Home improvement remains a hot trend as people update their spaces to be more functional for the long-term.Facing lean housing inventory, more would-be move-up home buyers may be feeling stuck in place. As they wait out the market, many continue to tackle remodeling projects on their current home. In fact, remodeling activity surged to a record high last year, according to the 2023 U.S. Houzz & Home Study(link is external), a survey that
Home buyers can expect more savings as borrowing costs continue to decline from their peak in late 2022.Lower mortgage rates are giving buyers a boost at the start of the spring homebuying season. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.28% this week, the fourth straight week of declines, Freddie Mac reports. While rates are still higher than they were a year earlier, they’ve gradually scaled back from a 7% peak at the end of 2022.“Compa
Mortgage rates fell last week, but demand for home loans didn’t move higher as a result. Other aspects of today’s housing market are outweighing the benefit of lower mortgage rates right now, namely a lack of supply.The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 6.40% from 6.45%, with points falling to 0.59 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for loans wi
Ongoing banking instability sparked by the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank may affect the availability of jumbo mortgages not eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae, Freddie MacHomebuyer demand for mortgages weakened slightly last week even as mortgage rates continued to retreat from 2023 highs, breaking a streak of four consecutive weeks of growth in purchase loan applications, according to a weekly survey of lenders by
Manhattan real estate sales fell 38% in the first quarter, as buyers and sellers battled over prices and mortgage rates remained volatile, according to new reports.Total sales volume fell to $4.4 billion in the quarter, with 2,242 apartments and townhouses sold, compared to 2,546 sales in the first quarter of 2022, according to a report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. The average sales price fell 5% to $1.95 million and the median sales p
From bidets to smart toilets, the bathroom is getting a tech upgrade that makes life more convenient and a little less germy.As technology continues to advance, it’s no surprise that the smart home takeover has made its way into the bathroom. Kohler, a well-known manufacturer of kitchen and bath products, has introduced a range of bidet seats and smart toilets to meet the growing demand for advanced toilet technology. This kind of tech makes fo
Borrowing costs are decreasing as home sales are rising, which bodes well for a potentially active spring market.Mortgage rates continued to slide this week, adding more fuel to what appears to be a recovering housing market. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.32% for the week ending March 30, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Borrowing costs are heading down as major housing indicators, such as existing-home sales, new-home construction and
Looking at housing inventory change in percentage terms over the course of one year, the majority of cities that have experienced the largest one-year increase are primarily in the U.S. West and South regions. Aurora, Colorado, had a 12-month average housing inventory of 332 available homes for sale from March 2021 to February 2022. One year later, that 12-month average had risen by 115.6%, to 716 available homes for sale for the 12-month period
Demand for purchase loans picks up for the 4th straight week as mortgage rates continue to retreat from 2023 highs, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association survey on WednesdayHomebuyer demand for purchase loans picked up for the fourth week in a row last week as mortgage rates continued to retreat from 2023 highs, according to a survey of lenders by the Mortgage Bankers Association released Wednesday.The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications S
Older adults who have built equity over many years are in the best position to purchase homes in today’s roller coaster market, NAR data shows.Baby boomers are proving to be the big movers in real estate, comprising the highest share of buyers and sellers nationwide, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report. Older adults may have been more insulated than other generation
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