Higher home prices are translating into higher down payments. The median home price is $350,000, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. That means a buyer would have to put down $70,000 (or 20%) on a purchase to avoid private mortgage insurance.Low down payment loans are available for those who can’t reach that 20% down payment threshold. For example, FHA loans require 3.5% down, which would be $12,500 on a median-priced home.“H
Housing affordability declined in August compared to a year ago, despite median incomes rising. However, the jump in home prices—up 11.7%—was way above family income increases of 2.2%, the National Association of REALTORS® reports.Mortgage rates are helping to offset some of those high home prices, however. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3% in August and has averaged below 3% in the past few weeks, the lowest on record.Nationa
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted consumers to want to stay away from large public spaces and favor more private settings or drive-thru lanes. Retailers are responding and pivoting their business models.More retailers are focusing on creating convenient parcel-pickup processes. “In the interim, outdoor food trucks and pop-up stores are replacing food halls,” writes Dan Spiegel, vice president and managing director for Coldwell Bank
Young Americans are having their housing preferences shaped by the pandemic. They’re seeking larger homes and outdoor space, yet in walkable areas, according to findings from the 2020 Community and Transportation Preference Surveys recently conducted by the National Association of REALTORS®.Young adults who live in walkable areas tend to report a higher quality of life than those who live in less walkable areas, the survey shows. And youn
Millennials are reportedly accelerating their homebuying timelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey by realtor.com® and HarrisX of 2,000 buyers. Low mortgage rates and more available savings for a down payment, accumulated during stay-at-home periods earlier this year to fight the pandemic, have unleashed a wave of buyers the real estate market has long been waiting for.But which cities offer the best prospects for fi
Expect to see a greater mix of stucco, vinyl, and fiber cement siding as you travel around new-construction neighborhoods. Twenty-seven percent of new single-family homes in 2019 used stucco as their siding material, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction.Vinyl siding was the second-most common option, at 25%, followed by fiber cement siding (such as HardiePlank or Hardie Board) at 21%. Only about 5% of new
Fort Collins, Colo., is the best place to live in 2020, according to new rankings from Livability.com.Each year, Livability.com ranks the 100 best places to live in America based on an analysis of more than 1,000 small to midsized cities on characteristics such as affordability, safety, economic stability, outdoor recreation, accessibility, and community engagement. This year’s survey also weighed an “opportunity score,” reflecting the city
Home prices have hit a record-high growth of 12.9% over the last year. Yet the higher prices aren’t scaring buyers. Homes are still selling quickly—nearly two weeks faster than they did last year.The U.S. median home price remained near its summer peak of $350,000 during the first week of October and has shown no signs of cooling, according to realtor.com®’s Weekly Housing Report, reflecting the week ending Oct. 3.“While buyers woul
Real estate professional Ashley Scott and entrepreneur Renee Walters have a dream of creating an entire town dedicated to developing an “authentic Black community and culture that feels safe, feels prosperous.” They recently led an effort to recruit 17 other Black families and investors to purchase 97 acres of land in rural Wilkinson County, Ga., to create the Freedom Georgia Initiative.Scott and Walters are quick to clarify that the land is
Smaller metro areas are gaining population at faster rates than large cities in the pandemic. With telecommuting on the rise and expected to remain so after the pandemic, more Americans may have the freedom to move anywhere they wish.“We are beginning to see signs of the COVID effect on migration,” writes Nadia Evangelou, a research economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, on the Economists’ Outlook blog. “For instance, the na
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