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...]

Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index measures Americans' perception of the current housing market and their personal financial situation. The index serves as a gauge of how optimistic consumers are about buying or selling a home. In December, sentiment declined from the month before, with fewer Americans saying it's a good time to enter the market. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's senior vice president and chief economist, says the pandemic may be behind the decline. “The HPSI declined for the second consecutive … [Read more...]

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates declined during the last two weeks of 2020. In fact, rates were down across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. The drop means mortgage rates remain at all-time survey lows. Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said record-low rates are … [Read more...]

Home design trends, by their nature, come and go. There's always a hot new color or a must-have fashion. And just as quickly as they appear, they're erased and replaced with the next hot new thing. But when you ask home buyers and homeowners what they want from their homes – beyond the aesthetics – their answers are remarkably consistent. In short, everyone wants their home to be comfortable, efficient, clean, and healthy. That doesn't change. Home buyers and owners want things like smart thermostats, energy-star … [Read more...]

Affordability conditions worsened during the final quarter of 2020, according to new numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions. Their fourth-quarter U.S. Home Affordability Report found that homes and condos were less affordable than their historical average in 55 percent of the 499 included counties. That's up from 43 percent one year ago. Todd Teta, ATTOM's chief product officer, says affordability has been slipping, but that can change. “Home prices have continued rising throughout 2020 and the housing market has … [Read more...]

Luxury isn't easy to define. The dictionary says it's “the state of great comfort and extravagant living.” But since that leaves a lot to interpretation, we all have different ideas about what luxury really means. This is easy to see when thinking about the housing market. After all, a luxury home in one market can be vastly different than a luxury home in another. So, in order to get a better view of recent home sales, one new report broke them down into five price tiers. The results show that homes in the top – … [Read more...]