A lot has been written about how the coronavirus and remote work have led home buyers to flee urban centers and head to the suburbs. The idea that Americans – who can work from home and no longer have to worry about their commute – are leaving expensive city centers and moving to more affordable homes in the suburbs has been a consistent theme since the pandemic began. It makes sense. After mitigation efforts forced more of us inside, we began reevaluating what we want in our homes. That, naturally, led to rising … [Read more...]

December isn't typically a popular month with home buyers. And while there are many reasons for this, last year, buyers largely ignored them. In fact, there were more buyers who signed contracts to buy homes during the month than ever before. According to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, contracts to buy hit an all-time high for the month, even though they fell slightly from November. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says there's no shortage of interested home buyers. “Pending … [Read more...]

Last year was an unusual year for the housing market. Expectations of a busy spring sales season were dashed when the coronavirus took hold and mitigation efforts caused interested buyers to delay their plans. But what looked like it may have been a lost year turned into something entirely different. The market rebounded faster than predicted and buyers returned in droves. Sales skyrocketed in early summer and then out performed year-before levels through the end of the year. According to one recent analysis, … [Read more...]

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 1.6 percent in December, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The increase was the first month-over-month improvement since July and puts new home sales 15.2 percent higher than they were in December 2020. Overall, new home sales ended the year 18.8 percent higher than in 2019, making it the best year in more than a decade. It's yet another sign of the housing market's continued strength. … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, demand for loans to buy homes is now 16 percent higher than it was last year at the same time, continuing a trend that started in the second half of last year. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says purchase activity and average loan size have been climbing since last spring. “Activity was up 16 percent from a year ago, and the average purchase loan amount hit another record high of $395,200,” … [Read more...]

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...]