From our friends in KCM
If you’re taking a look at your expenses as you retire, saving money where you can has a lot of appeal. One long-standing, popular way to do that is by downsizing to a smaller home.
When you think about cutting down on your spending, odds are you think of frequent purchases, like groceries and other goods. But when you downsize your house, you often end up downsizing the bills that come with it, like your mortgage payment, energy costs, and maintenance requirements. Realtor.com shares:
“A smaller home typically means lower bills and less upkeep. Then there’s the potential windfall that comes from selling your larger home and buying something...
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By Aarthi Swaminathan | Realtor.com
The numbers: Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. inched up in January, even as mortgage rates rose.
U.S. new-home sales rose 1.5% to an annual rate of 661,000 in January, from a revised 651,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
The number is seasonally adjusted and refers to how many homes would be built over an entire year if builders continued at the same pace every month.
The pace fell short of expectations on Wall Street. Economists had forecast new-home sales to total 680,000 in January.
Mortgage rates rose to a six-week high at the end of January, according to data from Freddie Mac, which might...
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From our friends KCM
Based on what you’re hearing in the news about home prices, you may be worried they’re falling. But here’s the thing. The headlines aren’t giving you the full picture.
If you look at the national data for 2023, home prices actually showed positive growth for the year. While this varies by market, and while there were some months with slight declines nationally, those were the exception, not the rule.
The overarching story is that prices went up last year, not down. Let’s dive into the data to set the record straight.
2023 Was the Return to More Normal Home Price Growth
If anything, last year marked a return to more normal home price...
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From our friends in KCM
Have you been thinking about selling your house? If so, here’s some good news. While the housing market isn’t as frenzied as it was during the ‘unicorn’ years when houses were selling quicker than ever, they’re still selling faster than normal.
The graph below uses data from Realtor.com to tell the story of median days on the market for every January from 2017 all the way through the latest numbers available. For Realtor.com, days on the market means from the time a house is listed for sale until its closing date or the date it’s taken off the market. This metric can help give you an idea of just how quickly homes...
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From our friends in KCM
As you think about the year ahead, one of your big goals may be moving. But, how do you know when to make your move? While spring is usually the peak homebuying season, you don’t actually need to wait until spring to sell. Here’s why.
1. Take Advantage of Lower Mortgage Rates
Last October, the 30-year fixed mortgage rates peaked at 7.79%. In January, they hit their lowest level since May. That means you may not feel as locked-in to your current mortgage rate right now. That downward trend in rates has made moving more affordable now than it was just a few months ago.
Another reason today’s rates make now a good...
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By Patrick S. Duffy | US NEWS & WORLD REPORT
Monthly costs in these locations start as low as 18% of local per capita incomes, compared with the national average of 39%.
Detroit may not be the most undervalued area for long. Its economy will continue to see steady growth in the years ahead with more jobs and higher wages for area residents.
Key Takeaways:
The most undervalued markets to purchase a home continue to be located predominantly in the Midwest and the East Coast, led by Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Oklahoma City.
The most undervalued markets to rent a home are also concentrated in the Midwest, led...
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By Jillian Pretzel | Realtor.com
Thinking about selling your house in 2024? While many home sellers wait until spring to put their property on the market, there are some distinct advantages to getting ahead of the curve this year and listing sooner rather than later.
Generally, the cold weather season causes home sales to be sluggish, but this winter is a bit different. High interest rates kept much of America’s real estate market in a deep freeze for most of 2023. But now that rates have subsided a bit in the new year, there is a whole lot of pent-up demand (and supply) that could burst onto the market at any...
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By Aarthi Swaminathan | REALTOR.COM
The numbers: U.S. mortgage applications fell as home buyers struggled with a low number of home listings and rising home prices.
Home-buying demand was dampened due to a persistent lack of supply. The overall market composite index—a measure of mortgage application volume—decreased in the last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.
The market index fell 7.2% to 202.5 for the week ending January 26 from a week ago. A year ago, the index stood at 233.0.
Key details: The purchase index—which measures mortgage applications for the purchase of a home—fell 7.2% from a week ago.
The refinance index fell 11.4%, as homeowners saw little...
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By Margaret Heidenry | REALTOR.COM
Is the housing market bouncing back in 2024—or just bouncing back and forth?
There have been some signs of housing inventory recovering, with the number of homes actively for sale growing by 7.9% year over year in January, according to a recent Realtor.com® report.
That’s “notably higher compared to last year,” according to Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale.
Mortgage rates have also subsided from their 23-year high of 7.79% in October to 6.69% in the week ending Jan. 26 for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, according to Freddie Mac.
But despite this double dose of promising news, Hale doesn’t expect that America’s housing affordability crisis will improve all that quickly. Rather, she predicts it...
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From our friends in KCM
Over the past year, a lot of people have been talking about housing affordability and how tight it’s gotten. But just recently, there’s been a little bit of relief on that front. Mortgage rates have gone down since their most recent peak in October. But there’s more to being able to afford a home than just mortgage rates.
To really understand home affordability, you need to look at the combination of three important factors: mortgage rates, home prices, and wages. Let’s dive into the latest data on each one to see why affordability is improving.
1. Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates have come down in recent months. And looking forward, most experts expect...
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