Sales of previously owned homes were flat in August from one month earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Nationally, sales were down 0.2 percent month-over-month, with increases in the Midwest and West but decreases in the Northeast and South. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says sluggish sales may soon ramp up. “Home sales have been sluggish over the past few years due to elevated mortgage rates and limited inventory,” Yun said. “However, mortgage rates are declining and more inventory … [Read more...]

Each month, Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group releases an outlook detailing what they think’s ahead for the housing market and economy. The outlook covers everything from economic growth to mortgage rates and forecasts where they’ll be at the end of this year and through 2026. According to its September forecast, Fannie Mae sees improvement on the way. For starters, the group believes mortgage rates will fall slightly lower by the end of the year and drop roughly another half point by December … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week from one week earlier. Rates were down for 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, flat for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and up slightly from the week before for 15-year fixed-rate loans. Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist, says the 30-year fixed rate is now at its lowest level in a year. “Mortgage rates declined further last … [Read more...]

Not all homes are move-in ready. In fact, most aren’t. Even new homes leave a lot of the finishing touches up to the new owners. In other words, you’re going to have to put in some work no matter what house you buy. How much, though, is up to you. You can look for something that’s relatively ready to go or find a house that needs some love. These days, a lot of buyers are passing on higher priced turn-key options in favor of getting their hands dirty. In fact, according to one new analysis from the National … [Read more...]

“Normal” is tough to define. But when it comes to housing affordability, most potential home buyers can agree the past several years have felt anything but normal. Skyrocketing prices, elevated mortgage rates, and competition from other buyers have made finding an affordable house seem almost impossible. Fortunately, the market has calmed recently and, according to one new study, may even be on track to return to normal. Per the report, if both home price and wage growth hold at today’s pace, mortgage rates would … [Read more...]

Spring is known as the housing market’s hottest time of year. It’s also usually the best time of year to sell a house. But is it the best time to buy? Well, not according to one new analysis from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website. The group’s 2025 Best Time To Buy Report found the best time for buyers is actually fall – and it’s fast approaching. In fact, the week of October 12-18 is considered the time to buy, as it provides a combination of more available listings and less competition from … [Read more...]

The fastest way out of a shortage of available homes for sale is building more new homes. That’s why new home construction ramped up over the past several years. There were too few homes for sale to satisfy the number of interested buyers and building was the best way out of the problem. Now, though, the tables may have turned. Buyer demand has slowed and the number of available new homes for sale is high. That’s causing residential construction to stall. In fact, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell again last week. Rates were down from the week before across most loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with conforming balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Rates are now at the lowest level since last October and borrowers are noticing. In fact, the MBA’s measure of purchase and refinance activity was up nearly 30 percent last week. … [Read more...]

The National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Market Index is a monthly measure of how confident builders are in the market for newly built homes. The index is based on a survey of builders and is considered an important indicator for the market since home builders have to know when, where, and what Americans want to buy in order to be successful. If builders are feeling confident and building more homes, chances are conditions are good and buyers are interested. According to the most recent survey, overall … [Read more...]

Insurance is something you don’t think too much about until you need it. But with rising prices pushing the cost of homeownership higher, it’s increasingly on the minds of prospective home buyers. In fact, a new survey from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website found 88 percent of surveyed buyers say they believe they’ll pay more for insurance in the future and 75 percent say it could ultimately become unaffordable. Danielle Hale, the website’s chief economist, says buyers have begun adjusting … [Read more...]