Real Estate

Record inflation may have people questioning whether homeownership is still a good investment. Home prices have been rising faster than incomes, which can be a problem for homeowners because as the value of a home rises, so does the cost to maintain it. More than 1 in 4 homeowners with mortgages are considered “cost-burdened,” meaning

A for sale sign in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, on August 22, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 22 basis points to 6.4% Friday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the lowest rate since April 2023. The 15-year fixed

A row of traditional houses on a street in London’s Muswell Hill suburb, located to the north of London, with views of the Canary Wharf on the horizon. Georgeclerk | Istock | Getty Images LONDON — Britain’s major high street lenders have begun slashing their mortgage rates in a sign that financial pressure on households

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will leave interest rates unchanged. However, recent signs of economic growth and cooling inflation are paving the way for a widely anticipated September rate cut, which is welcome news for Americans struggling to keep up with sky-high interest charges. “Consumers should feel pretty good about the U.S. economy,”

Sdi Productions | E+ | Getty Images Home affordability has slightly improved for buyers this summer, according to a recent report.  The median new mortgage payment was $2,167 in June, a 2.4% decline from $2,219 in May, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The index measures how new monthly mortgage payments change

Valentinrussanov | E+ | Getty Images The Federal Reserve is poised to make the first interest rate cut in years this fall, which can influence mortgage rates to go down. Even small cuts in interest rates could make a meaningful difference in what a homebuyer will pay. To that point, people in the market to

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during a campaign event at West Allis Central High School in West Allis, Wisconsin, on July 23, 2024. Kevin Mohatt | Reuters “Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at a political event in West Allis, Wisconsin, on Tuesday

Even as home prices hit new highs, experts say there are signs that the housing market is becoming better for buyers in some locations. The median cost of an existing, single-family home in the U.S. was $426,900 in June, a new all-time high, according to the National Association of Realtors. About 3.89 million homes were

A development towers over the Lyric Theater in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. Greg Iacurci MIAMI — Nicole Crooks stood in the plaza of the historic Lyric Theater, a royal blue hat shielding her from the midday sun that baked Miami. In its heyday, the theater, in the city’s Overtown neighborhood, was an important cultural hub for

Monthly rent in Shanghai’s city-center costs approximately $2,700, according to data by Numbeo. Zorazhuang | E+ | Getty Images Living in a major city can come with a hefty price tag, so it’s best to be informed before you make that big move. In Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore top the list for cost of

Two renters pose in front of their new home that they’re renting from Roots, a program that helps renters invest in real estate. Courtesy: Katie Curran When Will Hunnicutt was searching for an apartment in Atlanta earlier this year, pricey leases and application rejections left him feeling defeated. “The three-and-a-half times income-to-rent ratio is kind

An aerial view shows a subdivision that has replaced the once rural landscape on July 19, 2023 in Hawthorn Woods, Illinois. Scott Olson | Getty Images Mortgage interest rates eased very slightly last week, but not enough to get today’s potential homebuyers off the fence. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with

Rana Robillard, an Oakland-based tech executive, in front of the home in Orinda, CA that she attempted to purchase earlier this year. Courtesy: Rana Robillard After a yearlong search, Rana Robillard was elated to learn she’d beaten three other bidders for a house in the leafy California suburb of Orinda, just outside of San Francisco. So

America is embroiled in a housing crisis. The supply of homes is tight. The supply of affordable homes is even tighter, and persistently high mortgage rates make things even worse. But the extent of the problem varies from state to state. That is why companies take the local residential real estate market into account when

With San Francisco facing record high commercial vacancies, one mayoral candidate has a plan to reshape the city’s business district and surrounding areas. Democrat Mark Farrell, former interim Mayor, is proposing a 20-year vision to revitalize San Francisco’s downtown in a bid to help the city bounce back from challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. His

Housing is the most considerable expense for U.S. consumers — and while high rents and home prices are obstacles to saving for potential homebuyers, access to affordable credit is another significant roadblock.  An estimated 50 million Americans are “credit invisible,” according to a 2022 fact sheet from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s

Halbergman | E+ | Getty Images Are you ready to buy a home? Many renters have no idea. Millions of renter households in 2022 would have been able to buy a house that year, according to a new analysis by Zillow, which is based on estimates from the American Community Survey by the U.S. Census

International buyers of U.S. residential real estate are running into the same hurdles as domestic buyers — namely high prices and tight supply — but they’re also up against a strong U.S. dollar, which makes the properties even more expensive for them. As a result, international buyers are pulling out. They purchased 54,300 existing homes

Courtney Keating | Getty Images Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level since March last week, sparking swift demand in refinancing. Homebuyers, however, seemed unimpressed. Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 15% last week, compared with the previous week, to the highest level since August 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted

Oscar Wong | Moment | Getty Images Not every renter wanting to buy a home dreams of ditching their lease. Some wish to remain tenants even as they become landlords. The concept behind “rentvesting” is that an individual rents their primary residence in one city and then buys an investment property somewhere else that they