The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.11% this week, continuing its rapid rise, Freddie Mac reports. The higher borrowing costs are forcing home buyers to expand their budgets.With higher rates and home prices, house hunters need to earn about $25,000 extra if they want to buy the typical home now compared to a year earlier, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of REALTORS®, writes for th
Foreclosure starts and bank repossessions are at their highest numbers in the last two years. Most pandemic-initiated moratoriums have lifted by now and lenders are starting to resume foreclosures. Still, foreclosure activity remains well below historical levels.The number of properties with a foreclosure filing during the first quarter of 2022 climbed 39% compared to the previous quarter. Foreclosure filings are up much higher—132%—compared
New-home buyers are having a long wait for their homes to be done. Labor shortages and global supply chain bottlenecks are delaying the completion of many new-home construction projects. The number of housing units that were authorized but didn’t start construction yet rose by 47% nationwide from 2019 to 2021, according to a new analysis by LendingTree researchers. The delays were most prominent in the Northeast, where delays more than doubled.
Smart buys are crucial in an elevated housing market. Fifty-three percent of real estate investors say they’ve lost money on projects, according to the Q1 2022 Real Estate Investor Survey released by Kiavi, a provider of financing to real estate investors. They cite hidden issues with properties that they weren’t aware of when they made their purchase as the main reason for losing money.Another factor that contributed to losses was the locati
As mortgage rates rise, some home buyers are starting to back away from the higher costs of ownership. Existing-home sales fell in March, the second consecutive month for declines, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. Still, with limited housing stock for sale, homes continue to sell fast and for higher prices.NAR’s existing-home sales index—which reflects completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condos
Though the current housing crisis was decades in the making, all levels of government and the private sector can work together now to ease the burden on consumers and increase housing availability, affordability, and accessibility. This was the message Tuesday from experts during a webinar hosted by national think tank Third Way called “A Look Ahead: Fixing the Housing Crisis.”Chronic underbuilding has contributed to housing supply
The construction of single-family homes slowed last month as builders complain of numerous headwinds that are limiting their ability to add more inventory. Ongoing supply chain bottlenecks continue to delay construction projects and raise homebuilding costs, builders say.Also, rising mortgage rates—with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now averaging over 5%--as well as higher new-home prices are beginning to soften demand.Both single-family hous
Single-family rentals remain a hot commodity. Rent prices continued their double-digit climb in February, rising 13.1% overall compared to a year earlier. It marked another record for single-family rents, according to CoreLogic’s Single-Family Rental Index.A shortage of available rentals is leading to a run-up in prices. Also, double-digit gains in home prices are pricing out some would-be home buyers and prompting them to rent instead.“Singl
In multiple-offer situations, a closing guarantee may help buyers’ offers stand out. Written into a contract, these guarantees outline that if the transaction doesn’t close by a specified closing date, the affected party will be compensated.Such a guarantee could offer home sellers greater assurance that a particular offer will close over others they received in a bidding war.The lender typically decides what the guarantee amount will be, Apa
Montana’s new-home construction is booming. The state had the highest growth rate nationwide annually in February, with residential housing permits surging 121%, the National Association of Home Builders reports.Overall, single-family permits nationwide—a gauge of future construction—has increased by 3.5% year over year in February. Between February 2021 and February 2022, 28 states and the District of Columbia posted growth in single-famil
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