By Alex Veiga The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose from last week’s 7.12%, in part due to fears of another Fed interest rate increase, but that appeared less likely on Thursday. LOS ANGELES – The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged up this week, pushing higher the borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers already facing a housing market limited by a dearth of homes for sale and rising prices. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.18% from 7.12% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac on Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.02%. The average
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By Kerry Smith Vacation-home buyers face the same headwinds as other buyers, plus pandemic demand ended, and many have return-to-the-office orders, with loan rate locks down 50%. SEATTLE – Vacation homes were hot during the pandemic as workers freed from the office look for places where they could spread out. But that pace may have cannibalized current demand as some vacation-home buyers jumped into the market a few years earlier than planned. Plus vacation homebuyers today face the same challenges as homesteaders, notably low inventory, and higher home prices and mortgage rates. Using mortgage-rate locks as a gauge for homebuyer
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By Marni Jameson Buyers wary of a fixer-upper? AI not only redecorates, it will soon quote remodeling cost estimates, hire contractors and help users buy pieces of furniture. NEW ORLEANS – Think Geek Squad meets The Property Brothers. At the National Association of Realtors iOi Summit last month in Miami, innovators, futurists, investors and real estate professionals got together to chat like chatbots about PropTech. That’s the hip insider term for “property technology.” You are going to be so cool when you finish reading this, so stay with me. Just as technology has changed the way we shop, go places,
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By Kerry Smith U.S. households had 8.8% less to spend in 2022 (after taxes) than they did in 2021 due in part to 2021’s pandemic checks and expiring tax credits, such as some for childcare. WASHINGTON – Real median household income after taxes fell 8.8% to $64,240 from 2021 to 2022, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau. And the poverty rate after taxes as measured by the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) increased 59% to 12.4% over the same period. With “real median income,” inflation’s impact is backed out to make year-to-year numbers comparable. Before-tax real income didn’t
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Property insurance costs aren’t completely under human control. NOAA says 2023 has had 23 billion-dollar-plus disasters so far due to changes in the climate. WASHINGTON – In the U.S., August 2023 was the ninth warmest on record, and a warm August wrapped up a sweltering Summer 2023 across the U.S., according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. The nation has also been hit with 23 separate billion-dollar disasters so far this year, the largest number of billion-dollar disasters since records have been kept. Climate by the numbers The average temperature for August across the contiguous U.S. was 74.4 degrees
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By Kerry Smith If more workers are called back to the office, would the housing inventory improve? Still, top reasons remain family, more space and/or a lower cost of living. SEATTLE – Return-to-work policies are starting to have a measurable impact on sellers’ reasons for listing their home, with a recent study finding it a top reason for one in every 10 (10.1%) listings. While returning to the office wasn’t the most common reason respondents listed for moving, the response rate is notable because back-to-office mandates are an emerging cause of relocation, according to a study conducted by Qualtrics and
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By Kerry Smith Aug. report: Rather than lower monthly rents that remain within $2 of their all-time high, more landlords are offering perks, such as a free month or two. SEATTLE – The median U.S. asking rent in August was $2,052, just $2 below the record high set a year earlier, according to a Redfin report. It’s up slightly (0.7%) month-to-month; in July, the typical asking rent was $2,038. In some cases, however, those high rents are “on paper” because landlords are offering one-time concessions to entice tenants. This means rents are effectively coming down in some areas even though
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A study of HUD data found that Black, Asian and Latino subsidized renters paid up to 25% more than white renters – but Native Americans appeared to pay less. ST. LOUIS – For years, scholars, advocates and journalists have highlighted the ongoing racism and segregation in the housing market, yet a segment of the housing market – government-subsidized housing – has been overlooked. A new study from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and other institutions is the first in decades to investigate racial inequality in the subsidized housing market. Using restricted 2017 American Housing Survey data provided by
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By Kerry Smith Independent businesses aren’t quite as optimistic about the next six months, and many hope to maximize profits now to prepare for any possible downturn. WASHINGTON – The National Federation of Independent Businesses’ (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index decreased 0.6 of a point in August to 91.3, the 20th consecutive month below the 49-year average of 98. One in four (23%) of small business owners said inflation was their most important business problem, up two points compared to July. As a result, 2% more owners raised their prices in August compared to July – 27% compared to 25%
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By Kerry Smith If Congress passes an extension, transactions can proceed. If not, homebuyers who need mortgage-mandated flood coverage should plan ahead to avoid problems. WASHINGTON – National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) authorization expires on Sept. 30, 2023. If that happens, it can disrupt Florida sales transactions if the buyer’s lender requires flood insurance to secure their mortgage. To avoid an NFIP shutdown, Congress must authorize an extension. However, it’s not clear if that will happen this time if a divided Congress ties the issue to other financial bills. In the past, lawmakers have often passed a short-time extension in
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