When you think about where Americans move once they've retired, you probably think of sunny cities in states like Florida or Arizona. But, according to one recent analysis, there are some less obvious spots that should be added to the list of places retirees consider when thinking about where they'd like to spend their golden years. That's because cities like Plano, Pittsburgh, Lexington, Louisville, and Fort Wayne were included among the top 10 best places to retire – along with sun-drenched cities like St. … [Read more...]

Money is an issue when deciding whether it's a good time for you to buy a house. Your savings, income, and monthly budget will all play a role in determining what you can and can't afford. But your personal finances aren't the only variable dictating how much house you can buy. Current market conditions will also be a factor. Whether home prices and mortgage rates are up or down will affect how far your money will go. That's why recent data from Black Knight Financial is encouraging for anyone considering buying a … [Read more...]

When an offer to buy a house is accepted, a contract is signed. After that, the home's sale is considered pending until the buying process is completed and all of the paperwork is done. Because contract signings precede closings, pending sales can be a good indicator of future home sales. That's why the National Association of Realtors measures them on a monthly basis. In July, their Pending Home Sales report shows contract signings were down from the month before but remain virtually unchanged from where they were … [Read more...]

Home prices have been rising for years now. But, according to new data, they may be finally starting to level off. The numbers, from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices – which is considered to be the leading measure of U.S. home prices – shows price increases have continued to slow. Nationally, S&P's most recent reading has them up just 3.1 percent year-over-year. Philip Murphy, managing director and global head of index governance at S&P Dow Jones Indices, says that may be a sustainable level. “Home … [Read more...]

When the housing market crashed and home prices fell, many homeowners found themselves underwater. The subsequent crisis meant hundreds of thousands of homeowners owed more on their mortgage than their homes were worth. That caused the number of foreclosures, vacancies, and abandoned properties to spike. Fortunately, though, home prices began to rebound in 2012 and helped reverse those losses. Now, after many years of increasing home values, a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions shows just how significant that … [Read more...]

The latest data from the U.S Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows new home sales down nearly 13 percent in July. But the decreasing sales numbers are a bit misleading. That's because the decline was mostly the result of a significant revision to month-before numbers. New home sales data is an estimate based on building permits and is often revised after initial reporting. In this case, after being revised upward, the June data actually shows sales were at their fastest pace since … [Read more...]

If you're thinking about buying a house sometime soon, you should be prepared to act fast. New numbers from the National Association of Realtors show that the typical property was on the market just 29 days in July. And, while that's up from the month before and better than last year at the same time, it still means good homes are selling quickly. In fact, 51 percent of homes sold in July were on the market less than a month. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says the market is suffering from a lack of … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances. But the drop, which has rates hovering just above record lows, failed to move home buyers. In fact, demand for loans to buy homes fell from the week before. So why haven't favorable rates spurred a buying boom? Well, though low mortgage rates are good for buyers and help ease affordability conditions, they aren't the only factor affecting … [Read more...]

Buying a house is a major financial transaction no matter where you live. But just how big the transaction is largely depends on where you're buying. From one neighborhood to the next, affordability conditions can change. And when comparing metropolitan areas, that change can be even more drastic. For example, a recent analysis of metro areas looked at median incomes and median home prices in an effort to determine the country's most affordable cities. The results show that Detroit is the most affordable city in … [Read more...]

After spiking at the end of last year, mortgage rates have spent most of this year falling. Now they're, once again, a motivating factor for potential home buyers. But they're also good for existing homeowners. So much so that Fannie Mae's latest outlook sees a refinance boom ahead. “Mortgage rates are approaching their lowest level in recent decades, and as they have moved lower, more and more homeowners are finding incentive to refinance,” Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's senior vice president and chief economist, said. … [Read more...]