National News

Lumber prices triple, raising home prices by $36,000

Lumber prices have tripled over the past 12 months, driving up the price of the average new single-family home by $35,872. NAHB hopes to alleviate the situation by meeting with the White House, lawmakers and others.

Mortgage applications dip as rates increase in latest MBA survey

“This is a sign that the competitive purchase market, driven by low housing inventory and high demand, is pushing prices higher and weighing down on activity.” — Mortgage Bankers Association Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan

S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller: Pace of Boston home-price gains accelerates

Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted housing index rose 1.1% month over month in February and 12% year over year, up from monthly and yearly increases of 0.8% and 11.2% in January, respectively.

New-home sales surge 21% in March

Year over year, the pace of sales was up 66.8% nationwide.

Biden Administration announces additional 22,000 H-2B visas

The DHS announcement comes in response to businesses reporting an immediate need for supplemental, temporary guest workers for this fiscal year.

Forbearance rate drops to 4.5%

As the economy slowly recovers from the early days of the pandemic, the share of loans in forbearance dropped for the seventh consecutive week, signifying a 40-basis-point decrease in the last two weeks.

HUD Sec. Fudge: ‘We will enforce U.S. Fair Housing Act’

Housing secretary reaffirms U.S. commitment to closing the racial homeownership gap at a forum with NAR president and top housing officials.

Zillow: Most experts expect relief to supply woes later this year, early 2022

Forty-three percent of respondents to the first-quarter Zillow Home Price Expectations survey expect inventory to improve in the second half of the year, followed by 26% who expect it in the first half of 2022.

U.S. Supreme Court decision makes it easier for brokers to market their business

Brokers may use their cell phones to make marketing calls and send marketing texts, if the cell phone does not have an app that will automate the dialing system.

How does credit scoring impact fair lending and minority home ownership?

“A credit report and credit score are the gateway to a mortgage,” — NAR President Charlie Oppler.

Who made up the National Association of Home Builders in 2020?

The National Association of Home Builders published the results of its Special Study for Housing Economics, highlighting the 2020 annual census of who makes up its members.

Redfin closes $608 million takeover of RentPath early

RentPath’s sites, which include ApartmentGuide.com, Lovely, Rent.com, and Rentals.com, will continue to operate as normal while their listings are integrated with Redfin.com, a process that is expected to wrap up in 2022.

Home prices hit 15-year high nationwide

Prices in the Boston metro area were up 7.0% over February 2020 with “normal” market condition indicators.

Mortgage rates jump for a sixth straight week

U.S. mortgage rates have increased for six straight weeks, a sign the historic low for mortgage rates is becoming a thing of the past.

NAR: ‘Don’t panic, keep contracting’

The National Association of Realtors sends a message to members that it is working to ensure that the proposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act will not hurt their status as independent contractors.

New home sales slide nationwide

Much of the year-over-year increase in home sales was supported by continued robust activity in the Southeast, which saw a 20.2% rise to an annual rate of 458,000 transactions.

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