The cost of buying a home hit another record high as rising rates intersected with home price growth.
The median U.S. home sale price increased 5% YOY to $380,250 during the four weeks ending April 14. This is just a few grand below June 2022’s all-time high.
At the same time, mortgage rates have jumped up over 7% in recent weeks as inflation data forced the Central Bank to walk back its talk of rate cuts. Some analysts who previously predicted three cuts from the Fed in 2024 now say there may be none at all.
“I think we’re still expecting a couple but clearly we continue to kick the can down the road on rate cuts, and it wouldn’t…
The number of renters who believe they’ll never afford a home has skyrocketed in the last year as rates rose and stock shortages lifted home prices out of their late-2023 spiral.
A recent Redfin survey found that close to 38% of renters believe they are unlikely to become homeowners, up from 27% at the same time last year.
Lack of affordability is the most cited reason for their pessimism, with almost half of respondents saying houses are simply too expensive.
Trouble saving for down payments (35%), inability to afford mortgage payments (33%) and high mortgage rates (32%) accounted for the rest. Just 14% said they don’t want to own a home.
The combination of price appreciation and near-7% rates has…
Mortgage rates are marching towards 7% again as inflationary pressures threaten their stability.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.88%, up from the week prior’s 6.82%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.27%.
The 15-year fixed rate increased from 6.06% to 6.16%. A year ago, it averaged 5.54%.
Rates have primarily stuck between 6.5% and sub-7% as they moved up in the first quarter.
Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater noted that rates moved up as inflation stayed sticky and the Central Bank’s monetary policy shifted.
“While newly released inflation data from March continues to show a trend of very little movement, the financial market’s reaction paints a far different…
By CHUCK GREEN
Luxury home prices are at an all-time high as a record share of buyers pay cash for homes in the country’s most exclusive areas.
According to a recent report by data journalist Dana Anderson at Redfin, the prices of luxury homes rose at twice the pace of non-luxury homes at the end of last year. The typical luxury home sold for $1.17 million in Q4 2023, up 8.8% year-over-year.
Like the non-luxury market, low inventory has been pushing prices up, but new listings are increasing as more homeowners jump at the chance to snag rich buyers offering cash for their purchases.
“A lot of luxury buyers are coming in with cash, snapping up expensive homes,” Heather Mahmood-Corley,…
Americans are making sacrifices ranging from fewer vacations to skipping meals to afford housing costs.
Just under 50% of U.S. homeowners and renters say they regularly or greatly struggle to make their housing payments, and many are giving up other things to pay in full, according to a new survey from Redfin.
Of the 3,000 American homeowners and renters surveyed, a third of respondents said they are taking fewer or no vacations in order to make their payments, the most common response by far. But others are forced to take more serious action.
An equal share of others said they skipped meals, worked extra hours at their job, or sold belongings (approximately 20% for each category.)
One of every six…
With home prices soaring out of reach and rates hot, Americans are doing whatever they can to lower their monthly payments, according to a series of new reports from Redfin.
The typical monthly housing payment hit a record high of $2,721 in the four weeks ending March 24, up 10% YOY.
A combination of prices and rates is keeping homeownership unaffordable for the average family, which earns $30,000 less per year than necessary to comfortably purchase a house.
First-time buyers have it even worse thanks to boiling competition for low-priced homes. To afford a starter home, they need to earn almost twice as much as before the pandemic.
With these pressures on Americans’ wallets, buyers are looking for other ways…
More than half of homeowners and renters will partly base their choice for President on housing affordability.
That’s according to a new survey commissioned by Redfin and conducted by Qualtrics last month. The survey found that 53.2% of respondents will be informed by housing in November’s presidential election.
On top of that, 64.2% of homeowners and renters said the state of housing makes them feel negative about the economy.
“Housing affordability is top of mind for voters because elevated mortgage rates and home prices, along with an acute housing shortage, have pushed the dream of homeownership out of reach for many Americans,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather.
Analysts say the economy is actually doing well by many metrics, but…
While the racial homeownership gap exists in every generation, Black Millennials have it worse off than any other age group.
That’s according to a new analysis from Redfin, which found that just one-third of Black Millennials own their home (33%), compared to 65% of white Millennials, the largest divide of any generation.
By comparison, 52% of Black Gen Xers own their home, compared to 80% of white Gen Xers. Six in ten Black Boomers own their home, while 85% of white Boomers do.
White and Black adult Gen Zers own their homes at rates around 30% and 16%, respectively – not as bad as the Millennial divide, but still significant.
Black Americans face challenges ranging from the impact of racist…
As sellers are forced to adjust to the housing market’s new normal, more affordable inventory is cropping up.
The share of available homes in the $200,000 to $350,000 price range saw the biggest growth of any price category in February, up 20.6% YOY, Realtor.com reported.
Though inventory remains tight, money-minded buyers may see an uptick in affordable homes as they shop this spring.
Inventory overall saw a boost last month, with the number of homes actively for sale on a typical day up 14.8% from last year.
This is the fourth straight month of annual inventory growth.
“The first couple of months of 2024 have proven to be positive for inventory levels, as the number of homes actively for sale…
Older Americans are choosing to age in their current homes, driving average tenure up to more than a decade and keeping inventory tight for buyers.
The typical homeowner spent 11.9 years in their current home, nearly double the 6.5-year average of two decades ago, according to a new report from Redfin.
This isn’t the longest on record – tenure peaked at 13.4 years in 2020 and declined during the pandemic buying boom. But it remains high, especially at a moment when inventory is difficult to come by.
The report attributes the data to Baby Boomers remaining in their homes late in life. Nearly 40% of this demographic have lived in their home for at least 20 years. An additional 16%…
