Sales expected to drop to lowest level since 2008, and the growing lock-in effect — the financial disincentive to sell — ‘will remain in a way that has not occurred in over 40 years,’ economists say New markets require new approaches and tactics. Experts and industry leaders take the stage at Inman Connect New York in January to help navigate the market shift — and prepare for the next one. Meet the moment and join us. Register here. Economists at Fannie Mae expect home sales to plummet next year to the lowest levels since 2008, before rebounding and helping lead the country out of a brief rec ..read more

The share of first-time buyers fell to 26 percent, plummeting to the lowest level in four decades, when a real estate trade association began tracking such data. First-time home buyers with moderate incomes are being pushed out of the real estate market in droves by buyers who can pay in cash. American home buyers are older, whiter and wealthier than at any time in recent memory, with first-time buyers accounting for the smallest share of the market in 41 years, the National Association of Realtors found in its annual profile of home buyers and sellers. White buyers accounted for 88 percent of ..read more

Just as you would research potential properties before purchase, take ample time to weigh the pros and cons of taking on a real estate investing partner. Second homes and investment properties fascinate investors. I’ll go deeper on everything from the latest at Airbnb and Vrbo to the changes investors are making to their portfolios in a shifting real estate market. With interest rates at historic lows during the pandemic, many new investors rushed into the real estate market to snap up a wide variety of properties. As rates begin to climb back up, those same investors (and others looking to di ..read more

A temporary buy-down provided by the seller allows the borrower to have more money available during the early years to handle furnishing and renovation costs. Higher mortgage rates — up nearly double over a year ago — cut into affordability and increase monthly payments for buyers. Rising rates are particularly challenging for buyers who may be struggling to afford their first home or those who hope to move up into a larger and more expensive property. While there are multiple strategies to manage higher mortgage rates, one option to consider if you have some extra cash is to buy down the inte ..read more

In the year ahead, the housing market may be slow to start, with home prices, rents, inventory and interest rates not moving much at all, according to economists, analysts and real estate brokers. At the beginning of the pandemic, office workers were liberated from their commutes but found themselves stuck at home and hungering for space. Many Americans went on a home buying frenzy, fueled by cheap debt and an insatiable urge to move. The result was a run up on home prices at a pace never seen before in U.S. history. Then the party ended with a thud last spring when mortgage rates doubled in a ..read more

After hitting 2022 highs last week, a weak hiring report released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been helping to bring mortgage rates back down Requests for home loans fell to the lowest level of the century last week as mortgage rates climbed to their highest level since 2006 and Hurricane Ian crushed demand in Florida. A weekly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed requests for purchase loans were down a seasonally adjusted 13 percent last week compared to the week before, and 37 percent from a year ago. Demand for refinancing was slammed even harder, falling 18 pe ..read more

The impending quick reversal is mostly due to the recent surge in mortgage rates Housing prices are poised to correct. But even as they drift downward, they are highly unlikely to plummet. House prices have been on a tear the past decade. Since hitting bottom in the wake of the financial crisis and the housing bust in 2008-2009, prices have more than doubled nationally. But this long run of robust price gains is ending. Prices are set to fall throughout much of the country. Most places will experience only modest declines over the next couple of years, but the places where prices surged in the ..read more

Higher interest rates have changed the math on what was recently a straightforward decision, advisers say Quit your mortgage before you quit working. So goes the standard advice for those nearing retirement, but that might not be feasible for retirees who bought or refinanced homes later in life. Those who can afford to pay off their mortgages might find there is now a case for keeping their loans in retirement. Thanks to higher interest rates, investing savings in bonds instead of paying down principal could return enough to cover more than the cost of the monthly mortgage interest. “A year a ..read more

Get a detailed job description. If you’re hiring an architect or designer to monitor all or part of the project, that relationship should be described. Whether you have a crummy 1970s kitchen, a broken-down 1920s bathroom, want to add a room onto your cramped Craftsman bungalow or are thinking about tearing apart the entire joint and starting from scratch, remodeling work requires making multiple decisions and careful hiring. At Checkbook.org, you’ll find advice on vetting potential remodeling contractors, plus unbiased ratings of local businesses. Until Oct. 1, Washington Post readers can acc ..read more

How each generation thinks about building credit and wealth varies, particularly with respect to homeownership. Homeownership is a lifelong journey that looks different for everyone, especially depending on your stage of life and financial goals. How each generation thinks about building credit and wealth varies, particularly with respect to homeownership. Retirement, student loan debt and lifestyle preferences — not to mention living through one or more financial crises — all factor in. Here are some key credit considerations for home buyers by generation. Generation Z… Born roughly between 1 ..read more