It isn't always easy to find what you're looking for when shopping for a house. That's especially true when there are fewer homes for sale. Low inventory leads to competition, quick sales, bidding wars, and frustration. On the other hand, when there are more options to choose from, there are more opportunities to find a house that checks off the items on your wishlist. Which is why a recent end-of-the-year forecast has encouraging news for prospective home shoppers. The forecast, from the National Association of … [Read more...]

Sometimes you have no choice but to move. Maybe you need to relocate for a better job or have to get a bigger space to accommodate a growing family. Whatever the circumstances, life may force you to find a new place to live. In those cases, you don't have the luxury to consider market conditions or whether now is the best time financially to make a move. But, if you have a move in mind and you're not on a specific timeline, you may be wondering whether now's the best time and if today's market is better for buyers … [Read more...]

When a seller accepts an offer to buy, their home's sale is considered pending until it closes weeks later. Because of this, pending sales are a reliable indicator of future home sales numbers. That's why The National Association of Realtors tracks them each month with its Pending Home Sales Index. According to the most recent data, contract signings were down in October, falling 4.6 percent from the previous month. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says October was hard for buyers but things may soon ease up. … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell again last week. It was the third consecutive week of declines and saw rates down across most loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with conforming loan balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, 15-year fixed-rate loans, and 5/1 ARMs. Only jumbo loans increased from the week before. Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist, says economic conditions may keep rates … [Read more...]

Mortgage rates were at their recent peak in October. But despite elevated rates, new home buyers were active, pushing sales of newly built single-family homes higher than the month before. In fact, according to recently released numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, new home sales rose 7.5 percent above September's rate and were down just 5.8 percent from last year at the same time. The improvement beat expectations, as economists polled by Reuters predicted a … [Read more...]

A new survey of home sellers found 86 percent of them preferred a buyer who's been pre-approved for a mortgage over one who's pre-qualified. That's the overwhelming majority and a clear indication that home shoppers should first get pre-approved for a loan before proceeding on their house hunt. But what's the difference anyway? Well, pre-approval requires a more thorough check of your finances than pre-qualification does. That means, you'll be asked to provide some documentation confirming your income, assets, … [Read more...]

Mortgage rates were at their recent peak in October. But despite elevated rates, new home buyers were active, pushing sales of newly built single-family homes higher than the month before. In fact, according to recently released numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, new home sales rose 7.5 percent above September's rate and were down just 5.8 percent from last year at the same time. The improvement beat expectations, as economists polled by Reuters predicted a … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell again last week. 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 loans all declined. It was the second straight week mortgage rates fell. They are now down 50 basis points from last month's peak. Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist, said the news was good for home buyers. “The decrease in … [Read more...]

It's nice to have a grocery store in the area. After all, you're going to need groceries. So having a store nearby that you can quickly run to when you run out of something is a coveted convenience. But it may be more than just convenient, according to a new analysis from ATTOM Data Solutions. Their recently released 2022 Grocery Store Wars looked at home values near three popular grocery store chains to determine where values were the highest. What they found was average home values were highest in neighborhoods … [Read more...]

Each month, Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group releases a forecast detailing what they believe is ahead for the housing market and economy. According to their most recent release, the group sees the current market slowdown continuing into the first half of next year. Among the reasons for this, the “lock-in effect” is a significant contributor. With rates higher than those homeowners already have locked in on their current mortgage, there is a financial disincentive to move for many homeowners right … [Read more...]