National News

Congress passes short-term flood insurance extension

In a last-ditch effort to maintain a longstanding form of flood insurance for homeowners, the Senate passed another short-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on the day that the current program was set to expire, according

What will new homes look like in 2036?

Owning a home is a substantial part of the American dream, but what will that dream look like for the next generation of Americans? A new report from Porch predicts what new housing trends will dominate the housing market

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Breaking down homebuilding costs

While the price of building a new home may be more than the cost to buy a pre-owned one, building a home allows buyers to design it to their exact specifications. According to a Trulia study, 41 percent of

Gen X recovered most wealth since the housing crash

The Great Recession hit all generations hard, but now experts are finding that those affected by the recession are on the upswing. Millennials, Gen Xers, baby boomers and the Silent generation all experienced hardships as a result of the

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Sluggish mortgage rate growth could help home sales

As home prices continue to reach record-high levels, even modest increases in the inventory of homes for sale have not been enough to improve the picture for homebuyers in the second half of 2018. But winds could be shifting

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Young adults post best gains in Q2 US homeownership rate

The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest report on the national homeownership rate updated through the second quarter of 2018 showed no statistically significant change in the figure from the previous quarter or the same time last year. The rate stood

Real Estate in Brief: More first-time homebuyers, satisfaction with mortgage originators and more

In the second quarter of 2018, fewer people said they plan to buy a home in the next 12 months than recorded in previous quarters, according to the National Association of Builders Housing Trends Report. Just 14 percent of

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Pending home sales up with supply increasing across the nation

The worst of 2018’s inventory crunch may be coming to an end, according to recent data from the NAR’s pending home sales report. Nationally, the pending home sales index (PHSI) saw a 0.9 percent uptick in June, jumping from

NAR reports a decrease in international home sales

The housing market’s low supply and high prices have been affecting residents across the nation for a while, but now experts are starting to see these trends harm international home purchases in the U.S. According to a news report,

House passes National Flood Insurance Program extension

The House of Representatives passed a bill to extend the National Flood Insurance Program for another month. But with less than one week until the current program is set to expire, it’s up to the Senate to pass the

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How much school districts matter to new homebuyers

Many homebuyers are willing to compromise on almost anything except location. But according to new survey data from realtor.com, “location” has become synonymous with school district. Of all successful buyers surveyed, 73 percent say school boundaries are “important” to

June 2018 Realtors Confidence Index: Quicker sales, higher prices

The June 2018 Realtors Confidence Index Survey is in, which analyzed the characteristics of buyers and sellers last month as well as issues that affect homeownership and real estate transactions based on the responses of 50,000 Realtors. Overall, the report

Boston housing market ranked among nation’s most competitive

  Redfin unveiled a new metric, the Redfin Compete Score, which ranks cities based on how competitive the homebuying market is in that area. The scale ranges from not very competitive, where multiple offers are rare and homes take

Single-family starts in 2017 were under pre-recession levels

There was an increase in single-family home starts in 2017 compared to the year prior, but the national average still fell short of normal levels seen before the recession. The 2017 Survey of Construction, released by the National Association

Realtor.com report ranks most profitable housing markets

Buying a home has always been considered a sure way to increase one’s wealth, but the recent state of the housing market leaves some people hesitant to purchase a home due to persistently high prices. Over the long term,

Fannie, Freddie will not update credit score models in 2018

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which acts as the chief regulatory authority for government-sponsored mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced it was no longer pursuing an effort to update the credit scoring models used to