Following three consecutive months of declines, pending home sales rebounded strongly in October. But contract signings are still sliding behind levels from a year ago as potential home buyers continue to get frustrated at the lack of inventory.The National Association of REALTORS® reported that its Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 3.5 percent to a reading of 109.3 in October. The index
Home shoppers may have it easier in 2018. Inventory constraints of for-sale homes and rising home prices may finally start to ease next year, according to realtor.com®’s 2018 National Housing Forecast.“Next year will set the stage for a significant inflection point in the housing shortage,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com®. “Inventory increases will be felt in higher priced segments after spring home buy
The Thanksgiving holiday may have taken a bite out of mortgage applications last week. Mortgage applications dropped 3.1 percent for the week on a seasonally adjusted report, which included the Thanksgiving holiday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The MBA’s mortgage index reflects demand for refinancing and home purchase applications.Refinancing applications plunged 8 percent last week, the lowest level since January, the M
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced it will raise its conforming loan limit on Jan. 1, 2018. Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages in most parts of the U.S. to be $453,100.For 10 years, the FHFA had set the conforming loan limit in most places at $417,000. But as home prices started rising, the FHFA bumped up the conforming loan limit in 2017 to $424,100. As prices co
The cities where homeownership rates are growing the fastest are mostly in the Rust Belt, as well as smaller metros near bigger and more expensive urban areas, according to research from realtor.com®. The South is also seeing an uptick in homeowners thanks to booming job markets in the region. “Affordability is a strong draw to these areas,” says realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale.More than half of the metros on realtor.com®’s li
Home buyers were taking out mortgages in higher numbers last week. Applications to purchase a home increased 5 percent and are now 4 percent higher than the same week one year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.But higher home prices appear to be pushing more buyers toward adjustable-rate mortgages, the MBA reports. ARMs tend to carry lower initial interest rates. The ARM share of total mortgage applications is now 8 percent
As more homeowners see their property values rise, the number of homes that are seriously underwater continues to decrease. At the end of the third quarter, there were 4.6 million U.S. properties considered seriously underwater, which is down by more than 1.4 million properties from a year ago, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. That marks the biggest year-over-year drop since the second quarte
The housing market may be facing some headwinds with ongoing inventory shortages and the looming threat of tax reform from lawmakers, but don’t let these stories spoil your outlook completely. There are several factors sparking more optimism in real estate lately. Here are a few housing indicators you can be thankful for this season:1. New-home sales neared a postrecession high in October.Some inventory relief may be coming to the housing sec
Homeowners should be feeling richer. The share of equity-rich properties rose to a new high—26 percent of homeowners with a mortgage in the third quarter, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report.In the third quarter, there were more than 14 million U.S. properties considered equity rich, which is when the combined loan amount secured by the property is 50 percent or less of the estimated market val
Existing-home sales in October rose to the strongest pace since earlier this summer, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Tuesday.Total existing-home sales—which comprise completed transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—rose 2 percent month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million. Sales are now at the strongest pace since June’s 5.51 million.However, sales remain 0.9 percent bel
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