Trends
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Though it was delayed by the government shutdown, the Census Bureau’s numbers on construction spending were positive all the same. Well, it finally made it! Though delayed by three weeks because of the government shutdown, the Census Bureau’s latest
We all wonder if size truly matters, but in the case of newly built single-family homes, the answer is clear. What percentage of newly built homes have an entry foyer? What if the home is less than 2,000 square
Existing-home sales declined a bit from August to September, though housing inventory continued to show promising signs. After hitting their highest level in nearly four years, existing-home sales came back down to earth in September, declining 1.9 percent to
Houston’s housing market showed no signs of slowing down in September, with home sales posting strong yearly returns. The Houston real estate market just rolled along in September, soaring to its 28th consecutive month of positive home sales, according
When we think luxury, we generally think “BIG,” but a new survey shows that bigger it not always better with luxury homebuyers. You hear the words “luxury home,” and many things come to mind – high-end finishings, exclusive neighborhoods
Builder confidence had been on a tear recently, but new data from the NAHB suggests a cooling off period. Builder confidence for the newly built, single-family home market stumbled a bit in October, with the National Association of Home
There are many ways that homeowners can improve their residences, but what projects are the most popular? Home improvement projects are among the key tenets of homeownership. You purchase a home, renovate certain aspects of it, and then, several
The components of new homes in 2013 are pretty consistent, but how is space distributed across those various components? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce the components of a typical newly built single-family home. From the family
What are Vampire REOs and Zombie Foreclosures? And what problems do they pose for the housing market? Last week, we reported on the latest National Foreclosure Report from CoreLogic, and the news was uniformly good: foreclosure inventory was down a
The U.S. prides itself for its strong middle class, but how many options does that middle class have for housing in the nation’s largest cities? Homeownership has long been a cornerstone of the modern American Dream, the ultimate symbol
Housing affordability has been on the decline this year, but by how much? And what will affordability look like when rates increase? It’s been an interesting year in the world of housing affordability. Record low mortgage rates and competitively
Houston’s housing market has been on an undeniable surge the last couple years, but a new index from the NAHB has made those gains official. Houston’s housing market is one of 52 metropolitan areas that has either returned to
The nation’s foreclosure markets have been showing considerable improvement in 2013, but did that trend continue in August? The good news continued for the nation’s foreclosure markets, according to CoreLogic’s latest National Foreclosure Report, with foreclosure inventory, completed foreclosures
Consumer sentiment on the housing market has gone nowhere but up in the last few months, but does the latest survey from Fannie Mae suggest a slowdown? Baby, we had a great run. Though consumer confidence on the housing
The nation’s rental markets have been quite hot in the post-boom housing market; did that trend continue into the third quarter? There have been two distinct memes in the housing market since 2008, both involving the nation’s rental market.
Asking prices may have slowed nationwide in September, but was that the case here in Houston? Asking prices in Houston’s housing market were up a robust 13.3 percent year-over-year in September, along with a 3.0 percent increase from the