The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices have been considered among the leading measures of US home prices for decades. According to their most recent release, prices are still rising, continuing a streak that dates back to last summer. In fact, the data – which covers home values through the end of November – shows increases have actually accelerated. Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P, says the most recent increase was the biggest since February 2014. “As … [Read more...]

Your credit score is the kind of thing that's easy to forget about until you need it. It doesn't seem to matter much, until it's the difference between getting approved for a loan and being denied. Fortunately, if you check your score and do what you can to improve it, you can avoid this predicament. You just have to give yourself enough time. But how long do you need? Well, according to MyFICO – the official consumer division of FICO – it depends on the type of financing. If you're looking to finance a cell phone … [Read more...]

Home builders know the housing market better than most. That's why the National Association of Home Builders surveys them each month to measure how confident they are in the market for newly built, single-family homes. After all, if builders are optimistic, it's a good indicator that the market is strong and buyers are interested. According to the NAHB's most recent release, they are and it is. Their January Housing Market Index scored an 83 on a scale where any number above 50 indicates more builders view … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, demand for loans to buy homes rose 3 percent last week and is now 15 percent higher than it was last year at the same time. The improvement is yet another sign of the housing market's continued strength. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says home buyers are looking for newer, larger, and more expensive homes. “Purchase applications remain strong based on current housing demand, rising over the … [Read more...]

Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group releases a forecast each month looking at what's ahead for the housing market and overall economy. According to their most recent release, there's reason to be optimistic. For one, the group sees the economy bouncing back this year. The combination of warmer weather and the COVID-19 vaccine rollout will have things picking up starting in spring and continuing into the second half of 2021. Housing activity is also expected to be strong, though it should settle a bit … [Read more...]

How we buy homes has undergone a significant transformation in the past year. The proof is in newly released data that shows a record number of recent home buyers made an offer on a home without having ever visited it in person. The numbers, from an online real-estate portal, show 63 percent of buyers who purchased a home last year made an offer without having seen the property. That's up from 32 percent one year earlier and 45 percent in July 2020. So what's driving the trend? Well, mostly it's the COVID-19 … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, demand for mortgage applications was up 16.7 percent during the first week of January. The increase includes an adjustment for the holidays, but represents a significant spike from the previous week. Refinance activity was up 20 percent, while purchase demand rose 8 percent. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says the numbers contain evidence that first-time home buyers are becoming more active in … [Read more...]

Remote work has Americans spreading out and the trend doesn't look like it's going anywhere any time soon. More and more, Americans are moving further from city centers and into suburbs and exurbs. In fact, according to one recent survey, two-thirds of participants said they either already had, or would like to, move somewhere within 50 miles of their current home. Some even wanted to move further, with 4 percent saying they moved more than 50 miles away and 10 percent said they'd like to in the future. In short, … [Read more...]

A buyer's market means there are more homes available for sale than there are interested home buyers. When this happens, home shoppers have more negotiating power and time to choose – since sellers are less likely to have more than one offer to pick from. This was the case after the housing crash and financial crisis, when the market was flooded with homes but had few buyers, outside of real-estate investors looking to capitalize. So what should we expect from 2021? Well, most likely, not a buyer's market. The … [Read more...]

The number of homes for sale was already low at the beginning of 2020. It only got worse from there. The pandemic, along with surging buyer demand, led to fewer choices and higher prices for hopeful home buyers. Homes sold quickly as competition spiked. But where was for-sale inventory at the end of the year? Well, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors' consumer website, the number of homes for sale was down 39.6 percent year-over-year in December, hitting an all-time low. But there … [Read more...]