Housing shortages likely will worsen over the next year as a shift in the housing market occurs, according to a report from realtor.com®. That shift could make it tougher for home buyers to find a home to purchase, despite low mortgage rates that are making it increasingly attractive to do so.Housing inventories could likely get near record lows by early 2020, says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. In June, the number of newly li
Homeowners don’t care only about how well an appliance performs. They are also placing more emphasis on its look too, finds the J.D. Power 2019 Kitchen and Laundry Appliance Satisfaction Studies. That trend will likely continue too as “HGTV diehards and Pinterest enviers work to improve their living spaces and as manufacturers expand their offerings in this space,” the study notes.“Staying at the forefront of appliance design trends while
The way the furniture is positioned in a room can have a big impact on how prospective buyers perceive the space. Apartment Guide recently highlighted some of the most common layout mistakes that designers see in a space. Here are four mistakes to avoid.Placing furniture against the walls. “Not all furniture pieces need to go against a wall,” says Tammy Price, an interior designer and owner of Fragments Identity in Los Angeles. “Actual
Finding the right property is particularly stressful for families with children under the age of 18, and choosing the neighborhood carefully is critical to their home search, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2019 Moving With Kids survey, based on responses from more than 7,000 consumers.The two characteristics that buyers say they weigh the most when deciding on a neighborhood are the quality of the school district
Real estate has surpassed stocks as Americans’ favorite long-term investment, according to a nationwide Bankrate survey of about 1,000 respondents. Thirty-one percent of survey respondents named real estate as their favorite investment for building wealth that they don’t need access to for a decade or more. That is the best that real estate has performed on Bankrate’s annual survey in the last seven years. In 2018, stocks were the most popu
Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index surged to a new high as consumers became more upbeat about buying and selling, mortgage rates, and their jobs. Five of the six components measured by the index rose month over month.“Consumer job confidence and favorable mortgage rate expectations lifted the HPSI to a new survey high in July, despite ongoing housing supply and affordability challenges,” says Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s senior vice
Overall, the majority of contracts continue to be settled on time. Seventy-six percent of contracts made it to closing as scheduled from April to June, according to the REALTORS® Confidence Survey, based on responses from more than 4,000 members. Twenty percent of contracts saw a delay, while only 4% were canceled altogether.The top contract problems causing a delay of settlements in June included:Issues related to obtaining financing: 35%Apprai
Nearly half of vacation homeowners say they feel guilty that they don’t use their home as much as they had intended, according to a new survey of 461 vacation homeowners from LendingTree. More than a third of vacation homeowners—37%—say they spend time in the home only once a year, or even less. About a quarter—26%—say they use their home more than five times each year.Forty percent of respondents say they’ve felt pressure from family
Working with professional movers doesn’t mean the homeowner can escape the entire process. Homeowners will still need to prep the house for the moving company before they arrive to pack them up. Realtor.com® recently highlighted several of the items homeowners should do before the moving company arrives, including:Protect your floors.To help avoid damage to the house, remove anything fragile that could be in the path as furniture and boxes get
Rising costs for construction materials and labor are making home improvement projects more expensive, yet too many homeowners are setting unrealistic budgets, according to the 2019 Kitchen and Bath Market Index report, which reflects second-quarter figures. The report, conducted jointly by the National Kitchen & Bath Association and John Burns Real Estate Consulting, is based on responses from 457 NKBA members.Estimated Cost of Common Interi
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