Supply-Chain Woes Continue Slowing Home Construction Building material prices, production bottlenecks, and labor shortages will continue to dampen the pace of construction and affect home prices this year, economists told a crowd at the 2022 International Builders’ Show in Orlando. Building material costs have surged 21% compared to a year ago. Further, more than 300,000 job openings went …
Tag: tips
Feb 11
Buyers Purchasing Older Homes
Buyers Purchasing Older Homes Homes in America are getting older. With new construction activity having declined for more than two decades, buyers are purchasing older homes. In 2021, the typical home purchased was built in 1993—28 years ago—according to new research from the National Association of REALTORS®. For comparison, in 2011, the typical home purchased …
Feb 11
Fewer Homeowners Are Selling
Fewer Homeowners Are Selling House hunters feeling that inventory continues to tighten are right, a new report shows. The number of homes for sale is down 28.4% compared to a year ago, according to realtor.com® data. Two years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of active listings was 60% higher than today. Winter months …
Feb 09
Buyers May See ‘Whirlwind Year’
Buyers May See ‘Whirlwind Year’ Home buyers hoping for a less competitive market before they make their move may be disappointed. The housing market remains unseasonably hot over the typically slow winter period. In the January just concluded, the typical U.S. home sold faster than in any other January on record, according to realtor.com®’s monthly …
Feb 09
IRS Backtracks on Selfie Requirement
IRS Backtracks on Selfie Requirement The Internal Revenue Service says it will no longer require facial recognition software to be used to verify the identities of taxpayers online. In January, the IRS announced that it was transitioning away from having accounts use just a username and password at IRS.gov for managing personal tax accounts online. …
Feb 08
Competition Remains Strong
Homes are selling even faster than they were at this time last year as buyers continue to compete in the housing market. Housing inventories are lower as well, down 28% from a year ago. In December 2021, the National Association of REALTORS® reported that existing homes for sale fell to an all-time low. With fewer …
Feb 08
Mortgage Rates Hold at 3.55%
Mortgage Rates Hold at 3.55% Borrowing costs held mostly steady this week, but how long will the reprieve last? Mortgage rates continue to follow the trend of the 10-year Treasury yield and have stayed flat over the last three weeks. As the economic recovery continues through the spring and summer, mortgage rates are expected to …
Feb 07
Consumers Believe We’re in a Housing Bubble
A new survey shows that real estate agents are more confident about the state of the market than many consumers. Seventy-seven percent of home buyers and sellers say they believe there’s a housing price bubble where they live, according to a Redfin consumer survey of 1,500 respondents who plan to buy or sell in the next …
Feb 07
Paint Colors for Selling in 2022
Greens may dominate paint firms’ lists of the hottest color of the year, but neutral colors still reign for the largest buyer pool. Eighty-one percent of interior design experts recently surveyed say whites and creams are the best colors to use when selling a house in 2022, according to the Paint & Color Trends 2022 …
Feb 02
Homebuying Deal Breakers
The housing market remains competitive, but not to the point where home shoppers will overlook some kinds of flaws in a home. Exterior issues, like bad siding or loose bricks, and weatherproofing issues are among the biggest issues that home buyers said would make them pass on a home, according to a survey from HomeAdvisor …
Feb 02
Most Popular Paint Colors
Classic white remains the most popular color choice in kitchens, but homeowners continue to experiment with wider palettes for that room and other areas of the home. “With white kitchens, there’s never a risk of looking dated in a few years, while the sleek minimalistic feel is effortlessly complemented by dark counters or contrasting kitchen …
Feb 01
Mortgage Rates Level Out After Rising 5 Weeks
Mortgage rates held steady overall this week, a welcome relief to home shoppers who may have been watching them rise week after week since the beginning of the year. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.55% this week, Freddie Mac reports. “Following a month-long rise, mortgage rates effectively stayed flat this week,” says Sam Khater, Freddie …
