Buyers have been drawn to new-home construction as existing housing inventories remain lean. Builders have struggled to ramp up construction even more due to the high demand as building materials, labor, and lot shortages loom.However, builders say they’re building as much as they can and as quickly as they can given such challenges.Housing starts for both single-family and multifamily homes rose 11.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.
More first-time buyers hope to transition from renting to owning in 2022. After a challenging 2021, many are looking ahead to the new year for an opening in the market—one where competition may not be as tight as it has been this year.Aspiring first-time buyers are already actively looking: 40% say they’re researching home values in their target neighborhood, 34% say they’ve researched the real estate process, 30% have talked to family and
Many of the housing markets to watch in the new year are located in the South, says the National Association of REALTORS®, which released its top picks for the markets that likely will see some of the strongest price appreciation in 2022—the “hidden gems,” as the association says.NAR released its top 10 list during its third annual year-end Real Estate Forecast Summit on Wednesday, where economists weighed in on the trajectory for the 2022
The housing market is hot, but some homeowners may overestimate just how hot it is when they go to sell. Real estate professionals shared with realtor.com® a few unrealistic expectations that some of their sellers have had, such as that their home has doubled in value since they bought it or that they shouldn’t have to make any repairs before closing.“One of the biggest mistakes sellers can make is going with aspirational pricing just becau
Rising inflation is pressing on Americans across the economic spectrum with costs for groceries to gasoline increasing. In November, consumer prices increased by 6.8% compared to a year ago, the largest annual gain in the past 40 years.Some of the highest increases have occurred for energy, shelter, cars, and food—these comprise about 61% of consumer purchases and account for 81% of inflation over the past 12 months, MarketWatch reports.Renters
New home construction has been pointed as a way out of the housing inventory crisis. But even with high buyer demand, builders have struggled to ramp up construction even more due to ongoing labor, lot, and materials shortages. Some markets are faring better than others in adding more new homes to their housing pipelines.Zonda, a homebuilding and multifamily data firm, recently selected five U.S. cities as markets of interest for new-home sales i
Homeowners continue to build wealth. Home price growth is reaching the highest level in more than four decades, pushing equity gains to a record high.The average home equity gained between the third quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2021 is about $57,000, CoreLogic reports.“Not only have equity gains helped homeowners more seamlessly transition out of forbearance and avoid a distressed sale, but they’ve also enabled many to continue bu
For the last four consecutive weeks, mortgage rates have generally held stable. But that could soon change, with inflation, action from the Federal Reserve possibly quickening its pace to taper its bond purchases, and other financial activity triggered by the ongoing pandemic all playing a role, economists say.“Mortgage rates have moved sideways over the last several weeks, fluctuating within a narrow range,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s
Women are second only to married couples as a homebuying presence in the real estate market, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Currently, 19% of the homebuying market are single women, while 9% are single men and 60% are married couples, according to NAR.Single women and single men show a high desire to own a home of their own, but single women outnumber men by about a 2-1 ratio. While a roughly equivalent percentage of men and
Many paint firms have selected a green hue for their 2022 top color pick, but Pantone is making a much bolder choice. Could this be another hot color for home interiors in the new year?The 2022 Pantone color of the year is Very Peri, a periwinkle blue with violet-red undertones. The color was created by Pantone specifically as the color of the year. The bright color is intended to evoke comfort and courage in unpredictable times, Pantone says.The
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