Stabilization in borrowing costs is easing home shoppers’ affordability concerns.Mortgage rates, which have settled in the 6% range, barely budged this week, giving potential home buyers more confidence to shop for real estate. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.69%, marking the sixth consecutive week of holding steady, Freddie Mac reports.“Given this stabilization in rates, potential home buyers with affordability concerns have jumpe
The number of ‘cost-burdened’ renters hit a record 22.4 million in 2022 — up 2 million households from just three years before, according to a new studyRent has never been less affordable — for tenants with high and low incomes alike — even while costs for new leases are finallycooling off.Half of American renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs — a key benchmark for affordability — with the financial str
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said a funding lifeline created for banks last year after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank threatened to spark a wider financial crisis would close as scheduled in March.The Fed also raised the interest rate on new loans from the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) for the remainder of its life, effectively ending what had become a popular and profitable arbitrage opportunity for U.S. lenders, which analysts said
The US economy remained shockingly robust in the fourth quarter to close out a remarkably strong 2023 as consumers and businesses continued to spend, crushing expectations of a recession.Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, rose at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 3.3% from October through December, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.That was slower than the blistering 4.9% rate from July t
Existing-home sales likely bottomed out in December, says NAR’s chief economist, who predicts brighter days ahead.Existing-home sales fell to their lowest level in nearly 30 years in December—but that didn’t cool red-hot home prices, with the median price reaching an all-time high of $389,800, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Friday.Existing-home sales—which include completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes,
Although U.S. women still trail men when it comes to pay, they are pulling ahead financially in one important way of building wealth: homeownership. A recent study from LendingTree shows that single women own 2.7 million more homes than their male counterparts, with roughly 13% of those women holding the titles to their homes, compared to 10% of men. "A home for most people is going to represent the biggest portion of the
Consumer sentiment gauge posted the largest two-month gain since 1991Americans are rapidly becoming much more upbeat about the economy.Consumer sentiment surged 29% since November, the biggest two-month increase since 1991, the University of Michigan said Friday, adding to gauges showing improving moods. It’s a sharp turn after persistently high inflation, the lingering shock from the pandemic’s destruction and fears that a recessio
Rates continue their downward slide, reaching their lowest level since last May. Home buyers who are delaying their purchase and holding out for lower mortgage rates may want to reconsider that strategy. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which averaged 6.6% this week according to Freddie Mac, is still a far cry from the historical norm of 7.74%. Plus, mortgage rates are expected to slide further throughout the year.“Home buyers should be pleased
Housing starts fell to 1.46 million The numbers: Construction of new homes fell 4.3% in December, as home builders scaled back new projects.So-called housing starts fell to a 1.46 million annual pace from 1.53 million in November, the government said Thursday. That’s how many houses would be built over an entire year if construction took place at the same rate every month as it did in December.Housing starts are down for the first time in
As interest rates fall, growing loans is getting more important, but also trickier Even as the biggest banks have grown and diversified, lending remains a core part of their business. And it looks like that will get tougher this year.The outlooks that banks gave on Friday for 2024 net interest income—a measure of what they earn on yield from cash, loans and securities, minus what they pay in interest costs—were muted. JPMorgan Chase expects
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