There is a mismatch between the prices of homes being built, and the prices home buyers expect to pay, according to recent surveys from NAHB and the U.S. Census Bureau. While 38% of buyers expect to pay less than $250,000 for their next home nationwide (and 19% expect to pay less than $150,000), only 5% […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 13, 2024) – The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for May 2024 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 13.8% compared from a year ago. Compared to April 2024, applications increased by 1%. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns. “There continues to be […]

The amount of money a homebuyer puts down to purchase a home hit a historic high at the end of 2023, but that sum is finally falling. A new report from Realtor.com® shows that the median down payment homebuyers laid on the closing table in the first three months of 2024 was an average of 13.6%—which translates […]

Home prices continued their upward trend in February, defying high mortgage rates and low inventory of homes for sale. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national housing index rose 6.4% from February a year ago and up from the 6% annual increase registered in January.  San Diego led the way with an 11.4% annual increase, while Chicago and […]

While the rising cost of auto insurance is pushing up the official inflation rate, there is a stealth insurance cost that isn’t showing up in the consumer price index – homeowners insurance.  Along with high mortgage rates and record home prices, soaring insurance rates are just one more thing putting pressure on the cost of […]

New data from the US Census Bureau shows that the share of US homes that are owned outright increased by 5% between 2012 and 2022. This means almost 40% of Americans now own their homes, up from 34% in 2013, after Baby Boomers paid off their mortgages. A Bloomberg report noted the aging population enjoyed […]