Total housing starts fell 3.6% in January, but that’s not what housing economists were focused on with the latest data release from the Commerce Department on Wednesday. Instead, it was the gauge on future home building—housing permits—that had them upbeat about what could be coming. Housing permits last month climbed to the highest level since March 2007.Still, it wasn’t all great news to the industry: Housing starts dipped to a seasonal
A strong economy, low unemployment, low mortgage rates, and alluring mortgage rates are making it a great time to buy a home, according to a newly released report from LendingTree, an online financial services marketplace. The amount of income that buyers spent on their mortgage payments also dropped from 2010 through 2019, despite higher home prices.“If you are in a point in your life where you’re considering buying a home today, it’s a be
Real estate investing may still feel out of reach to many consumers, but a new trend growing from startups is fostering “micro-investing” to help a new wave of investors jump in—sometimes for as little as $5.“The best portfolios are diversified, and real estate performs very uniquely, in a way that is uncorrelated to the stock market and bonds … We want to offer the same asset at a lower price point,” Janine Yorio, founder and CEO of
The nation’s ailing malls are trying to use entertainment and restaurants as anchors new business. They want to reinvent themselves as theater districts for entertainment and offer opportunities for socialization and entertaining as a way to save shopping.To do that, they’re converting vacant anchor stores into indoor entertainment destinations, such as go-karts, arcade games, and rides or main-brand experiences, from Legoland to the Crayola
Economic growth helped to accelerate single-family rental prices in 2019, and that momentum is expected to continue for the rental market well into 2020, according to CoreLogic’s Principal Economist Molly Boesel.Demand remains strong as rental vacancies reached a record low in the fourth quarter of 2019, CoreLogic reports in its latest Single-Family Rent Index. U.S. single-family rent prices rose 2.9% year-over-year in December 2019.“Strong e
The number of properties for sale has hit a record low, and that could mean a tougher house hunt ahead for home buyers this spring. The housing shortage is hitting markets across the country, making places like Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., Columbus, Ohio, and Salt Lake City feel more like the competitive housing markets and tech hubs of San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Seattle, realtor.com® reports.Realtor.com® researchers analyzed housing ma
Cupid’s arrow is pointing at Provo, Utah. The metro is emerging as the top area in the U.S. for dating this year, according to a new survey released by Apartment List. The site analyzed data from more than 11,000 single renters to learn the best opportunities to date in cities across the country.Some 45% of survey respondents from Provo reported being satisfied with the city’s dating scene. That was the highest score of any American city, res
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.47% this week, remaining an alluring incentive for buyers who want to lock in some of the lowest borrowing rates in years.“With mortgage rates hovering near a five-decade low, refinance application activity is once again surging, rising to the highest level in seven years,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This surge, coupled with strong purchase activity, means that total mortgag
Is the declining number of marriages contributing to fewer first-time home buyers? In the 1980s, the number of married couples in the ranks of first-time buyers peaked at 75%. Flash forward to today, when only 53% of first-time buyers are married couples, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®.So who are the other buyers making up the housing market today? The share of unmarried couples purchasing their first home is now ma
House hunters tend to fall head over heels for homes that offer up attractive storage space, private backyards, man caves and she sheds, and plenty of more. In a new analysis by realtor.com®, researchers scanned keyword home search data in each state to find the regional must-have features for those shopping for a home.For example, Oklahoma residents tend to fall for “storm shelters,” Californians love “solar polar,” and Hawaiians desire
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