It wasn’t long ago that homes for sale would get multiple offers and go under contract in a matter of days. But times have changed. Now, not only are listings lasting longer on the market, homes for sale are more likely to see multiple price cuts than multiple offers. In fact, according to one recent analysis, the typical home listing saw $25,000 in cuts in October – matching the biggest discounts ever recorded. The average individual cut remained around $10,000. That hasn’t changed much in recent years. What has … [Read more...]

The S&P Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index is a composite of single-family home price indices for the nine U.S. Census divisions. Calculated quarterly, it is considered among the leading measures of national home prices. According to the most recent release, price increases continue to decelerate, with values up just 1.3 percent year-over-year through the end of September. That’s down slightly from the previous month’s results, when prices rose 1.4 percent from year-before levels. Nicholas Godec, CFA, … [Read more...]

Generally speaking, something old is going to be less expensive than something new. That’s true for most things and certainly homes for sale. New homes are typically more expensive than previously owned homes. But according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website, the two are now closer in price than they’ve ever been before. In fact, the median price for newly built homes is currently $451,337 while the median for an older home is $409,667. Danielle Hale, the website’s chief … [Read more...]

Affordability conditions continued to improve in October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Purchase Applications Payment Index. The index – which measures the national median mortgage payment based on amounts applied for by borrowers – found the median payment fell month-over-month, dropping to $2,039 from $2,067 one month earlier. Edward Seiler, MBA’s associate vice president of housing economics and executive director of the Research Institute for Housing America, says the index is now at … [Read more...]

Sales of previously owned homes rose 1.2 percent month-over-month in October, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors. Year-over-year, sales were up in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, but down in the West. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says home buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates during the month. “Home sales increased in October even with the government shutdown due to home buyers taking advantage of lower mortgage rates,” Yun said. “Rents are decelerating which will … [Read more...]

Sometimes shopping for a house means making quick decisions. That’s particularly true when the market’s hot and there’s a lot of competition between buyers. Under those conditions, buyers have to act fast. But acting fast leads to mistakes and mistakes lead to regret. That’s why buyers’ remorse rose during the pandemic-era housing market. Buyers were pushing their budgets, trying to outbid one another. But now that the market has slowed, so have the regrets. In fact, according to a new survey from the National … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates moved higher last week. It was the third consecutive weekly increase. Rates were up for 30-year fixed-rate loans with conforming balances,15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says the increases led to slower demand. “Mortgage rates increased for the third consecutive week, with the 30-year fixed rate inching higher to its highest level in four weeks …” Kan … [Read more...]

Each month, the National Association of Home Builders conducts a survey of builders to determine how confident they are in the market for newly built single-family homes. Their responses are scored on a scale where any number above 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than poor. In November, the NAHB’s Housing Market Index rose one point to 38. Buddy Hughes, NAHB’s chairman, says buyers remain hesitant. “While lower mortgage rates are a positive development for affordability conditions, many buyers … [Read more...]

Buying a home has been a good bet for a long time. Home values started rising following the housing crash’s bottom in 2012 and didn’t stop. During the pandemic, they rose even faster, as more Americans were looking to move. Those days may be over, though. In fact, according to one new analysis, 53 percent of all homes lost value over the past year. That’s the highest share in more than a decade. But does that mean home buyers should worry that homeownership has lost its financial benefits? Probably not. The same … [Read more...]

According to a recent analysis of more than 48 million single-family home and condo sales, the best day to buy a home is Christmas Eve. The analysis, conducted by ATTOM Data Solutions, looked at sales data from the past 10 years to determine which date scored buyers the best bargain. According to the analysis, buyers who close on December 24 paid the lowest premium above estimated value of any day of the year. In fact, home buyers only paid 3.8 percent above value on that day – compared to the nearly 14-percent … [Read more...]