Q4 2023 Brought Fewer Underwater Homes

The number of underwater homes in the U.S. dropped in Q4 2023 as home prices continued soaring, adding to the property wealth of American homeowners. Equity rose by approximately $24,000 YOY for the average borrower, according to new data from CoreLogic. A home is underwater if it has negative equity – that is, if it’s worth less than the homeowners owe. Quarter-over-quarter, the number of homes with negative equity slipped by 1.1%, accounting for just 1.8% of all mortgaged properties, the lowest number ever recorded by CoreLogic.  Annually, underwater mortgages were down by 15%. “Rising home prices continue to fuel growing home equity, which, at $298,000 per average borrower remained near historic highs at the end of 2023,” said Dr.…

Prices Trend Up, With New England Seeing A Spike

As home prices continue to rise across the country, New England is a hot spot for year-over-year gains. CoreLogic’s national Home Price Index increased for the 139th consecutive month in August, up 3.7% YOY, the biggest gain since February 2023. Prices are now 42% higher than in March of 2020, when the pandemic began. Massachusetts’ top-dollar homes reflect a growing interest in the Northeast. New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island sported the largest YOY price gains in August. Strong jobs markets and relative affordability make the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic attractive to cost-sensitive buyers, pulling them away from pricey areas that were hot in the last few years. Not every market saw an appreciation jump. In eight states, prices fell…

Look At A Newport, Rhode Island Mansion Where “The Gilded Age” Is Filmed

By KIMBERLEY HAAS Fans of HBO’s “The Gilded Age” can take a guided tour of one of the mansions where the popular show created by Julian Fellowes is being filmed this fall. “The Gilded Age” begins in 1882 with the character Marian Brook moving from rural Pennsylvania to New York City to live with her thoroughly old-money aunts, Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook after the death of her father. The show’s first-year finale earned 1.6 million viewers across HBO platforms, according to Alexandra Del Rosario at Deadline. Rotten Tomatoes critics said the show has “an outstanding cast making the travails of the rich a compelling watch.” In real life, The Elms was the summer home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward…

Look At The Crown Jewel Of Newport, Rhode Island Mansions

By KIMBERLEY HAAS The Breakers mansion is a grand summer “cottage” that symbolizes the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial pre-eminence in the Gilded Age and you can tour this luxurious estate by the sea. Built between 1893 and 1895 at the cost of over $7 million, this National Historic Landmark located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue in Newport, RI, was the summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. He became the president and chairman of New York Central Railroad in 1885. The Vanderbilt family was one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in America. According to The Preservation Society of Newport County, the Breakers was everything a millionaire of the Gilded Age could want in a summer getaway with its…

Hot Market, Inflation Causes Rental Rates To Skyrocket In America

By KIMBERLEY HAAS More than a quarter of the states in the country have experienced a rental price increase of 20% or more in 2021 and a senior research analyst says people moving out of cities and into more rural communities are partially to blame. Nick VinZant works for QuoteWizard by LendingTree. He co-authored an article that was published this month which shows that Florida had the highest percentage increase in the nation at 29%. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Florida is about $1,425. Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington all saw rents increase by more than 20% for one-bedroom apartments in 2021, according…