Home sales appear poised to reverse their downward trend, as contract signings in each of the four major U.S. regions rose in June, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest Pending Home Sales Index. The West saw the highest increase in contract signings last month, according to NAR’s report.The index rose 2.8% to a reading of 108.3 in June. Contract signings are now up 1.6% year over year, ending a 17-month streak of annual
Nearly 200 golf courses have closed over the last year in suburbs across the Sun Belt, according to the National Golf Foundation. The surrounding neighborhoods are not being cared for, and concerned homeowners are discovering that the premium they paid to live on a golf course is now vanishing.The sport has seen a steady decrease in interest over recent years. The National Golf Foundation reports that there has been a 20% decline in the
After a slight uptick last week, mortgage rates fell back to what’s become a more regular pattern this summer of hovering near three-year lows. Homebuyers are responding to the lower rates, and mortgage applications for home purchases have continued to rise steadily the last two months to the highest year-over-year change since the fall of 2017, says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.“While the improvement has yet to impact home sal
New-home sales rebounded in June, but builders warn that affordability concerns persist.Sales of newly built single-family homes rose 7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 646,000 units, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. New-home sales for 2019 are 2.2% higher than the same period a year ago.But while the numbers were positive in the latest new-home
Despite mortgage rates dipping below 4%, more jobs filled than ever before, and record-high consumer net worth, existing-home sales turned south in June, running at a pace similar to 2015 levels, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Tuesday. While economic indicators portend a strong housing market, low supply on the lower end—which leaves first-time home buyers with few options—is helping to hold sales back, NAR Chief Economist La
Real estate in the nation’s 100 largest markets is expected to continue to appreciate into next year, although some leveling is expected. Veros Real Estate Solutions, a risk management and predictive analytics firm, projects appreciation will be at 3.7% over the 12 months ending June 1, 2020.“This flattening indicates that although there is definite softness overall in the housing market, the fundamentals are healthy,” says Eric Fox, Veros
The longest economic expansion in the nation’s history—now approaching 10 years—may be nearing an end, writes Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS®, in his latest column at Forbes.com. But the housing market could help turn around some sluggish economic numbers, such as business and consumer spending.Consumer spending is slowing, despite a record number of jobs, rising wages, and plentiful wealth accum
Seventy percent of homeowners say they’re not currently living in their dream neighborhood, according to a new survey of more than 2,000 respondents from Improvement, a website focused on home improvement. The other 30% says that their dream neighborhood is located in a different town; 20% of that group say it’s three to 10 miles away, and 27% say it’s in a different part of the state or a neighboring state. So what qualifies as a “dream
After three weeks of mostly staying steady, average mortgage rates rose this week. However, rates still remain at multiyear lows, keeping borrowing costs low for those shopping for homes this summer.“The rise in rates was driven by continued improvement in consumer spending and partly due to optimism around a forthcoming cut in short-term interest rates, which should provide support for business and investor sentiment,” says Sam Khater, Fredd
The 2019 hurricane season has begun, with tropical storm Barry last week threatening the Gulf Coast. The U.S. Census Bureau released new data that shows 60.2 million residents live in areas that are vulnerable to hurricanes, living near the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions.Populations are rising in the areas most vulnerable to hurricanes. About 8.3 million people moved to the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions between 2000 and 2017, a 16% inc
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