Low mortgage rates are drawing out more home buyers who want to take advantage of the decrease in borrowing costs, but they’re increasingly growing frustrated as the selection of properties narrows. An unseasonable surge in buyer demand has coincided with housing inventories moving even lower in recent months. Inventories dropped 2.5% annually in September, realtor.com®’s data shows.The lower tier of the market—homes priced under $200,000
Investors looking for homes to flip are being squeezed by high prices, inventory shortages of affordable options, and stiff competition from buyers, realtor.com® notes in a new analysis. But deals can still be found.Realtor.com® identified the hottest housing markets for investors by pinpointing those where the highest percentage of homes were either flipped or rented out after the sale. The most profitable flip markets tend to be in the Midwes
Neighborhoods located within a half-mile of public transit services outperformed those farther from public transit based on a number of factors, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of REALTORS® and the American Public Transportation Association.The report shows commercial and residential real estate market sales thrive when residents have mobility options. Residential properties within these areas had 4% to 24% high
The 30-year fixed-mortgage fell 8 basis points this week, averaging 3.57%, Freddie Mac reports. The lower rates are drawing out more home buyers in the fall market.“Despite the economic slowdown due to weakening manufacturing and corporate investment, the consumer side of the economy remains on solid ground,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 50-year low in the unemployment rate combined with low mortgage rates has
Warm weather and low taxes continue to have a big pull on where retirees choose to settle down in their golden years. Those pulls are prompting many older Americans to continue to relocate to popular retiree havens in the Carolinas and Florida.U.S. News & World Report recently identified the best places to retire using criteria including housing affordability, taxes, health care, and happiness surveys. They analyzed data from 125 of the
Retailers rejoice: The holiday spending season is expected to be a lively one this year, and brick-and-mortar stores remain a critical component to the shopping season.ICSC, a retail real estate researcher, forecasts a 4.9% increase in holiday spending over last year, reaching an $832.3 billion total. The average adult is expected to spend $683 on holiday-related items.Ninety percent of adults say they plan to shop in retail locations for gifts a
More consumers are feeling richer and that’s fueling a stronger vacation home market, shows the National Association of REALTORS®’ newly released 2019 U.S. Vacation Home Counties Report.“As of 2018, household net worth reached an all-time high of $100.3 trillion—that’s nearly double from a decade ago when wealth declined during the recession,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Some of this tremendous growth in wealth, al
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that it is allocating $112 million to expand the supply of permanent affordable housing to low-income people with disabilities. Funding is available through the Section 811 program.About half of the new funding will go toward the development of new supportive housing for people with disabilities. About $37 million also will go toward rental assistance, which will be availabl
Central metros dominated realtor.com®’s rankings of top-performing housing markets for September, claiming nearly half of its 20 spots. For the third consecutive month, Fort Wayne, Ind., landed first on the list.Realtor.com® bases its monthly hottest market rankings on the metros that are seeing some of the quickest sales in the nation as well as those that are garnering the most views of listings at realtor.com.Thirteen of the
Certain home sales of $400,000 and below will no longer require an appraisal, under a new rule that takes effect today. Homes that qualify for the appraisal exemption can receive an evaluation instead.This is the first time in 25 years that federal regulators have increased the property value limit of the homes that require an appraisal as part of the selling process. Federal regulators cited price appreciation in residential real estate transact
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