First-time buyers show more demand for mortgages, even as interest rates rise

Mortgage demand continues to weaken, still right around a 22-year low, but there was a sign in the weekly numbers that first-time buyers may be slowly returning. Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 1% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 21% lower…

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We’re in a ‘housing recession,’ experts say. Here’s what that means for homeowners, sellers and buyers

Just months ago, the housing market remained in overdrive: surging home prices, historically low interest rates and unrelenting demand. However, data now suggests to some experts that the market is in a “housing recession.” For example, sales of existing homes in July fell by 5.9% from June, marking the six straight month of a decline — and…

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The modern family: 18% of Americans live in multigenerational households. For this N.J. family, it was ‘a lifesaver’ during the pandemic

“We are a four-generation households,” said Jason Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, 45, and his wife, Rachel Zack, 41, bought a house with Rachel’s parents Beverly and Arthur Zack, who are in their 70s, and Rachel’s 98-year-old grandmother Lillian, who goes by “Bubbie.” The home has six bedrooms, with five full and two half bathrooms.  They all live…

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Lowest Priced Homes Attracting the Strongest Competition

New Zillow research this week is showing that a s home-buying demand cools from the record pace of 2021, competition is now hottest for the lowest-priced homes as mounting affordability obstacles stretch buyers’ budgets. Throughout most of the pandemic, buyers shopping in the middle and top price tiers faced the strongest competition — inventory was…

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U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Dip in Second Quarter of 2022

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest National Delinquency Survey, delinquencies rates for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.64 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the second quarter of 2022. For the purposes of the survey, MBA asks servicers to report loans in forbearance…

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U.S. Housing Markets with Steep Price Increases During Covid Most Susceptible to Housing Downturns in a Recession

Based on new research from national property broker Redfin, popular migration destinations where home prices soared during the pandemic are most likely to see the effects of a housing downturns amplified and home prices decline year over year if the economy goes into a recession. Redfin also found that relatively affordable northern metros are most…

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Residential Prices Rise in Most Opportunity Zones Across America Mid-2022

Property data company ATTOM just released its second-quarter 2022 report analyzing qualified low-income Opportunity Zones targeted by Congress for economic redevelopment in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The report found that median single-family home and condo prices rose from the first quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2022 in 63…

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U.S Construction Employment Increased by 32,000 in July

The construction industry added 32,000 jobs on net in July 2022, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released this past week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 311,000 jobs, or 4.2%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 18,300 positions on net in…

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Demand for Vacation Homes Up 77 Percent From Pre-Pandemic Levels

According to national property broker Redfin, demand for U.S. vacation homes was up 77% from pre-pandemic levels in December 2021. This is slightly below the 80% increase in November and the record 92% gain in January, but up significantly from the 2021 low hit in August. Interest in second homes started to surge in mid-2020…

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