Stagnant wages and high rents combine to push homeownership out of reach for thousands of Bostonians More than 500,000 renters in the Boston housing market struggle with the cost of housing, according to a new report from the Joint Center of Housing Studies

Where does America’s middle class stand financially? New analysis from the Pew Research Center explains The U.S. middle class, which has long defined the country’s economic prosperity, is no longer the majority of Americans. That eye-grabbing finding came courtesy of

What is the preferable home size? The median size for homes purchased in 2015 was 1,900 square feet, according to the 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers from the National Association of Realtors. Beyond that median, though, NAR uncovered

Fannie Mae’s 3-percent down-payment policy was met with praise and skepticism in equal parts, but how has it impacted housing? It was last October when Fannie Mae announced that, in an effort to broaden credit access, it would lower its

Despite adding jobs, November offered more of the same for America’s economy The U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0 percent, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. November’s

2015 has been a great year for new construction in Boston Residential construction spending in the Boston housing market totaled $362 million in October, a 10 percent decline from Oct. 2014, according to new numbers from Dodge Data & Analytics. Despite that drop, 2015

Why do some consumers buy new homes, while others buy existing homes? NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers provided the answer, and in our continuing coverage of NAR’s report, we’ve assembled the following graph on the topic:

New home sales are hot, but what are the larger market trends? Sales of new single-family houses rose 10.7 percent from September to October and 4.9 percent from Oct. 2014 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 495,000, according

Why did U.S. consumers decide to buy homes in 2015? That question was one of many that NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers tackled, and the results were many and varied – especially when the consumers’ disposition

Many want to own a house, but the finances are only feasible for an increasingly select few It is a truth universally acknowledged that the vast majority of renters in America aspire to homeownership. Indeed, according to a recent

Mortgage markets have improved, but the inequities are still pronounced Black mortgage applicants in the Greater Boston area are denied at more than twice the rate of all applicants, according to new research from Zillow. All Applicants (2013) Black Applicants (2013)

First-time homebuyers continue to lose market share in today’s housing market First-time homebuyer share has dropped to its lowest level in 27 years, with just 32 percent of all existing-home sales going to first-time buyers in 2015. That was one

Where is the affordability problem particularly pronounced in the city of Boston? Affordability is a common topic in Boston real estate circles, and for good reason. Whether it be new construction, modern living preferences or escalating demand, housing in Boston

As 2015 draws to a close, how has residential construction activity in Greater Boston compared with the previous year? Residential construction spending in Greater Boston totaled $309 million in September, according to new Dodge Data & Analytics numbers. That is 48 percent higher than

New home sales were down last month, but what about 2015 overall? Autumn has been a lackluster season thus far for new home sales, which rose 2.0 percent month-to-month but fell 11.5 percent year-over-year in September, ending the month at a seasonally adjusted

The economy on a whole may be doing better, but most Americans are not directly experiencing those gains The unemployment rate is currently 5.1 percent, down substantially from where it was five years ago. Since bottoming in March 2009, the