The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage barely budged this week, remaining low at a 3.75% average, Freddie Mac reports.“Mortgage rates have essentially stabilized over the last two months, which reflects the recovery and improvement in the economy from the malaise earlier in the year,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Going forward, the combination of low mortgage rates, tight labor market, and high consumer confidence should set
College graduates are searching for a place to live, whether it’s a home of their own, a place to rent, or moving back with their parents. But $7,481 is their magic number—that’s what they see they need, on average, to move out of their parents’ house, according to a new survey from Apartment Guide.Forty-six percent of Generation Z college students say they plan to rent or buy a home after graduation. However, 63% don’t know their curre
Big metro cities like San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles are notably absent from realtor.com®’s latest list of the top-performing housing markets in the country. Instead, more suburban areas—like Grand Rapids, Mich., and Omaha, Neb.--are topping the list.Housing affordability has been fueling demand in smaller, more suburban housing markets, realtor.com®’s 2019 hottest ZIP codes report notes. The average home price of $272,000 in th
Some of the most popular renovations, such as a kitchen remodel or landscape upgrade, are likely to cost your sellers more than they’ll get back at resale. And a major mistake sellers make when undertaking home improvement is tailoring the project to their own personal tastes without considering potential resale value, Alex Lavrenov, a broker with Warburg Realty in New York, told Forbes.com. Some costly renovations may even hurt your sellers’
Twelve percent of Americans say they felt pressured to spend more than they were comfortable with on a home in order to appear successful in the eyes of others, according to a new Bankrate.com survey of more than 2,700 adults.Parents with children under the age 18 (at 21%) were most likely to have felt pressured to overspend on a house, according to the survey. Buyers between the ages of 23 and 38 were twice as likely as those older than 38 to sp
Lakefront homes may offer buyers a chance to get a waterfront property at a more affordable price than a vacation home on the ocean. “Lake towns often offer people an affordable destination with water sports, amenities, natural beauty, and an array of often top-quality dining options,” says Clare Trapasso, senior news editor at realtor.com®. “Some of these lake towns also double as ski resorts in the winter. Those who enjoy cold-weather sp
Home sales appear poised to reverse their downward trend, as contract signings in each of the four major U.S. regions rose in June, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest Pending Home Sales Index. The West saw the highest increase in contract signings last month, according to NAR’s report.The index rose 2.8% to a reading of 108.3 in June. Contract signings are now up 1.6% year over year, ending a 17-month streak of annual
Nearly 200 golf courses have closed over the last year in suburbs across the Sun Belt, according to the National Golf Foundation. The surrounding neighborhoods are not being cared for, and concerned homeowners are discovering that the premium they paid to live on a golf course is now vanishing.The sport has seen a steady decrease in interest over recent years. The National Golf Foundation reports that there has been a 20% decline in the
After a slight uptick last week, mortgage rates fell back to what’s become a more regular pattern this summer of hovering near three-year lows. Homebuyers are responding to the lower rates, and mortgage applications for home purchases have continued to rise steadily the last two months to the highest year-over-year change since the fall of 2017, says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.“While the improvement has yet to impact home sal
New-home sales rebounded in June, but builders warn that affordability concerns persist.Sales of newly built single-family homes rose 7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 646,000 units, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. New-home sales for 2019 are 2.2% higher than the same period a year ago.But while the numbers were positive in the latest new-home
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