The first year of homeownership can be one of the most expensive years. After all, new homeowners are paying for the down payment, closing fees, and the costs of moving in, while outfitting their new home. SmartAsset evaluated data across the 20 largest cities to find which areas have the highest first-year housing costs. They factored in six metrics: median home value, down payment, average closing...
Home buyers are rushing to purchase new homes. Sales of newly built, single-family homes jumped 14% in September compared to August, reaching a six-month high, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday. Home buyers appear to be shrugging off price increases, too. The median new-home sales price continued to increase to $408,800 in September, up 18.7%...
Repair requests after a home inspection often are the last major hurdle to clear on the way to settlement for home sellers. Sometimes the inspection report can leave buyers uncertain about what inspection repairs truly need to be fixed and what’s up for negotiation. Many buyers over the last few months had been waiving home inspections to better compete in a bidding war. Twenty-one percent of home...
Nowadays, many small business owners are choosing to eschew glitzy offices and base themselves at home. The move to working from home has financial and emotional benefits, but you must create an office space that separates your domestic life from your work life and provides you with a productive working environment. When you’re looking for the perfect home to accommodate both your family and business,...
More Americans are working from home in the pandemic, meaning their morning commute has become a few steps to their dining room or home office. But now more working Americans say they miss the day-to-day grind of a real morning commute. Slightly more than half of American workers recently surveyed said they enjoy their commute to work, according to a survey of about 1,000 people conducted by...
So you’re planning a move to the seaside city of Huntington Beach. As exciting as it may be, moving is rarely a simple task — especially if you’re relocating from another city or state. But fortunately, these tips from real estate agent Ruby Truong will help you to settle into your new house, neighborhood, and city much more easily! Before Moving to Southern California If you’re moving to...
More Americans are desiring bigger homes since the pandemic—and builders are responding. The share of new single-family homes with four or more bedrooms posted a sharp uptick, unlike in recent years, the National Association of Home Builders reports on its Eye on Housing blog.The share of single-family homes started with four bedrooms or more rose from 42.6% in 2019 to 45.2% in 2020.“These developments...
New-home sales rose in August, even as buyers continued to weather high home prices. Higher development costs and material prices have put pressure on new-home prices, which are 20% higher than a year ago. The median sales price was $390,900 in August, the Commerce Department reported Friday. “These price hikes are a risk for housing affordability as we approach the end of the year,” says Robert...
Home prices have been posting double-digit annual increases. Bidding wars have quickly run up prices above list price. But for the most part, home buyers have not taken on more than they can afford. Americans devote about 21% of their household income toward their monthly mortgage payments, according to a recent report from realtor.com®. That is higher than the monthly average of 19.6% seen over the last...
Just when the housing market was starting to fall into a seasonal pattern, mortgage demand takes off. Mortgage applications to purchase a home—a gauge of the housing market—rose 7% last week compared to the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. That marks the highest level since April of this year. Housing inventories have increased slightly, which may be opening up more...