Before the pandemic, all-cash home buyers generally made up about 29 percent of home sales. Then, during the pandemic, that share began to climb. These days, despite a more muted market, cash buyers remain a significant share of overall home buyers. In fact, according to a recent analysis from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website, they made up 32.8 percent of home buyers during the first half of 2025. Danielle Hale, the website’s chief economist, says cash buyers can be tough competition for … [Read more...]

Whether or not a borrower is approved for a mortgage is determined in part by credit availability. When credit is loose, borrowers will have an easier time. When it’s tight, borrowers will need to have their finances in order if they hope to get a loan. The Mortgage Bankers Association tracks credit availability with its Mortgage Credit Availability Index. The index measures credit on a scale where any increase indicates credit standards are loosening, while declines mean they have tightened. In September, the … [Read more...]

The rate of new home construction matters to every home buyer, whether they know it or not. That’s because the supply of available homes for sale balances buyer demand and new home construction is the fastest way to add supply. When inventory is low – as it has been in recent years – new home construction provides buyers with more options and less competition, while helping to moderate prices on all homes, old and new. So where are new homes being built now? Well, according to the National Association of Home … [Read more...]

Each month, Fannie Mae conducts a survey of Americans asking for their opinions on the housing market and economy, including whether they think it’s a good time to buy or sell a home, whether they think mortgage rates and home prices will go up or down, and whether they feel secure in their jobs and financial situation. The resulting Home Purchase Sentiment Index is a good gauge of where public sentiment is and how Americans feel about real estate right now. According to the most recent results, consumer sentiment … [Read more...]

Now that the summer market has passed and the dust has settled, there’s enough available data to properly analyze how things went. According to one recent breakdown, the numbers look good for home buyers. That’s because the balance of supply and demand has changed and, for buyers, this summer was the best in a decade. The analysis found that there were an estimated 35.2 percent more home sellers than buyers in August, which is the second highest percentage since 2013. The only month with a higher percentage of … [Read more...]

Luxury can mean different things to different people. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they say. But while that’s certainly true, defining luxury in the housing market can be a bit more straightforward. For example, a recent analysis from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website defines it by share of the most expensive homes. In other words, the top 10 percent of the most expensive homes in the nation could reasonably be considered luxury homes and, these days, $1 million won’t get you … [Read more...]

The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices is considered among the leading measures of U.S. home prices. Its data goes back more than 30 years and covers all nine Census divisions. According to its most recent release, S&P found national home prices up 1.7 percent year-over-year through the end of July. That’s virtually unchanged from the previous month’s results and far weaker than the double-digit annual gains seen just a few years ago. Nicholas Godec, head of Fixed Income Tradeables & Commodities at … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates moved higher last week from the week before. Rates were up across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. The increases led to a drop in demand for mortgage applications. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says rates were at their highest level in … [Read more...]

The number of signed contracts to buy homes rose 4 percent month-over-month in August, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors. The increase pushed pending home sales 3.8 percent higher than they were last year at the same time and included a nearly 9 percent increase in the Midwest and a 5 percent bump in the West. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says lower mortgage rates are driving buyer interest. “Lower mortgage rates are enabling more home buyers to go under contract,” Yun said. … [Read more...]

New home sales data is volatile and often revised. Mostly that’s because a sale is counted when a contract is signed and can be for a house that hasn’t even begun construction. But while sales data is subject to revision, the 20.5 percent increase recently reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau still seems encouraging for the market. The month-over-month increase pushed sales 15.4 percent higher than they were last year at the same time. It also came before … [Read more...]