An increasing labor shortage among homebuilders reportedly is causing more new homes to be delivered late, and buyers say they're getting frustrated that builders don't come back to fix common issues such as sticky doors and loose floor tiles after they move in. "Builder tardiness" is a growing problem because the economic downturn drove hundreds of thousands of craftsmen and laborers away from Continue Reading
Mortgage Rates Hover Near Yearly Lows
Fixed-rate mortgages remained mostly unchanged this week, with borrowing costs just slightly above their lows for 2014, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. Are low interest rates spooking your potential move-up buyers? Read this:Understanding and Combatting the Rate Lock-in Threat Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Continue Reading
3 Challenges Still Facing the Housing Market
Existing-home sales gained momentum in June, reaching an annual pace of 5 million sales for the first time since October 2013, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest housing report. Rising inventories also are pushing the overall supply of homes for sale toward a more balanced market, with unsold inventories 6.5 percent higher than a year ago, NAR notes. “Inventories are at Continue Reading
Why the Second Half of 2014 Will Be Better Than the First
The housing market has been sluggish in many markets over the past six months, after last year’s double-digit appreciation. But researchers at the real estate brokerage Redfin say they see signs that the housing market is now edging back to normal. In a new report, they say they expect the market in urban areas to regain its footing over the second half of 2014. “The second half will not be Continue Reading
Decline in Foreclosures Reaches ‘Important Milestone’
Foreclosure activity in June was down 16 percent from a year prior, marking the lowest level since July 2006 — before the housing bubble burst — according to RealtyTrac's Midyear 2014 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The report showed a much-improved picture: Foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions, were down 19 percent in the first half of Continue Reading
Top Amenities Buyers Will Make Sacrifices For
Home buyers are showing some willingness to pay more for certain amenities in a home, according to the latest PulteGroup Home Index Survey of more than 1,000 adults ages 25 to 65. Take the Pulse of Buyers' Desires Regional Trends: What Buyers Want Most—and Get Buyers Want 'Green' More Than They Think 2 Things Luxury Buyers Want Most What's surprising is that buyers say they'd give up Continue Reading
New-Home Sales Surge Nearly 19%
After a sluggish start to 2014, new-home sales posted a strong rebound in May. Sales of newly built single-family homes soared to the highest rate since May 2008, jumping 18.6 percent last month, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The Good News Has Been Building Builders Feeling Better This Month No. 1 Continue Reading
Why Builders Are Worried About Millennials
Millennials are going to be a big force in the housing industry in the years to come, but for homebuilders, they may be trouble. Columnist Jeff Reeve writes in The Wall Street Journal that homebuilders should be worried about millennials’ impact to their bottom line. The generation tends to have a personal taste for urban living and they’re financially strapped so they have less income and a Continue Reading
Reality TV Skewing Home Remodeling Picture?
Reality television shows that feature instant home makeovers are popular, but some remodelers say that such shows paint an unrealistic picture of the time and money required to remodel a home. “A lot of these shows tend to glorify the low cost,” says Craig Knott, owner of Houseworks Unlimited in Washington, D.C. “Not just that it can get done in three hours, but that the costs are very Continue Reading
New-Home Shoppers Are in Upgrade Mode
DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS The new-home market in the last year has largely been driven by the upper tier, resulting in record-setting rises to the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and garages being added to new homes, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Monday. Forty-four percent of homes built last year had at least four bedrooms, the highest percentage recorded since the Census began Continue Reading
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