National News

BLS: Economy Adds 211,000 Jobs in November

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

Despite Mortgage Rebound, Low Credit Buyers Absent

The housing market continues to struggle despite an increase in high-quality mortgages Even though houses are selling at their fastest rate since 2007, sub-700 credit score buyers are still at the same level they were mid-2010. According to a

MBA Survey Shows Decrease in Loan Applications

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that loan applications dropped 0.2 percent from last week, according to its Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending on Nov. 27.  The results included an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday; on an unadjusted basis, the

Why are So Many Millennials Still Living at Home? Here’s Why

Many Millennials still live at home with their parents. Why? It’s a question that’s been plaguing the housing market since the economy started to recover – why are Millennials still living at home? Despite all indications that Millennials should

Despite Housing Rebound, Economic Recovery Is Slow

Spending per dollar of equity is at its lowest level since the mid ’90s. Home equity has doubled to $12.1 trillion since the market bottomed out in 2011. Builder confidence has remained strong, despite a small, recent slip. New home

What Age Problem? The ‘Aging Realtor’ May Not Be a Big Issue

There are roughly 1.118 million members of the National Association of Realtors, and they strike an impressive profile: Realtors’ median experience level is 12 years; their gross income is $45,800; 58 percent are female; and 42 percent have at

Pending Home Sales Remain Unchanged

According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales were mostly unchanged in October, but shifted marginally higher after two straight months of declines. Gains in the Northeast and West were offset by declines in the Midwest and

Federal Reserve Votes to Stop Bailing Out Failing Firms

Effective Jan. 1, the Federal Reserve will not be allowed to bail out failing companies. Members of the Fed board voted 5 to 0 in favor of restricting the policy. The new policy will restrict the Fed from lending to individual firms,

New Home Sales at Highest Level in 7 Years

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

Boston Price Growth Remains Steady

How have home prices progressed in the 2015 housing market? Home prices in the Boston housing market rose 0.1 percent from August to September and 4.8 percent from Sept. 2014, according to the new Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from Standard &

How Does Thanksgiving Impact Real Estate?

The ins and outs of buyer traffic around the holidays It has been long been considered common knowledge that the buying craze of Black Friday does not extend to real estate, thanks to a lack of large savings for homes

Boston Among Nation’s Worst Cities for Thanksgiving Travel

According to Google Maps data, Boston is one of the worst cities in the country for Thanksgiving travel. Out of 21 cities that Google investigated, Boston came in at No. 17, with long-time traffic haven Los Angeles on top.

Mortgage Applications Up Despite TRID

We’re approaching two months since the implementation of TRID, and after a string of weeks that saw declining originations, mortgage applications were back up in the week ending Nov. 13, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. In the two

Existing-Home Sales Decline, Market Continues to Improve

Homes sales were down in October, but the overall picture remains a very positive one for housing Existing-home sales declined 3.4 percent from September to October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million, according to the latest report

FHA Reserves Back in Line with Federal Requirements

In another marker of the housing market’s recovery, the Federal Housing Administration announced last week that its reserves were back in line with federal requirements. The FHA stated that its insurance fund’s net worth at the end of September was

6 Facts about the Homes Consumers Purchased in 2015

Single family? Condo? 2,000-plus square feet? What defined the homes consumers bought this year? For our latest story in our continuing series on NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, we’re taking a detailed look at the homes

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