New-home sales rose in August, even as buyers continued to weather high home prices. Higher development costs and material prices have put pressure on new-home prices, which are 20% higher than a year ago. The median sales price was $390,900 in August, the Commerce Department reported Friday.“These price hikes are a risk for housing affordability as we approach the end of the year,” says Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Associati
The commercial market is starting to rebound. Since the second quarter of 2020, vacancy rates have fallen for apartments and multifamily units, industrial, and retail properties, the National Association of REALTORS® reported at its inaugural C5 Commercial Real Estate Summit in New York City on Monday. The conference is bringing together commercial investors and industry leaders, REALTOR® associations, economic development corporation
Most Americans want to own a home at some point in their life, and they say they’re willing to make sacrifices to achieve it. For some, that means forgoing alcohol or vacations for a year to save. But others say they’re willing to give up having kids in order to have their dream home. About 60% of recent survey respondents say they’d prefer their dream home over 40% who said they’d prefer kids first, according to a new survey from Cinch H
Mortgage rates barely budged this week, but that likely soon will change after the Federal Reserve’s bond tapering announcement this week.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.88% for the week ending Sept. 23, Freddie Mac reports.Rates are largely predicted to rise on the heels of the Fed’s decision to reduce its bond purchases before the end of the year. The National Association of REALTORS® is forecasting that 30-year fixed-rate
An increasing number of homeowners—particularly younger adults—are seeing their home as a potential revenue stream. They’re more open to renting out their home to generate extra money and help offset the costs of owning, finds a new survey of more than 3,000 consumers conducted by realtor.com®.Thirty-two percent of consumers say they’ve already rented out a room, space, or outdoor feature of their property. Most often that means taking o
Some home buyers have decided to put their search on hold as asking prices continue to increase. Existing-home sales—which reflects completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—dropped 2% on a seasonally adjusted annual rate from July to August. Sales are down 1.5% compared to a year ago, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. All four major regions of the U.S. posted declines in existing-h
Another green hue has been selected as the hottest color for the new year. Sherwin-Williams announced its 2022 color of the year: evergreen fog, an earthy gray-green tone.The paint firm’s announcement comes on the heels of two other paint companies that this year chose gray-green shades as their 2022 leading color picks. PPG chose olive sprig, while Behr selected breezeway.Sherwin-Williams says evergreen fog is a calming color with nods to natu
Multifamily units are driving the gains in overall housing starts last month as more apartment projects were initiated. But single-family housing starts fell 2.8% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.076 million units, their second consecutive month of decline, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. While single-family starts dropped in the West and Midwest, they still rose in the Northeast and South.“There is certainly a hous
A new analysis from Freddie Mac alleges appraisal values are more likely to fall below the contracted sales price in Black and Latino neighborhoods than in predominantly White areas. The research is based on an evaluation of 12 million appraisals for purchase transactions on single-family homes that were submitted to Freddie Mac from 2015 to 2020.Nearly 13% of properties in Black census tracts received appraisal values lower than the contract pri
When you hear “prefab,” you may think double-wide mobile home. It’s a misconception the industry has long been trying to clear up.Prefab, a type of construction method, can be found at the luxury home level. More prefab options are stretching into the high-end market, combining quicker construction timelines with ultra-luxury touches.Prefab homes are built offsite in a factory, delivered to a home site, and assembled faster than a trad
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