The answer to who can set market value involves buyers, sellers—and the very definition of “value”. Just as medical professionals don’t cause the ailments you ask them to diagnose and journalists aren’t causing the events they report, the appraiser does not control the market value of any property. As an agent, you know this. But when you’re trying to get a transaction over the finish line, an appraisal that doesn’t line up with the
The pandemic heightened the country’s housing crisis, but a variety of collaborative, innovative efforts offer promise.The U.S. isn’t alone in its affordable housing crisis. In a study of 200 global cities, 90 percent were found to be unaffordable for living. The average home costs more than three times the average income with shortages of land, lending, labor, and materials fueling the crisis, according to(link is external) the Wor
A huge chunk of consumer debt still carries fixed rates made before 2022 In the depths of the pandemic, Alex and Cynthia Durbin refinanced their mortgage at 2.75%. They built up their savings by spending less, then paid off a car loan and student debt.That meant the family’s balance sheet didn’t take a hit when the Federal Reserve started aggressively raising interest rates last year in an effort to cool inflation. The Fed on Wednes
Economy grew 2.4% last quarter, suggesting the U.S. is steering clear of recession Faster economic growth this spring raises the prospect of a longer postpandemic expansion despite the Federal Reserve pushing interest rates to a two-decade high.Gross domestic product grew at a seasonally- and inflation-adjusted 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was faster than economists expected and ab
Contract signings picked up the pace last month, and home buyers are increasingly facing multiple offer situations. NAR releases its housing forecast for the remainder of the year and 2024.Pending home sales rose slightly in June, and the latest indicators are showing a housing market on the mend. Median existing-home sales prices in June soared to their second highest on record in the last two decades, and more buyers are facing multip
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to a 6.81% average, Freddie Mac’s latest national mortgage market data shows. The latest increase in mortgage rates translates into a $2,172 monthly payment on a typical single-family home and $1,888 for a typical condo, says Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®.“Interest rates near 7% are not only a consideration for housing consumers’ budgets,” but she adds
‘July is seeing an unwelcome combination of slower economic growth, weaker job creation, gloomier business confidence and sticky inflation’ The S&P flash U.S. services-sector index fell to 52.4 from 54.4 in the prior month. That’s the lowest reading since February.Most Americans are employed on the service side of the economy, in areas such as technology, healthcare, finance and hospitality.The S&P U.S. manufacturing-sector index, m
A decrease in applications for FHA loans popular with first-time homebuyers helped push the average purchase loan application to $432,700, according to the latest MBA lender survey Homebuyer demand for purchase mortgages waned last week as mortgage rates plateaued near 2023 highs set earlier this month, according to a weekly survey of lenders by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed requests
Prices rose 0.7% from April to May after adjusting for increases typically experienced in spring, according to estimates released Tuesday by CoreLogic and the Federal Housing Finance Agency A drought of new listings continued to push up home prices in May despite an ongoing low-transaction environment, according to two widely tracked measures released Tuesday.Prices rose 0.7 percent from April to May after adjusting for the typical incr
Government investment in affordable housing will bring down the rising rate of homelessness, experts say Although mental-health conditions, disability and drug use have long been seen as the primary causes of homelessness, rising rents are in fact the driving force behind recent increases in the number of homeless people, advocates say — and rental-assistance programs are the solution.More than half a million people in the U.S. were homeless in
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