January Market Report: Low Inventory Limiting Options for Buyers Nationwide
For months, the story in the national housing market has been about the differences in housing market performance in various local markets – some markets are super hot, some a little more sedate and some still struggling to recover – depending on local economic fundamentals. But if there’s one constant across almost every market nationwide, it’s lack of inventory.
Now and Later: How a Stronger U.S. Dollar Impacts Foreign Buyers
In pure U.S. dollars and cents, the median American home is currently worth roughly 6.4 percent less than it was prior to the great recession. But for those looking to invest their Russian rubles and kopeks in U.S. real estate, or Brazilian reais and centavos (among other currencies), U.S. homes are more expensive than they’ve been in at least two decades – and maybe ever.
Tough at the Top: How Luxury Lagged Late in 2015
After growing in line with more modest areas throughout much of the first half of 2015, home value appreciation in America’s toniest ZIP codes stalled over the past 6 months – even as growth in entry-level and mid-market communities continued.
Q4 2015 Breakeven Horizon: Buying a Home Pays Off for Most – But Not All – After Just Two Years
A longstanding combination of healthy home value growth and low mortgage interest rates, combined with robust growth in rents, is helping to keep the buy vs. rent equation tilted heavily towards buying in most areas for those planning on staying in their homes for longer than just a few years.
Rockin’ the Suburbs: Home Values and Rents in Urban, Suburban and Rural Areas
The suburban home – long a symbol of success, stability and the American Dream – appears to be losing some of its luster as the appeal of city living gains steam and urban homes grow in value more quickly.
Middling, at Best: The Slow Recovery of Residential Construction Jobs
It is neither the best of times nor the worst of times for the residential construction industry. Instead, the industry seems stuck somewhere in the middle, growing sufficiently to put the lean recession years firmly in the rearview, but not enough to declare a full-blown comeback in construction jobs.
A Fistful of Dollars: Cash Buyers in the West, & the Rest*
Western gunslingers of yore may have risked their lives for a fistful of dollars, but today’s Western homebuyers more often than not come armed with a mortgage instead of cash.
November Market Report: How Much Would It Cost to Buy Every Home in America?
Got a spare $28.4 trillion lying around? If so, and if you’re looking for a decent investment opportunity, you could – at least theoretically – purchase every home in the United States.
Why Getting a Mortgage Is Getting Harder for Borderline Borrowers (And Why It May Get Worse)
For the first time since 2012, getting a mortgage today is harder than it was a year ago, largely because lenders are raising the bar on what they think is a minimally acceptable credit score.
What Are Your Digits? U.S. Homeowners’ Awareness of Mortgage Interest Rates
The prospect of rising mortgage interest rates in coming weeks and months, however modest, is weighing on potential homebuyers currently in the market. But most existing homeowners have only a vague idea of the exact interest rate on their mortgage – if that.
