Finance - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Mortgage Rates Barely Budge, Remain Over 7%

The higher rates, combined with high home prices, are creating a housing market of “haves and have-nots,” says NAR’s deputy chief economist.Home buyers are being forced to adjust to what is becoming a new norm: Mortgage rates above 7%. At this week’s average of 7.19% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, as reported Thursday by Freddie Mac, the typical monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home of $413,500 would translate to $2,243, sa

Read More

Home Values Fell in 21 of the 50 Largest US Metros in August

Home values are now 11.4% lower in Austin, Texas, than they were in Aug. 2022, Zillow said. Nationally, prices were up slightly from July to August, and there was a small inventory uptick Home values have fallen by more than 10 percent in Austin, Texas, as the nation’s housing market continued cooling down from pandemic-era highs, according to an August market report from Zillow.Nationwide, home values grew 0.2 percent from July to August, 

Read More

Stock Market Drives U.S. Households to Record Wealth

A surging stock market powered U.S. household wealth to a record high of more than $154 trillion in the second quarter, aided by a rebound in property values, Federal Reserve data out on Friday showed.Household net worth rose 3.7% to $154.28 trillion in the period from April through June from $148.79 trillion at the end of the first quarter, the Fed said in its quarterly snapshot of the balance sheets of households, businesses and federal, state

Read More

Mortgage Rates Dip but Remain Above 7%

“The lack of movement is discouraging to home buyers who are also facing higher home prices,” says NAR economist.Mortgage rates backed away slightly from last week’s two-decade high but remain above 7%. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.18%, Freddie Mac’s latest weekly mortgage indicator shows.“The lack of movement is discouraging to home buyers who are also facing higher home prices,” says Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economi

Read More

Single-Family Rent Growth Slows for the 14th Straight Month

A new report from CoreLogic is the latest to confirm that rent growth is falling back toward historical levels as the market moves on from unprecedented growth during COVID-19Rent for single-family homes was 3.3 percent higher in June compared with a year earlier, according to a new report from property data provider CoreLogic.That was the slowest rate of growth since the fall of 2020, shortly after COVID-19 shocked the rental and for-sale h

Read More

Mortgage Rates Surge to 7.23%

Borrowing costs are the highest they’ve been in more than two decades—and rates may go higher over the next few weeks.Home buyers are facing the highest mortgage rates in 22 years. They’re also up against higher home prices and limited inventory. Add to that this week’s 7.23% average mortgage rate for the 30-year fixed-rate loan, which translates to an average monthly mortgage payment of $2,246 for a typical existing single-family home, s

Read More

Home Sales Drop 2.2% in July on Supply, Financing Woes

Existing-home sales continued to fall last month as home buyers faced higher mortgage rates and fewer housing options. Read more from NAR’s latest housing report.Two main factors are driving current sales activity: inventory availability and mortgage rates. “Unfortunately, both have been unfavorable to buyers,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®.Existing-home sales—completed transactions for singl

Read More

Global Wealth Rises, Inequality Falls

The amount of wealth in the world is set to rise substantially even as inequality declines. That's the conclusion of Swiss bank UBS' 14th annual global wealth report.Why it matters: The story of the 19th and 20th centuries was broadly one in which new wealth went mostly to the rich — both in terms of individuals and in terms of countries. That's now changing, fast.By the numbers: Total wealth fell in 2022, as you'd expe

Read More

Mortgage Rates Hover Near 7%

Higher borrowing costs are hitting first-time buyers especially hard.For the third consecutive week, mortgage rates were on the rise, forcing some hopeful home buyers to the sidelines. Freddie Mac’s latest nationwide survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 6.96%.“Rates are just a sliver below 7%, and that will make it difficult not only for home buyers but also sellers considering a move,” says Jessica Lautz, deputy chief eco

Read More

Millennials Powered America’s Homeownership boom

Prior to the pandemic, Yue and Chris Parsons were, like many Millennials, reluctant renters moving from one apartment to another, wondering when they would be able to buy a home of their own.But the pandemic turned out to be an opportunity — not just for the Parsonses, who are 34 and 36 years old, respectively, but for lots of other young people.From 2016 to 2022, homeownership rates rose most for those under 44, according to rec

Read More

This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.