Over the last four weeks, borrowing costs have posted their largest decline since 2008. If all your buyers want for Christmas is a lower mortgage rate—they may just get it.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.33% this week, according to Freddie Mac, dropping for the fourth consecutive week after hitting a high of 7.08%. Mortgage rates are falling due to increasing concerns about lackluster economic growth, says Freddie Mac Chief Economist
Home staging companies prepare homes for potential buyers, and according to the National Association of Realtors, you will pay top dollar for their services. Some real estate agents also provide advice and staging services, but you might prefer to handle the details yourself. It's important to understand the difference between repairs and upgrades, though. As Opendoor puts it, repairs like replacing a broken water heater are necessary rather
Over the past year, rising inflation and the Fed boosting interest rates in response have caused turmoil in the housing market. Little more than a year ago, mortgage rates were near record lows. Now, they are around 7%, two to three times higher.While some markets have seen housing prices fall in response, in most cases, the drop hasn’t been sufficient to keep mortgage payments for new purchases similar. All of this has resulted in higher housi
New housing construction has fallen but is on par historically The following is one of the hundreds of data sets available on TRD Pro — the one-stop real estate terminal for all the data and market information you need.Given inflation, rising interest rates, economic uncertainty and flatlining home prices, one would expect that housing construction would be at an all-time low.Not even close.Though new housing starts in the U.S. have d
Los Angeles voters approved a tax on the sale of mansions and other multimillion-dollar real estate transactions to raise money for affordable housing in the second-largest US city.The measure, known as Proposition ULA, boosts the one-time transfer tax to 4% for property deals between $5 million and $10 million, and 5.5% for transactions of $10 million and above. The current rate on all sales is 0.45%. The increase takes effect on April 1, and wi
But there’s still a long way to go before consumers feel much relief or the Federal Reserve hits its goal of a 2 percent annual price target The price of gasoline is dropping like a rock. Chicken wings are suddenly a bargain. And retailers drowning in excess inventory are looking to make a deal.After more than a year of high inflation, many consumers are finally starting to catch a break. Even apartment rents and car prices, two items
Living in a New Jersey municipality with less affordable rental housing was associated with higher odds of severe maternal morbidity, according to a cross-sectional study published in JAMA Network Open.“Maternal mortality and morbidity are pressing issues in the United States and the rates have been rising over the past several decades, and yet we know little about their upstream causes or about policies that could improve maternal health
The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday reported that total U.S. construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of approximately $1.79 trillion in October, a decrease of 0.3% from September's revised figure of $1.8 trillion.Total spending was 9/2% higher than what the Census Bureau reported for October 2021. Spending from January through October of 2022 totaled almost $1.51 trillion, 10.8% higher than the same period in 2021.Total
Holiday decorating is in full swing, and as homeowners deck their halls, they may want to also use the festivities as an excuse to inspect several out-of-sight ares of their home.Groundworks(link is external), a basement and foundations firm, offers up tips to spot needed repairs in the home while also hanging your holiday decor. Here are the top seven home issues they suggest looking for:Electrical outletsIs a plug no longer working? Outdoor out
U.S. banks reported a 3.2% rise in third-quarter net income from a year earlier, but an uptick in early delinquency and higher unrealized losses with securities may reduce future profits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Thursday.Jointly, banks posted $71.7 billion in profit in the third quarter. The FDIC compiles data from 4,746 commercial banks and savings institutions it insures.FDIC acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg sai
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