News / Features

While buyer preferences for more space — both inside and outside the home — remain and supply chain issues continue to stifle home construction efforts, other factors, such as the potential increase in interest rates, are expected to change the game in 2022.

The decline in mortgage rates prompted an uptick in refinancing, with government refinances increasing more than 20% over the week, MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan said in a press release.

The REACH program aims to identify and accelerate the most promising new technology companies in real estate and adjacent industries, including banking, insurance and home services.

Nearly 100 new homesites are available in the 3,000-acre community of Audubon, where Drees Custom Homes and Perry Homes recently launched sales, according to a press release. Empire Communities will join Drees and Perry as the community’s third newest builder.

Bspoke Title Holdings recently announced the addition of a new boutique residential and commercial title office. Located at 1885 Saint James Place, Magnolia Title is Bspoke’s first location in Houston.

Houston’s real estate activity was unusually high in November despite the Thanksgiving holiday, even as inventory hovered at historically low levels. Renters also brought much-needed business back to the lease market following slight declines in October.

There may be a construction boom, but builders still have a lot of ground to make up from a decade of underbuilding, according to a new report from Zillow.

A movement sparked by the pandemic is causing Americans to pack up and relocate. As it turns out, Florida and Houston are top-ranking destinations for many people.

With home prices continuing to reach new heights across the country, many potential homebuyers are seeing the mobile-home market in a brand new light as single-family home prices become less affordable for young and middle-class buyers.

As more money is being spent on real estate than ever before, the booming market is on pace to shatter records this year, according to a recent CoreLogic report.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced its 2022 conforming loan limits (CLL) for conventional loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“Despite higher mortgage rates, purchase applications had a strong week, mostly driven by a 6% increase in conventional loan applications.” — MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan

During week 47, real estate agents entered 1,359 properties into the Multiple Listing Service for the week ended Nov. 29 compared to 1,563 during the same period last year.

Investors across the country are looking to cash in on skyrocketing house prices and rents, putting them in competition with new buyers trying to work their way to homeownership. Real estate investors bought a record 18% of the homes sold in the third quarter, according to a new Redfin report.

Led by Jennifer Keller, Hamilton Thomas Homes broke ground in October in Balmoral, where it will build 31 homes on 45-foot sites. Homes will range from 1,700 to 3,000 square feet, with pricing in the mid-$300,000s, according to a press release.

“If I had to choose only one word to describe September 2021’s housing price data, the word would be ‘deceleration. Housing prices continued to show remarkable strength in September, though the pace of price increases declined slightly.” — S&P DJI managing director Craig Lazzara.