lowest seen on record in more than two decades, according to CoreLogic’s data dating back to 1999. The nation’s overall delinquency dropped to 3.4% at the end of 2021, with the majority of states posting a year-over-year decrease in delinquencies, according to CoreLogic’s newly released Loan Performance Insights report.Declining unemploym

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Where House Hunters can Find Affordability

Surging home prices have prompted buyers to max out their budgets and priced out others. Buyers willing to move, however, can find several markets across the country that still offer affordability, housing experts say. Realtor.com® researchers analyzed housing data and 250 of the largest markets nationwide to identify the most affordable in the nation.They found several Midwest markets offer the best affordability. Also, some of the most in

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