By Margaret Heidenry | REALTOR.COM
Homebuyers have a lot to be joyful for right now as mortgage rates have dipped below 7%—the first time they’ve done so since August.
For the week ending Dec. 14, rates for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan averaged 6.95%, according to Freddie Mac.
And odds are, mortgage rates will continue their long-awaited downward trend, providing some much-needed relief on the affordability front to homebuyers.
“Given inflation continues to decelerate and the Federal Reserve Board’s current expectations that they will lower the target rate next year, we likely will see a gradual thawing of the housing market in the new year,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
In...
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By Clare Trapasso | REALTOR.COM
As 2023 comes to an end, fewer homeowners are facing foreclosure than they were earlier this year.
The number of homeowners with a foreclosure filing fell 7% in November from the previous month, according to a recent report from real estate data firm ATTOM. But real estate experts warned that foreclosures will likely rise in 2024.
“While we’ve observed a modest decrease in U.S. foreclosure activity most likely due to seasonal factors, it’s essential to note that these fluctuations are a part of the cyclical nature of the market,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a statement.
There were still more than 3,200 properties facing foreclosure in November, up 5% from...
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National Association of Realtors
Key Highlights
Pending home sales decreased last month, down 1.5% from September.
Month over month, contract signings intensified in the Northeast but diminished in the Midwest, South and West.
Pending home sales dropped in all four U.S. regions compared to one year ago.
WASHINGTON (November 30, 2023) – Pending home sales dropped 1.5% in October, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Northeast posted a monthly gain in transactions while the Midwest, South and West all recorded losses. All four U.S. regions noted year-over-year declines in transactions.
The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* – a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings – dropped...
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High cost of housing is keeping young adults with their parents longer than past generations
BY Ethan Varian | The Mercury News
After Kelly Zhao earned a master’s degree in ethnic studies from UCLA last year, she followed the lead of so many other young graduates thrust into a competitive job market: She moved back in with her parents while she looked for work.
Upon returning to her childhood home in Pittsburg, Zhao, 25, soon found a job with a local advocacy group, making around $70,000 a year. But even then, she said, renting an apartment just doesn’t make financial sense right now, especially while contributing around $1,500 a month...
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From our friends in KCM
If you’re feeling a bit muddy on what’s happening with home prices, that’s no surprise. Some people are still saying prices are falling, even though data proves otherwise. Part of that misconception is because people are getting their information from unreliable sources. But it’s also coming from some media coverage misrepresenting what the data really shows.
So, to keep things simple, here’s what you really need to know using real data you can trust.
Normal Home Price Seasonality Explained
In the housing market, there are predictable ebbs and flows that happen each year. It’s called seasonality. Spring is the peak homebuying season when the market is most active. That...
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By Clare Trapasso | REALTOR.COM
Is the housing market overvalued?
It’s an increasingly fraught question, and the answer might depend on who’s being asked.
Some real estate experts believe home prices are well above what they should be and expect them to begin coming down. Others think the high prices make sense given how many people are still in the market looking for properties, despite mortgage rates nearing 8%.
“If you look at how much income homebuyers are putting toward their housing payment, if the number is not the highest ever, it’s really darn close,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale.
No one wants to buy a home at the peak of the market—and...
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One big reason the U.S. housing market is broken: Owners don’t want to give up their cushy old loans.
By: Ben Casselman | New York Times
Buying a home was hard before the pandemic. Somehow, it keeps getting harder.
Prices, already sky-high, have gotten even higher, up nearly 40 percent over the past three years. Available homes have gotten scarcer: Listings are down nearly 20 percent over the same period. And now interest rates have soared to a 20-year high, eroding buying power without — in defiance of normal economic logic — doing much to dent prices.
None of which, of course, is a problem for people who already own homes....
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From our friends in KCM
If you’re looking to make a move, you want to be sure you have the latest information on the housing market. To help make that possible, here’s an update on the supply of homes for sale today. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the number of homes available in your local market matters to you. Take a look below.
What’s the Truth About Today’s Housing Inventory?
While the story for the past few years has been how few homes are on the market, recent national data may leave you feeling a bit confused. That’s because Realtor.com shows inventory is actually growing a bit month-over-month in many parts of the country...
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By Lisa Johnson Mandell | REALTOR.COM
As we prepare our Thanksgiving table, our thoughts might turn to the very first people who started the American holiday. There’s one fascinating fact you might not think about: The settlers sure knew how to build a shelter back then.
In fact, some of the homes that were built during the 1600s are still standing, and some are even on the market.
In the spirit of the season, we did some sleuthing and found the five oldest homes for sale in America right now, in good living condition, despite being built not too long after the first Thanksgiving in the 1600s!
One is a grand riverfront estate,...
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By: Kate Talerico | Marin Independent Journal
The Bay Area, with its million-dollar views and multimillion-dollar enclaves, has kept its status as the most expensive metropolitan area in the United States.
The region’s ZIP codes make up 37 of the top 100 most expensive ZIP codes in the country, according to a new 2023 ranking by real estate data company PropertyShark that examined median home sales prices.
Marin County has six ZIP codes on the top-100 list, led by Stinson Beach at No. 6. Its ZIP code, 94970, had a median home price of $4.5 million last year, according to the analysis.
Debra Allen, a Coldwell Banker Realty agent who was involved in...
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