From our friends in KCM
Over the past year, a lot of people have been talking about housing affordability and how tight it’s gotten. But just recently, there’s been a little bit of relief on that front. Mortgage rates have gone down since their most recent peak in October. But there’s more to being able to afford a home than just mortgage rates.
To really understand home affordability, you need to look at the combination of three important factors: mortgage rates, home prices, and wages. Let’s dive into the latest data on each one to see why affordability is improving.
1. Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates have come down in recent months. And looking forward, most experts expect...
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From our friends in KCM
Even though home prices are going up nationally, some people are still worried they might come down. In fact, a recent survey from Fannie Mae found that 24% of people think home prices will actually decline over the next 12 months. That means almost one out of every four people are dealing with that fear, and you might be, too.
To help ease that concern, here’s what experts forecast will happen with prices this year.
Experts Project a Modest Increase
Check out the latest home price forecasts from eight different sources (see graph below):
The blue bar on the left means, on average, experts think home prices will go up over 2% by the end of this...
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By our friends in KCM
If you’re looking to buy a home, the recent downward trend in mortgage rates is good news because it helps with affordability. But there’s another way this benefits you – it may inspire more homeowners to put their houses up for sale.
The Mortgage Rate Lock-In Effect
Over the past year, one factor that’s really limited the options for your move is how few homes were on the market. That’s because many homeowners chose to delay their plans to sell once mortgage rates went up. An article from Freddie Mac explains:
“The lack of housing supply was partly driven by the rate lock-in effect. . . . With higher rates, the...
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By Kristine Gill | Better Homes
Experts outline the average cost to stage a home, including factors that affect costs and a breakdown of home staging expenses.
Preparing to sell your home includes embarking on a laundry list of tasks with conflicting advice from all sides. Friends and family might have might have told you that staging your home isn’t necessary, while your real estate agent might be suggesting it. So, do you need to stage your home? Or is a quick clean and decluttering just as effective?
“I can confidently say that staging always offers a return on investment,” says Dot Frank, a realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Alliance Group....
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From our friends in KCM
If you’ve been holding off on selling your house to make a move because you felt mortgage rates were too high, their recent downward trend is exciting news for you. Mortgage rates have descended since last October when they hit 7.79%. In fact, they’ve been below 7% for over a month now (see graph below):
And while they’re not going back to the 3% we saw during the ‘unicorn’ years, they are expected to continue to go down from where they are now in the near future. As Dean Baker, Senior Economist at the Center for Economic Research, explains:
“It also appears that mortgage rates are now falling again. They will almost certainly not...
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By Kristine Gill | Better Homes & Gardens
More and more people are living in multigenerational homes. Here are some features to look for in a home for everyone, according to experts.
More and more, Americans are finding themselves living in multigenerational households. Some do it for financial reasons, while others are looking to care for aging relatives more easily. As more and more people seek to bring multiple generations of the family together under one roof, you might find yourself on the market for a home that can accommodate this type of living arrangement.
“The demand for multigenerational homes has exploded over the past few years, especially since the...
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By Jillian Pretzel | REALTOR.COM
For most of 2023, homebuyers faced a daunting real estate market marked by dizzyingly high mortgage rates. Combined with steep home prices and a severe shortage of homes for sale, it’s no wonder many struggled or gave up their home search entirely.
But with this new year comes new hope: Could homebuyers get a break?
If you’re gearing up to buy a house soon, it’s time to forget the horror stories of last year and reset your expectations. Below are the old rules that no longer apply to the current real estate market—plus the new ones that will take their place this year.
1. Old rule:...
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From our friends in KCM
If you’re getting ready to buy a home, it’s exciting to jump a few steps ahead and think about moving in and making it your own. But before you get too far down the emotional path, there are some key things to keep in mind after you apply for your mortgage and before you close. Here’s a list of things to remember when you apply for your home loan.
Don’t Deposit Large Sums of Cash
Lenders need to source your money, and cash isn’t easily traceable. Before you deposit any cash into your accounts, discuss the proper way to document your transactions with your loan officer.
Don’t Make Any Large Purchases
It’s not just...
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By Clare Trapasso | REALTOR.COM
Homebuyers received an unexpected gift around the holidays as mortgage rates dropped rapidly late last year.
They fell from a peak of about 8% in the fall to the mid-6% range in late December, a level many economists and forecasters hadn’t anticipated until the end of 2024—if they were being optimistic. Now with the U.S. Federal Reserve poised to cut its own rates this year, the question on the minds of many aspiring homebuyers is just how low mortgage rates will drop this year.
Most of the real estate experts who spoke with Realtor.com® say they expect rates will stay in the 6% range this year, but some believe...
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From our friends in KCM
If you’ve owned your house for at least a couple of years, there’s something you’re going to want to know more about – and that’s home equity. If you’re not familiar with that term, Freddie Mac defines it like this:
“. . . your home’s equity is the difference between how much your home is worth and how much you owe on your mortgage.”
That means your equity grows as you pay down your home loan over time and as home values climb. While it’s true home prices dipped slightly last year, they rebounded and have been climbing in many areas since then. Here’s why that price growth is good news for you.
In the latest Equity...
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