According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates were relatively flat last week, including rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. But, despite the fact that rates were mostly unchanged from one week earlier, overall demand for mortgage applications was down from the week before. Joel Kan, MBA's vice president of economic and industry … [Read more...]

The value of a particular house has to do with many different factors. The condition of the house, the location, the school district, supply, demand, and the surrounding neighborhood's amenities are among some of the most well known. But a recent analysis has pinpointed another, less well known, factor that may help push prices upward. According to the study, areas that have stricter land-use regulations – such as density laws and permit review times – have seen much larger increases in home values compared to … [Read more...]

Naturally, home builders need to keep up with what buyers want. If they're building homes without incorporating the features home buyers desire, they won't be in business very long. And that's why it's good to check in with builders if you're curious about the latest home design trends. For example, according to one recent survey conducted by home builder Ashton Woods, buyers no longer prefer an all-white kitchen. In fact, today's home buyer is more likely to choose natural wood cabinets, with white cabinetry … [Read more...]

Your financial health isn't really about how much money you make. It's more about how much you have left over once you've paid all your bills. After all, if you make $1 million a month but also spend $1 million, you're still struggling financially. And no one likes worrying about money. For that reason, a recent analysis took a look at the 50 biggest cities in the country and – based on household income, home prices, and cost of living – tried to determine where homeowners were able to live most comfortably. … [Read more...]

Home buyers this year have faced higher prices, more competition, and rising mortgage rates. In short, it's been a challenging year. But that's not to say it isn't a good time to buy a house. There are many reasons to be optimistic about homeownership, in fact – and a few that put current conditions in perspective. Take mortgage rates, for example. According to Freddie Mac, the long term average is 8.16 percent, which means today's rates are still low historically. Also, home equity is increasing. In fact, it's up … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates increased for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both conforming and jumbo balances last week. Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration were virtually unchanged. Nevertheless, the increases led to a decline in mortgage activity, with both refinance and purchase demand lower than one week earlier. Joel Kan, the MBA's vice president of economic and industry forecasting, told CNBC slowing mortgage demand is in … [Read more...]

If you're a potential home buyer with an eye on home prices, there's good news and bad news in the latest results of the S&P Case-Shiller Price Indices. On the one hand, home price increases may be finally slowing down. Year-over-year numbers show the rate at which prices increased was lower than the month before. This, combined with news that there are more homes being listed for sale, is an encouraging sign that affordability conditions may soon begin to turn in favor of buyers. On the other hand, however, … [Read more...]

The story of this year's housing market has mostly been about inventory. With a lower number of homes for sale and high buyer demand, competition and prices have been on the rise, making conditions more challenging for home buyers. But, if the most recent Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors is any indication, things may finally be changing. That's because there's an increasing number of homes being listed and some evidence that the worst is behind us. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief … [Read more...]

If you were asked to name a hot home design trend, you probably wouldn't guess log homes. And yet, new data from the National Association of Home Builders shows last year's sales of log and timber homes were 56% higher than in 2012. That's a big jump. So what's behind the increase? Well, for one thing, today's log and timber homes don't resemble what might come to mind when thinking of an old-fashioned “log cabin.” According to the NAHB, “Revenues from log and timber frame homes have risen at a faster pace than … [Read more...]

New homes are generally more expensive than existing homes. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that everything in a new home is brand new and you're going to pay a premium for that. This is really no different than paying more for an older home that's recently undergone an extensive renovation. New things cost more than used things. The other reason new homes are generally higher priced is that builders, for the past several years, have been primarily building houses for the high-end of the market, due … [Read more...]