Lower mortgage rates are prompting more home buyers to consider new-home construction, builders say. Sales of newly built single-family homes surged in August, rising 7.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 713,000 units, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. This marked the second time in three months that new-home sales rose above 700,000. Further, new-home sales have now jumped 18% compared to a year ago.The latest report follows on
Prospective first-time home buyers may need more guidance and assurance. Only 41% of first-time buyers recently surveyed say they felt prepared for the homebuying process. Forty-seven percent believe the homebuying process is “rigged” against the buyer, and 44% fear making a costly mistake, a new survey from Framework, a resource on homeownership. The company surveyed more than 600 prospective and recent first-time home buyers.Fifty-five perc
Homes selling for less than $100,000 still exist. “If you’re looking for affordability, you’ll find it in the South, Midwest, and [more remote] parts of the Northeast,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist.Realtor.com®’s research team scoured single-family listings to find the metros offering the highest number of homes for sale under $100,000. Here are the seven metros that topped the list:1. PittsburghMedian home sal
Homeowners with a mortgage have seen their equity rise by 4.8% year over year. The average homeowner has gained $4,900 in home equity between the second quarter of 2018 and the second quarter of this year, according to CoreLogic’s Home Equity Report.“Borrower equity rose to an all-time high in the first half of 2019 and has more than doubled since the housing recovery started,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Combined
Mortgage rates jumped dramatically this week but stand to dip some in the near future after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates Wednesday. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to a 3.73% average—its largest week-over-week increase since October 2018. However, despite the uptick, rates remain historically low, Freddie Mac reports. So tell your buyers not to panic in the face of this latest hike.“Despite the rise in mortgage ra
Austin, Texas, is the top city for investing in real estate heading into 2020, ranking first out of 80 cities for its real estate prospects, according to the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCooper’s newly released “Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2020” report. Rounding out the top five are:Raleigh-Durham, N.C.Nashville, Tenn.Charlotte, N.C.BostonThe highest-ranked markets for investment and development prospects are those that have p
Existing-home sales rose in August, marking two consecutive months of gains, even as a limited number of homes for sale remains a pressing issue on the market, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday. Three of the four major regions of the U.S. saw an uptick last month, the West being the only region not to see an increase in sales.“As expected, buyers are finding it hard to resist the current [mortgage] rates,” says Lawrence
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by another quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday to a range of 1.75% to 2%, citing concerns over a global economic slowdown. Mortgage rates aren’t directly tied to the Fed’s interest rate, but they do tend to be influenced by them.Following its meeting, the Fed signaled that another rate cut is likely before the end of the year. It cited “uncertainties” about the economic o
Fewer homes were flipped by investors in the second quarter compared with the same quarter one year ago as profits grew smaller, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2019 U.S. Home Flipping Report. Homes flipped in the second quarter were down 5.2% from a year ago. Overall, home flips in the second quarter comprised 5.9% of all home sales during the quarter.Investors are seeing fewer profits from their flips. Homes flipped in the second
Credit scores are rising, which bodes well for mortgage seekers desiring the lowest rates. The average FICO credit score, which is a widely used measure of a person’s creditworthiness, stands at 706, a record high, according to newly released FICO data.For comparison, in 2009 at the end of the Great Recession, the average FICO score was 686. Scores averaged 690 in 2006 during the housing bubble.A FICO score in the range of 670 to 739 is conside
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