WASHINGTON — You might expect that mortgage rates would be falling right now after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half-point last month. Instead, mortgage rates jumped higher. The latest data from Freddie Mac showed that the average 30-year mortgage rate had increased to 6.4% more than a quarter-point higher than it […]
News & Media WASHINGTON —The latest report from Realtor.com found that the number of homes under contract last month rose 3.5% year over year, which is a large gain compared to the 0.3% increase in August. The lower mortgage interest rates have enticed some buyers into the market from the sidelines. Realtor.com economist and […]
WASHINGTON — With inflation gradually easing and builders anticipating mortgage rates will moderate in coming months, builder sentiment moved higher for a second consecutive month despite challenging affordability conditions. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 43 in October, up two points from a reading of 41 in September, according […]
CHICAGO — For real estate professionals looking for another source of income, becoming dually licensed as a real estate agent and mortgage loan originator (MLO) might be the right path. Consider that 89% of buyers use an agent for their purchase and 80% finance the transaction, according to the National Association of Realtors®’ 2023 […]
ST. LOUIS — Nearly 2 in 3 homeowners (63%) have gone into debt to fund a renovation, according to new research from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company. With 94% of homeowners having completed a major renovation in the past five years, about 3 in 4 (78%) went over budget on […]
BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — When a hurricane sets its sights on Florida, storm-weary residents may think of catastrophic wind, hammering rain and dangerous storm surge. Mounds of sand swallowing their homes? Not so much. That’s the reality for some after Hurricanes Helene and Milton clobbered Florida’s Gulf Coast with back-to-back hits in less than […]
WASHINGTON —With the Federal Reserve beginning an easing of monetary policy and builder sentiment improving, single-family starts posted a modest gain in September while multifamily construction continued to weaken because of tight financing and an ongoing rise in completed apartments. Overall housing starts decreased 0.5% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of […]
News & Media SEATTLE – Pending U.S. home sales rose 3.2% year over year during the four weeks ending October 13, the biggest increase in three years, according to a new report from the real estate brokerage Redfin. Home sales are rising. On a local level, pending sales are up in 34 of the […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Home and business owners who need in-person help navigating hurricane-recovery resources can visit Florida Small Business Development Center Network’s mobile assistance center and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Recovery Centers this week. The Florida SBDC, in partnership with state and federal agencies, has been on the ground in impacted communities […]
IRVINE, Calif.— Homeowners earned a 55.6% profit margin on typical single-family home and condo sales in the United States during the third quarter, the real estate analytics company ATTOM said. That figure was down by small amounts both quarterly and annually, dipping by one percentage point from the second quarter of 2024 and two […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. annual single-family rent growth remained below 3% in August but is still up by 33% since the beginning of the pandemic. Expensive coastal metros led the country for gains, and although Sun Belt markets are no longer as hot as they once were, some of those areas have put up significant […]
WASHINGTON — Monstrous hurricanes Helene and Milton caused so much complex havoc that damages are still being added up, but government and private experts say they will likely join the infamous ranks of Katrina, Sandy and Harvey as super costly $50-billion-plus killers. Making that even more painful is that most of the damage – […]
