The equity of homeowners ages 62 and older has reached an all-time high, according to the latest index reading from the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association report. Seniors saw their housing wealth grow by 2.7% or $104 billion in the first quarter of this year, reaching a $7.14 trillion record.The increase in elderly homeowners’ wealth was mostly attributed to an estimated 2.4%, or $110 billion, increase in senior home values.As older
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to ease or, in some cases, eliminate rules that have been blamed for blocking greater construction of affordable housing. Homebuilding is near its lowest level in 60 years, contributing to a nationwide housing shortage that has pushed home prices up and battered affordability.Trump announced that a newly created initiative called the White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordabl
Many homeowners who purchase a fixer-upper say it was because they believed they’d save money. But they actually end up spending about the same or more than if they had opted for a move-in-ready home, according to a new study from Porch, a home remodeling website.Porch surveyed more than 1,000 homeowners about recent repairs to their homes. More than one-third of respondents said they lived in fixer-uppers.On average, respondents who bought a m
Many home sellers are reaping profits, especially if they're in one of 20 hot housing markets, finds a new study from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm.To evaluate, researchers evaluated the difference between the median sales price of homes in a given market and the median sales price of the previous sale of those same homes.San Francisco homeowners are seeing the highest returns, with sellers in April netting an average 74% return.
While housing affordability has been getting a hand from lower mortgage rates, it wasn’t enough to lift new-home sales last month.Sales of newly built single-family homes underperformed in what is traditionally the busiest time of year in the housing sector. New-home sales dropped 7.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626,000 units in May, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The number represents signed contracts, not closings
Government officials in some cities want to make it easier and less expensive to raise homes near coastal areas that suffer from repeated flood threats.Flooding is a threat to low-lying coastal communities. Federal flood insurance premiums are rising, and many believe they will continue to do so over future years.“The seas are rising … The flood maps continue to get updated, and more homes are in coastal high hazard areas,” Brandi Gabbard,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the sponsored government enterprises that support the bulk of U.S. mortgages, are making it easier to buy a manufactured home, but observers say not enough of the public may be enticed.A year ago, Fannie Mae debuted a program that essentially regards high-end manufactured homes the same as on-site homes when it comes to financing. Freddie Mac followed suit in the spring. Fannie and Freddie hope that by offering more re
For the first time in two months, existing-home sales rose in May as consumers rushed to take advantage of lower mortgage rates and greater inventory. Total existing-home sales—completed transactions including single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—jumped 2.5% month over month in May, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Friday. All four major regions of the U.
Knowing the lifespan of appliances and home fixtures can help home buyers get a realistic look at replacements or repairs they may need to make. It can also be a point of negotiations between a buyer and seller: If the buyer expects that an aging appliance will need to be replaced soon, they may want that factored into their offer.Some of the priciest components of a house for replacements or repairs tend to be the roof, electrical, plumbing, fur
Home purchasing activity among investors has reached the highest level in the past two decades, shows a new report, “Investor Home Buying,” released by CoreLogic. The increase isn’t from the big institutional buyers of recent years, the report says, but from more smaller investors entering in.Investors appear to be homing in on the starter home tier for their purchases, which is giving first-time home buyers more competition, CoreLogic note
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