The new-home market is unable to meet growing buyer demand because there aren’t enough workers to build homes, builders say.At the beginning of the year, there were 250,000 unfilled construction jobs, including those for home framers, electricians, masons, carpenters, and other duties needed to build a new home. The unemployment rate in the building industry is significantly higher than the national unemployment rate—7.4 percent versus 4.1 p
The spring homebuying season has gotten off to a slow start, at least based on the number of borrowers taking out home mortgages. However, that may be changing: Mortgage applications rose 4.9 percent last week compared to the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Both refinance and purchase applications posted increases, even as mortgage rates remained largely in a holding pattern.Applications to refinance rose 4 per
Single-family housing starts underperformed in March, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Construction on new single-family homes dropped 3.7 percent to 867,000 units. Builders blamed bad weather in many regions of the country.“The modest decline in single-family starts in March is still in line with our solid builder confidence readings and is largely attributable to lingering winter weather that is causing production delays in cert
The U.S. and Britain have issued a warning about Russian cyberattacks that could extend to individual homes. The warning was the first of its kind, The New York Times reports. The warning extends to possible cyberattacks to government and private organizations in both countries as well.The countries are asking the public to upgrade passwords and computer security to make themselves less vulnerable.Ciaran Martin, chief executive of Britain’s N
Housing affordability has fallen in the last year and fewer households are able to afford the inventory of homes for sale based on their incomes, according to joint research released Wednesday by the National Association of REALTORS® and realtor.com®.The REALTORS® Affordability Distribution Curve and Score examines affordability conditions at different income levels for all active inventory on the market. A score of one or higher suggests a ma
Residents in neighborhoods with high levels of limited English proficiency have significantly lower rates of homeownership. On the other hand, neighborhoods with fewer LEP residents have higher rates of ownership, according to a new study by the Urban Institute.“We are not sure why and how limited English proficiency interferes with homeownership, but this research establishes that it is a barrier on top of other, more researched barriers,”
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Even though the costs of homeownership are on the rise as home prices and mortgage rates increase, more consumers say it’s a good time to buy a home. AJ Smith, vice president of financial education with personal finance website SmartAsset, offers three tips for helping buyers determine whether now is the right time for them to purchase. ‘Right now’ is not always the right time: Prospective buyers may feel pressure to buy a home before i
Women who work full-time jobs in Arlington, Va., rank among the top female earners in the nation, bringing in an average of more than $80,200 per year, according to a new analysis by personal finance website SmartAsset. “Today, in some American cities, women are earning large salaries, running their own businesses, and handling their mortgages with ease,” the analysis notes.SmartAsset pinpointed the U.S. cities where women are finding the mos
Housing construction has not kept pace with population growth in the U.S. for more than a decade, and in order to stymie shortages across the nation, builders will need to construct 7.3 million more homes, according to a new report. The Up for Growth National Coalition, a group of real estate developers, owners, and builders of affordable housing, finds that since 2000, builders in about 22 states and the District of Columbia have not constructed
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