Americans have been in search of more living space since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and they’re willing to move in order to find it.

RENTCafe, a national apartment listing service, recently analyzed 900 suburban markets across the country to find the most spacious apartments in buildings with more than 50 units.

Johns Creek, a suburb of Atlanta, has the largest apartments in the country, averaging 1,225 square feet, researchers found. The data also shows that markets often known for their cramped apartments—such as Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Chicago—tend to have more spacious units in nearby suburbs, averaging more than 1,000 square feet in size.

From June to July, median sales price rose by 8.5%, more than double the 4.1% increase seen in family income levels, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. But mortgage rates that have fallen to all-time lows are helping to offset some of the rising costs.

As of July, all of the national and regional data in NAR’s affordability index was above 100, which means a family with a median income had more than the income required to afford a median-priced home. For the analysis, the income required to afford a mortgage is calculated as no more than 25% of a family’s income.

The most affordable region for housing in the U.S. in July was in the Midwest, with a median family income of $80,742, which is nearly more than double the qualifying income of $40,416. On the other hand, the least affordable region remained the West, which has a median family income of $88,022 and a qualifying income of $75,504, NAR’s index shows.

© National Association of REALTORS®

All four major regions of the U.S. saw housing affordability increase compared to a year ago. The Northeast saw the largest increase of 10%, followed by the Midwest with a 5.5% increase, the South at 4.2%, and the West at 2.3%.

Mortgage rates are down 74 basis points compared to a year ago. The median sales price for a single-family home sold in July was $307,800. Meanwhile, median family incomes increased by 4.1%.

View the full report from NAR’s Housing Affordability Index.

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

The home shopping spree continues. Typically, the end of August sees a slowdown in the housing market, but this year, real estate has shown no signs of letting up.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home increased 3% last week compared to the previous week. But it’s the year-over-year jump of 40% that has surprised economists. Year-over-year comparisons are usually in the single digits.

“There continues to be resiliency in the purchase market,” says Joel Kan, economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. “The average loan size continued to increase, hitting a survey high at $368,600. Highlighting the strong overall demand for buying a home, conventional, VA, and FHA purchase applications all increased last week.”

Record low mortgage rates continue to incentivize buyers. The average contract interest rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.07% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was at an all-time low of 2.62%.

Homeowners are rushing to refinance at the lower rates. Applications to refinance increased 3% last week and are a whopping 60% higher than a year ago, the MBA reports.

Kitchens can be expensive to renovate, so help homeowners choose upgrades that will stand the test of time—and outlast trends that come and go.

Life Rejoice, a home improvement blog, has offered up 40 timeless kitchen trends. Here’s a peek at five.

1. Quartz

Engineered quartz will continue to be a popular countertop option for a long time. It’s less prone to damage than other countertop materials and doesn’t stain from acidic substances, making it an increasingly long-lasting choice.

2. Bright, cool spaces

3. Go green

Life Rejoice recommends mixing in sustainable materials, such as reclaimed wood and fast-growing bamboo. Also, “the color green itself seems to gain in popularity, especially the dark arsenic hue which was all the rage back in Victorian times,” the blog notes. “Consider it for cabinetry, larders, pantry doors, and other furniture of the like.”

4. Dark floors

Bright kitchens offer cleanliness and warmth. But to balance out predominantly light colors on walls and cabinetry, use darker floors. A dark stain for hardwood, dark tile, or even linoleum can make a room feel more cozy.

5. Add in texture

Texture can help break up the monotony of an all-white space. For example, consider beadboard, shiplap, brass, strap hinges, latches, marble, various wood essences, and combined with gray paint to “give your kitchen a lively, but at the same time restrained look,” Life Rejoice notes. “Expressing through texture is considered to be an all-around safer bet than doing so with pure colors if a timeless look is what you’re after.”

View Life Rejoice’s full top 40 round-up of timeless designs.

Mortgage borrowers often have a choice to pay more up front in points to get an interest rate reduction or save money and accept a higher rate. It’s a choice that more buyers are considering, particularly jumbo borrowers—those who borrow more than $510,400 in most locales.

High balance and jumbo borrowers have been paying more in points than they did prior to the pandemic, according to an analysis by Optimal Blue, a mortgage technology and data company.

“Jumbo borrowers are paying more discount points to lock in a historically low rate at the lowest available level,” Rick Allen, vice president of business transformation for Optimal Blue, told The Wall Street Journal.

Reportedly, more mortgage lenders are also offering borrowers an unusually large per-point reduction on the rate, according to The Wall Street Journal. For example, WSJ reports on a borrower who was able to get a 2.75% rate on a loan for $584,000 in mid-August. The borrower paid half a point—0.5% of the total loan amount—or $2,920. Their next choice for a loan without paying points was 3.375%.

Not all loans offer these types of rate reductions with points. Many loans offer the traditional one point per 0.25% rate reduction.

United Wholesale Mortgage recently made headlines when it introduced a 30-year fixed-rate loan that can be paid down with points to a 1.99% rate. Without points, that loan would have a rate of about 2.5%, although that can vary among borrowers.

Better.com, an online lender, reports borrowers paying points on their loans is about 40% higher than it was between March through August of last year. He says many clients were locking in a 2%, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in August by paying 5 points to do so. Without paying points, their rate likely would have been about 3.125% instead.

Borrowers should carefully weigh the decision when choosing to pay points to lower the interest rate. Borrowers will need to identify their break-even point between two mortgages with different rates and points. Online mortgage-points calculators could be used to help, such as mtgprofessor.com. Many financial experts say paying discount points makes a lot of sense if the break-even date comes within two years. A break-even point of three and four years is also likely worth considering.

Buyers continue to face fierce competition from a limited number of homes for sale, which continues to fuel bidding wars across the country. Daren Blomquist, vice president of market economics at Auction.com, told MarketWatch that “the housing market is on a sugar high brought on by government stimulus and a pandemic-fueled rush” toward housing.

As bidding wars send homes above asking prices, Blomquist says, “prospective buyers will be better positioned for success as homeowners if they understand that this sugar high will not last and make sure their decision to buy is grounded in longer-term factors that will affect their ability and willingness to commit to paying down a sizable amount of debt over the next 30 years.”

Over two-thirds of homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

“That quick-decision environment may challenge some buyers, especially first-timers who are new to the process,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist, told MarketWatch.

How to Handle Bidding Wars Legally

The real estate brokerage Redfin reported that nearly 55% of offers submitted by its agents faced a bidding war in August, marking the fourth consecutive month that more than half of offers encountered bidding wars. Some markets in coastal California and more affordable places like Sacramento, Calif., and Phoenix are seeing even higher percentages of bidding wars.

“The pandemic-driven trend of people moving away from densely packed cities toward more affordable and spacious regions means homes in places like Sacramento and Phoenix are becoming nearly as competitive as the Bay Area,” says Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist. “Low mortgage rates are motivating home buyers who are thinking of moving to go through with it. I expect competition to continue picking up in more affordable parts of the country.”

Indeed, “the market is on fire,” says Lisa Padilla, a San Diego–based real estate professional with Redfin. “There just isn’t enough on the market to supply the huge demand for homes. … Anything on sale for less than $600,000 has multiple offers, and sometimes they’re getting more than 20 offers.”

Nationwide, 58% of homes priced between $600,000 and $800,000 faced a bidding war in August, the most competitive price segment, according to Redfin’s analysis.

“When the market started getting really hot a few months ago, at first we just saw the lower-priced homes selling fast with multiple offers,” says Marisa Frias, a real estate professional with Redfin in El Paso, Texas. “Now it’s nearly every home at every price level. I’ve had an uptick in young buyers ready to purchase their first home, and the market is tough for them. I always need to make sure they’re emotionally and financially prepared to face a bidding war every time they find a home that is ‘the one.’”

Bidding wars were highest in the following markets, according to Redfin’s analysis:

1. San Francisco/San Jose: 65.2%
2. Salt Lake City: 65.2%
3. San Diego: 64.5%
4. Washington, D.C.: 63.5%
5. Seattle: 62.2%
6. Minneapolis: 61.5%
7. Boston: 60.8%
8. Philadelphia: 59.1%
9. Austin, Texas: 58.2%
10. Sacramento, Calif.: 57.8%
11. Phoenix: 56.5%
12. Portland, Ore.: 56.3%
13. Los Angeles,: 53.4%
14. Tampa, Fla.: 50%
15. Detroit: 50%