Consumers are spending more time getting to work. On average, Americans’ one-way commute times rose to just over 27 minutes in 2018—a record high according to U.S. Census Bureau data.The average American has added about two minutes to their one-way commute since 2009. That has added 20 more minutes a week in commuting, and over a year that is 17 additional hours on the road from home to work and vice versa.Compared with 1980, American workers
Warm weather and low taxes continue to have a big pull on where retirees choose to settle down in their golden years. Those pulls are prompting many older Americans to continue to relocate to popular retiree havens in the Carolinas and Florida.U.S. News & World Report recently identified the best places to retire using criteria including housing affordability, taxes, health care, and happiness surveys. They analyzed data from 125 of the
Retailers rejoice: The holiday spending season is expected to be a lively one this year, and brick-and-mortar stores remain a critical component to the shopping season.ICSC, a retail real estate researcher, forecasts a 4.9% increase in holiday spending over last year, reaching an $832.3 billion total. The average adult is expected to spend $683 on holiday-related items.Ninety percent of adults say they plan to shop in retail locations for gifts a
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that it is allocating $112 million to expand the supply of permanent affordable housing to low-income people with disabilities. Funding is available through the Section 811 program.About half of the new funding will go toward the development of new supportive housing for people with disabilities. About $37 million also will go toward rental assistance, which will be availabl
Central metros dominated realtor.com®’s rankings of top-performing housing markets for September, claiming nearly half of its 20 spots. For the third consecutive month, Fort Wayne, Ind., landed first on the list.Realtor.com® bases its monthly hottest market rankings on the metros that are seeing some of the quickest sales in the nation as well as those that are garnering the most views of listings at realtor.com.Thirteen of the
Tens of thousands of households and businesses went dark in California overnight. Unprecedented power outages are sweeping across the state as the utility company Pacific Gas & Electric leverages the blackouts to try and prevent wildfires from spreading.With strong winds forecast for California mixed with hot and dry conditions, PG&E is taking the precautionary move to curb wildfire risk by shutting off power to thousands. About
Many homeowners attempting to save money on household projects are turning to DIY projects. But do-it-yourself fixes can be costly, shows a new survey from Clovered, a home insurance company.Eighty-seven percent of more than 1,000 homeowners recently surveyed admitted to making a mistake while attempting a do-it-yourself home improvement project. The median amount spent on fixing those DIY mistakes was $137.50, the survey showed. Millen
Certain home sales of $400,000 and below will no longer require an appraisal, under a new rule that takes effect today. Homes that qualify for the appraisal exemption can receive an evaluation instead.This is the first time in 25 years that federal regulators have increased the property value limit of the homes that require an appraisal as part of the selling process. Federal regulators cited price appreciation in residential real estate transact
Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law this week a measure that would cap rents throughout the state, a move that the real estate industry has warned could have dire long-term consequences.The law limits annual rent increases that landlords can enact on tenants in the state to 5% after inflation. The new limit will take effect in January.Lawmakers said the rent cap was driven by skyrocketing affordability in the state. Fifty-five percent of ren
Mortgage denials have fallen to the lowest rate since the financial crisis and dating back to 2004, according to data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Still, that doesn’t mean all borrowers on the path to homeownership will qualify for financing. Nearly one in 10 borrowers get denied for a mortgage, according to a new analysis from LendingTree.LendingTree researchers analyzed more than 10 million applications available through the Home Mo
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