National News

Pending home sales grow nationally, a welcome sign for spring

The first evidence that homebuyers are reacting to favorable market conditions came in the National Association of Realtors’ latest Pending Home Sales report.  According to NAR’s index of pending home sales activity, contract signings grew 4.6 percent in January

What’s ahead for FHFA nominee Mark Calabria?

On Tuesday, Feb. 26, the Senate Banking Committee voted to confirm Mark Calabria as the new head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Assuming he makes it through the full Senate vote, which has yet to be scheduled, Calabria

Real Estate in Brief: New homeowners, economic growth and more

Homeownership rate posts eighth-consecutive quarterly gain The newest estimate of U.S. homeownership rates, released Feb. 28 by the Census Bureau, showed that more Americans have become homeowners in the last two years. As of the fourth quarter of 2018,

Case-Shiller: Home price growth trending downward

  One of the most widely cited barometers of the U.S. housing market showed home price growth continuing a downward trend at the close of 2018, an positive sign for buyers. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index registered a

Real Estate in Brief: Selling in spring, odd lots and more

Early May named the best time to list a home Plenty of Americans are getting anxious about the arrival of spring, particularly those who are homeowners looking to sell in the near future. As it turns out, spring may

Jan. existing-home sales leave room to grow

Evidence of slower price appreciation, growing inventory and falling interest rates have boosted economist expectations for U.S. home sales at the beginning of 2019. However, these trends that should entice buyers haven’t yet made an impact when it comes

Homebuilder hopes improve on rate outlook

U.S. homebuilders haven’t seen quite the same gains as the broader real estate market in recent years, but signs are beginning to point in the industry’s favor this year. A new report from LEK Consulting and Wells Fargo’s U.S.

For-sale inventory snaps 5-year losing streak

Changing tides in the national real estate market are leading to the most widespread inventory increases seen in at least five years. According to data collected by Zillow, for the first time since 2014, the U.S. housing market posted

Real Estate in Brief: Aging in place, ARM growth and more

  Millennials face fewer housing choices as seniors age in place More senior citizens around the U.S. are choosing to age in place rather than sell their homes and move to a retirement community, and those decisions could be

Amazon drops plans for HQ2 in NYC

Only a week after speculation arose that Amazon was reconsidering its plans to build part of its second U.S. headquarters campus in New York City, the company released a statement Feb. 14 confirming it was pulling out of the

NAR releases proposal for Fannie, Freddie reform

Amid new leadership and a pending class-action lawsuit, big changes at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appear to be close at hand. The question now for U.S. lawmakers and stakeholders in the mortgage industry is how to carry out

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Real Estate in Brief: Women borrow more, price growth continues and more

While homebuyers in the U.S. are generally married couples, data from the National Association of Realtors found that 18 percent of homebuyers in 2018 were single women. To drill down more into that demographic, SmartAsset took a look at

Low mortgage rates fuel housing market outlook

Only a few months ago, most economists, mortgage lenders and others who closely track the mortgage market assumed interest rates would continue rising through 2019, driving up the cost of home purchases. But several weeks into the new year,

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Homebuyers are frustrated. Can agents help?

It’s widely assumed the process of shopping for a home is easier today than ever, thanks to the proliferation of online search tools and easier access to real estate professionals. But when it comes to succeeding in that search,

Homes sold above list price drop in 2018

After years of houses going for prices above the list value, 2018 saw the biggest drop in years, according to a recent report from Zillow. As of December 2018, 19.4 percent of homes sold above their list prices, the lowest

Profit for home sellers hits 12-year high

In a year defined by rising home prices, sellers fared well in 2018, according to a new report from Attom Data Solutions. Based on its analysis of public sales records across metro areas with at least 200,000 residents, the

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