Trends

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Newly Built Homes are 50% More Expensive Than in 2010

Everybody wants a new home, but fewer people will be able to afford them at this rate. Newly built single-family homes are extremely expensive. That was the big takeaway from the latest new home sales report from the Census

If Homebuilding is Flat, Why are Builders So Darn Confident?

It would appear to be a glaring contradiction in the nation’s housing market, but a bit of flip-side thinking immediately clears things up. The HMI, the NAHB’s measurement of builder confidence, rose yet again this month, jumping four points

Texas Home Prices Defy National Trends in Latest Case-Shiller

While home prices slow nationwide, they just keep on increasing in our metro area. Exceeding expectations was the name of the game for home prices in the Texas housing market. In Dallas, home prices in September rose 7.4 percent year-over-year and 0.3 percent

Forget Home Sales – This is Housing’s Most Encouraging Trend

Sure, existing-home sales were up, but there was another side of NAR’s report that suggested even better things for housing. Last week, the National Association of Realtors announced that existing-home sales in October posted their first yearly increase in

Auction.com/Google’s First NowCast Predicts Strong Nov. Market, though Challenges Remain

Google’s first foray into housing data has yielded some encouraging – albeit sobering – numbers for the housing recovery. Earlier this month, we reported that Google and Auction.com were diving head-first into the real estate data game with NowCast,

How Homebuyers Search for Their Homes – 4 Important Trends

The manner in which prospective homebuyers search for residences suggests very interesting things about the housing market. About a month ago, we reported on what has been a radical upheaval to how real estate functions: 43 percent of homebuyers

New Construction Falls in October on Volatile Multifamily Sector

As has been the case for some time now, the residential construction market rose and fell on the strength of multifamily housing. Residential construction saw disappointing numbers in October, and as has been the case during the whole housing

Is Houston Less Affordable For the Middle Class than Previously Thought?

The term “affordability” is thrown around quite a bit, but when it concerns the middle class, the scenario is all the more interesting. According to a detailed new report from Trulia, 46 percent of the Houston area’s housing stock is affordable

Banks Take on Weighted Risk for Heavy Lending

Looking for a good mortgage rate? All you need is good credit and a lot of money. In recent years, expectant homebuyers vying for a good mortgage rate have faced dire odds as once loose lending standards continue tightening

Economic Concerns Persist in the U.S. – and Hold Back Housing

Though Americans feel better towards housing, wider economic concerns persist – which, in turn, affect the housing market. It’s become quite clear, in 2014, that housing’s recovery will depend in large part on wider economic trends, and that until

The Emotional Rollercoaster Buyers Experience During Their Search for “The One”

Seventy-seven percent of buyers say they’ll know immediately when they’ve found their ideal home, according to a survey of about 2,500 Americans by BMO Harris Bank. Unfortunately, the house hunting process takes time, and not all buyers exude confidence during

Houston Home to Nation’s Top New Construction Market

“No. 1” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Through September of 2014, Houston had the top new construction market in the country – that’s right, even bigger than the mighty New York City! According to fresh numbers

Finding Your Way Around the New Mortgage Rules

New measures from regulators promise to help ease lending standards, but are they enough? The recent announcement by federal regulators to enact an assortment of measures aimed at easing lending standards has thrown many in the mortgage industry into

Cash Sales Remain Steady in August

Cash investors continue to stay away from the real estate market, keeping cash sales relatively low. Cash sales remain steady in the month of August, according to a new report from CoreLogic. Though the market is continue to shed

Houston Suburbs Growing Dramatically More Than City

The population growth trends in the Houston are hardly surprising. From 2010 to 2013, population growth in the suburbs of Houston was 90 percent greater than the city itself, according to a recent analysis by New Geography. In that

How the Housing Affordability Crisis Has Led to a Surge in Roommates

The share of households featuring roommates has been on a steady rise the last few years, and the cause could not be more straightforward. Housing affordability is a common topic of coverage here at Chicago Agent, and for good reason

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