Americans who want to tap the rising equity of their homes without giving up their low mortgage rates are increasingly turning to home equity lines of credit.After almost 13 years of declines, balances on home equity lines of credit, known as HELOCs, have begun to rebound, gaining 20% since bottoming out at the end of 2021, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit released Tuesday.Meanwhi
The Federal Reserve signals a possible rate cut could come in September. Could that cause rates to drop even lower?Home buyers and refinancers had the opportunity to lock in the lowest mortgage rates since early February this week, averaging 6.73%. Plus, the average mortgage rate is now lower than a year ago.The Federal Reserve also suggested this week that a possible cut to its key benchmark rate could take place this fall.That may prompt some p
The U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected in July, showing further cooling in the labor market from last year’s overheated levels.Employers added 114,000 nonfarm payrolls last month, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. Economists’ consensus forecast had been for a gain of 175,000.The unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, above the consensus forecast for an unchanged 4.1%.The pace of job growth has decelerated fr
Despite mortgage rates near 7%, home buyers plow ahead with more options on the market. Read more from NAR’s latest housing report.Home buyers have more housing choices this summer, and home sellers may find stiffer competition on the market. Pending home sales rose nearly 5% in June as more house hunters went under contract for a home purchase. All four major regions of the U.S. posted monthly gains in transactions, according to the National A
U.S. commercial property prices arrested their series of declines in June after a year and a half of losses, MSCI Real Assets reported Thursday. The RCA CPPI National All Property Index was unchanged from a year ago and rose 0.6% from May. All sectors posted improved annual trends in June, with the exception of apartments.Industrial was again the best-performing property type, with prices up 8% from a year ago and close to 50% above the levels at
Mortgage rates are now lower than a year ago, but house hunters remain cautious.Mortgage rates have been holding mostly steady this month, after dropping nearly a half percent from their peak earlier this year, Freddie Mac reports. “Despite these lower rates, buyers continue to pause, as reflected in tumbling new and existing home sales data,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.The National Association of REALTORS® reported thi
Existing-home sales fell again last month, even as home prices continued to surge to record highs. But opportunities for buyers are opening up. Read more from NAR’s latest housing report.Median home sales prices have never been higher, and that might be making home buyers skittish—but this may not persist for much longer, the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest housing report suggests.Existing-home sales, reflecting completed transac
Loan applications for home purchases remain sluggish, despite recent drops in borrowing costs.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a 6.77% average this week, its lowest level since mid-March and the biggest weekly drop in basis points since May, Freddie Mac reports.The drop in rates so far has not prompted a flood of home buyers into the market. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported this week that the number of people applying for a loan t
Despite 11 months of declines, Realtor.com said the typical renter is paying $305 more monthly for an apartment compared to 2019. The greatest rent increases are in Florida and the Midwest Despite the median asking rent declining for 11 consecutive months, renters are still shelling out $305 more per month for a 0-2 bedroom unit than they would have pre-2020. According to Realtor.com’s latest market report, the median asking rent in June decli
Interest rate buydowns involve a trade-off between upfront costs and long-term affordability. Clever CEO Luke Babich offers strategies to help clients make the choice Buying down interest rates (also known as buying points) may seem counterintuitive to many people. After all, why would a homebuyer willingly commit to bringing more cash to the table at closing or sign on for a larger loan?In fact, there are some excellent reasons buying
This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.
