National News

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.

Ending 1031s hurts land conservation, farmers

The land conservation and farming communities need to come together and let Congress know how vital the like-kind exchange is to the future of our land and that it must continue.

Could vaccines boost listings ahead of the spring market?

Zillow survey finds growth in homeowners finally comfortable to move after widespread vaccination distribution.

Buyers show renewed interest in city living as vaccines bring hope

For the first time since March 2020, home-price growth in urban areas surpassed that of suburban and rural locations.

Boston home price increase nearly doubles national average

The median price of a home in the U.S. reached its highest point in 13 years last month as inventory continued to fall.

Millennials dominate homebuyer market as Gen Z enters

Eighty-eight percent of all homebuyers said they used an agent as a source of information during their search, and 91% of millennials age 22 to 30 said the same.

Homeownership rising for single women, despite pandemic ‘she-session’

It is not “first comes love, then comes marriage,” but for many women, “first comes homeownership,” according to First American Chief Economist Odeta Kushi.

New residential mortgages hit 14-year high

Lenders issued $1.06 trillion worth of mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2020 with refis contributing to the boost.

Housing observers expect February job gains to continue

“More jobs are very likely, due to the near certain passage of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package and from two million vaccinations per day,” National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a release.

How will the stimulus bill help real estate?

The stimulus bill includes aid for state and local governments, new homeowners, small businesses and renters.

U.S. House passes Equality Act to prohibit discrimination

The House of Representatives has approved the Equality Act, which establishes legal safeguards to prevent discrimination in housing based on sexual orientation.

Black Knight: Mortgage forbearances finish February with weekly increase

The increase follows a decline earlier in February that cut the number of homeowners in forbearance plans to less than 2.7 million, the first dip below that threshold since April 2020.