News and Views

Realtor.com; Canva Pro America’s top retirement spots for 2024 have it all—nice weather, access to urban centers, and close proximity to medical centers. And on top of that, they’re affordable. This year, Sun City Center, FL, comes in at the top spot, according to the Realtor.com® annual rankings of America’s best retirement towns. This community—which […]

Realtor.com; Getty Images (1) Mortgage rates dipped below 7% this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan dropping from 7.02% last week to 6.94% for the week ending May 23, according to Freddie Mac. “Spring homebuyers received an unexpected windfall this week, as mortgage rates fell below the seven percent threshold

Getty Images The spring housing market was more tepid than hot in April for home sales. Sales of existing homes shrank by 1.9% in April compared with March, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors®. Sales also fell annually, dipping 1.9% from April 2023 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of

Illustration by Realtor.com; Source: Getty Images (2) Higher home prices and mortgage rates aren’t the only rising numbers in the housing market since the COVID-19 pandemic turned everything on its head. The average down payment for a median-priced home also rose from pre-pandemic days in 2020 to the first quarter of 2024, according to a

Canva Pro (3) Rental prices might be rising as we enter the summer months, but they’re down from a year earlier and even further compared with the COVID-19 pandemic peaks. A new Realtor.com® report has found that the median asking rent in the 50 largest metros for April was $1,723. That’s up by $16 from March,

Getty Images Construction of new homes ticked up last month despite higher mortgage rates, partly reversing a dramatic slump in March. Housing starts rose 5.7% in April from March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and

Realtor.com; Getty Images (1) Mortgage rates continued their downward trend with the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan dropping from 7.09% last week to 7.02% for the week ending May 16, according to Freddie Mac. “Mortgage rates decreased for the second consecutive week,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement.

Realtor.com Mortgage rates finally fell for the first time in five weeks, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan dropping from 7.22% last week to 7.09% for the week ending May 9, according to Freddie Mac. “After a five-week climb, mortgage rates ticked down following a weaker than expected jobs report,” Sam

Getty/MoMo Productions The average family spent nearly a quarter of their income on mortgage payments during the first three months of this year, according to a new report. The monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home with a 20% down payment was $2,037 in the first quarter, the National Association of Realtors® said

Getty Images The outlook for renters who hope to some day buy a home has never been bleaker, according to a new survey. Renters surveyed in February put the probability of ever owning a home in the future at 40.1% on average, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s annual SCE Housing Survey