General News - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Affordability Dips as Home Prices Reach All-Time High

From June to July, median sales price rose by 8.5%, more than double the 4.1% increase seen in family income levels, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. But mortgage rates that have fallen to all-time lows are helping to offset some of the rising costs.As of July, all of the national and regional data in NAR’s affordability index was above 100, which means a family with a median income had more than the income required to afford a m

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7 Most Affordable Lake Towns in 2020

Waterfront homes have been growing in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic began in spring. Sales of lakefront homes have increased more than 40% year over year, Glenn S. Phillips, CEO and lead economic analyst at LakeHomes.com, told realtor.com®.“People saw their friends and family go to the lake and realized that if you are social distancing and home schooling, the lake is a far better place than most primary residences,” Phillips told realt

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Millennials are Fueling Housing’s Rebound

Young prospective home buyers in their 20s and 30s who were once reluctant to purchase are now driving the housing market recovery during the pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reports.Even prior to the pandemic, millennial buyers were starting to increase in number, accounting for more than half of all new-home loans early last year. They have consistently stayed above that level in the first months of this year, too, realtor.com® data

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Top 10 Places for Remote Workers to Call Home

The real estate industry is closely watching the remote work trend as it could have a big influence on clients' future homebuying decisions. More Americans have been working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some areas of the country may offer more prime remote work conditions.Forsyth County, Ga., topped a new study on the best places to work from home, released Tuesday by the National Association of REALTORS®.NAR assigned

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Americans are Ramping Up Savings in the Pandemic

Many Americans are saving more and spending less during the pandemic. Forty-six percent of more than 5,000 U.S. adults said they are “more of a saver now” than before the pandemic, according to a recent survey conducted by CNBC + Acorns Invest in You.Certainly, millions of Americans are still unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have seen their finances take a major hit. For those still employed, however, they may be feel able to build

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The Cities where Parents and Adult Children Share Housing

Many adult children are choosing to return to live with their parents—or not to leave—for many reasons, including the economic downturn, high rent or housing costs, and the pandemic. But some areas of the country show a higher proportion of adult children who are at home with their parents.MagnifyMoney, a branch of LendingTree, recently analyzed data from the American Community Survey to identify the cities where adults aged 25 to 40 still li

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A Shortage of Existing Homes Drives Shoppers to New Construction

As home shoppers find fewer existing homes for sale, they’re increasingly turning to new construction, The Wall Street Journal reports. New single-family home sales jumped nearly 14% in July from June and are at the highest level since December 2006, the Commerce Department reports.“The demand feels really good right now,” Martin Connor, chief financial officer at Toll Brothers Inc., told The Wall Street Journal. “The longe

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2020 Good Neighbor Finalists Beat Tough Odds

In a year defined by unprecedented challenges globally, the kindness of REALTORS®—a group whose charitable giving far outpaces that of the general public—has never been more urgent. Recognizing real estate pros who have persevered through a pandemic to make an extraordinary difference in their communities through volunteer work, the National Association of REALTORS® on Wednesday named 10 finalists for this year’s Good Neighbor Awards

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Another Record Low for Mortgage Rates

Just as some housing experts were predicting rates couldn’t get lower, they did. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached a new all-time low, averaging 2.86% this week, according to Freddie Mac. “Mortgage rates have hit another record low due to a late-summer slowdown in the economic recovery,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “These low rates have ignited robust purchase demand activity, which has been growing at double-d

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25 Affordable Places to Buy a Home During the Pandemic

The most affordable housing markets in the U.S. tend to be located in the South and Midwest, according to a new analysis from RefiGuide.org, a home refinance resource. For example, Youngstown, Ohio, topped the list as the most affordable place in the country, where the median household income in one year is more than the typical purchase price of a home.On the other end of the spectrum, however, California tends to have the least affordable housi

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