By Kerry Smith NAHB’s monthly index (1-100) based on a survey of builders’ attitudes dropped 5 points to 45 in Sept., largely because of rising 7%-plus mortgage rates. WASHINGTON – Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in September fell five points to 45, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released Monday. The drop comes on the heels of a six-point August decline. “The two-month decline in builder sentiment coincides with mortgage rates jumping above 7% and significantly eroded buyer purchasing power,” says NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey. “And on
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By Kerry Smith NAR: Buyer demand is stronger than it appears as 15%-27% of buyers (by ethnic group) wait for lower home prices and 18%-25% wait for lower mortgage rates. WASHINGTON – The current real estate market’s high home prices and mortgage rates, as well as limited inventory, are the top reasons that Realtors® and prospective homebuyers across races and ethnicities cite as barriers to purchasing a home, according to two new reports from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In partnership with Morning Consult, NAR’s 2023 Experiences & Barriers of Prospective Home Buyers Across Races/Ethnicities report surveyed white, Hispanic/Latino(a),
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By Michael Bates Residential and commercial property owners have some post-hurricane property tax options, says Citrus County Property Appraiser Cregg Dalton. CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. – If your residential or commercial property was damaged from Hurricane Idalia, there is a property tax law benefit you may be entitled to for relief. Property Appraiser Cregg Dalton said his office is ready to help folks through the assessment process for the upcoming year to take advantage of any protections due them when making repairs or replacing their homesteaded property. “We are in communication with and will obtain damage assessment/permit records from Citrus County
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To secure a home, some U.S. buyers still agree to make up the difference when a mortgage appraisal comes in at less than the contract price – an often risky move. NEW YORK – Some buyers looking for a luxury home in a competitive market waive the so-called appraisal gap to entice a seller to accept their offer. Appraisal gaps happened in about 11% of residential transactions in June 2023, according to CoreLogic. They occur when homes appraise for less than the contract price, and often arise in tight markets where buyers have to bid above the asking price to
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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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