Finance - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Housing Starts Fall in December as Builders Scale Back on Single-Family Homes

Housing starts fell to 1.46 million The numbers: Construction of new homes fell 4.3% in December, as home builders scaled back new projects.So-called housing starts fell to a 1.46 million annual pace from 1.53 million in November, the government said Thursday. That’s how many houses would be built over an entire year if construction took place at the same rate every month as it did in December.Housing starts are down for the first time in

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Banks Can’t Count on Loans for Growth

As interest rates fall, growing loans is getting more important, but also trickier Even as the biggest banks have grown and diversified, lending remains a core part of their business. And it looks like that will get tougher this year.The outlooks that banks gave on Friday for 2024 net interest income—a measure of what they earn on yield from cash, loans and securities, minus what they pay in interest costs—were muted. JPMorgan Chase expects

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Purchase Loan Applications Soar 9% Following Drop in Mortgage Rates

The trend could bode well for the spring homebuying season, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday, but Federal Reserve policymakers may take their time before cutting rates Falling mortgage rates prompted more prospective homebuyers to apply for a mortgage last week, a trend that could bode well for the spring homebuying season, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Wednesday.The MBA’s latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey

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How this Florida Legislation Could Lead to More Sustainable Housing

Attorney and new Inman Contributor Rachel Streitfeld examines how changes to Florida's zoning laws could free up vast tracts of land for high-density new home construction The affordable housing landscape in Florida is poised for major changes, thanks to the Live Local Act. Also known as SB-102, this revolutionary piece of legislation is set to encourage the creation of much-needed affordable and workforce housing in a state that h

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Lower Mortgage Rates Boost Buyer Demand

Americans feel increasingly optimistic that rates will drop even further throughout the year, surveys show.As mortgage rates settle into the 6% range—the 30-year fixed rate loan averaged 6.66% this week, according to Freddie Mac—home buyers appear to be gradually returning to the market. Mortgage applications for home purchases, which is a gauge of future home sales activity, rose about 6% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports.

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Millennials are Teaming Up to Enter Housing Market

The tragic economic plight of the millennial has been extensively documented (although sometimes questioned and debunked). The starting fact of two historic recessions before they turned 40 is contrasted with the refrain that baby boomers had to weather high interest rates and economic downturns, too. But two stark facts support the narrative that the generation entering homebuying age has terrible economic luck

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Buyers Take Rebound in Mortgage Rates in Stride as Lenders Tighten

Demand for purchase loans picked up last week as would-be homebuyers took advantage of rates that are still a full percentage point lower than 2023 highs, MBA lender surveys show After two months of declines, mortgage rates are starting out the new year on a gentle ascent, and mortgage lending standards are tighter than they’ve been in a decade.But demand for purchase loans still picked up last week as some would-be homebuyers put the holi

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Can a Big Village Full of Tiny Homes Ease Homelessness in Austin?

One of the nation’s largest experiments in affordable housing to address chronic homelessness is taking shape outside the city limits.On the outskirts of Austin, Texas, what began as a fringe experiment has quickly become central to the city’s efforts to reduce homelessness. To Justin Tyler Jr., it is home.Mr. Tyler, 41, lives in Community First! Village, which aims to be a model of permanent affordable housing for people who are chronically

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U.S. Rents Drop for Third Straight Month as Apartment Construction Booms

Rising supply and vacancies are motivating landlords to lower asking rents, particularly in the South and West A boom in new construction in the U.S. over the past few years has created an increase in rental supply, causing prices to decline for the third straight month, according to Redfin.The median U.S. asking rent fell 0.8% year over year in December to $1,964, according to Redfin’s report Monday. That’s on the heels of a 2.1% annual drop

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Inflation is On Path to Reaching Fed’s 2% Target

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said inflation has come down more than he expected and is on a path today to reaching the Fed’s 2% goal, though it’s too early to declare victory.“We are on a path to 2% today,” Bostic said Monday in a moderated discussion hosted by the Rotary Club of Atlanta. “The goal is to make sure we stay on the path.”The Atlanta Fed chief cited three- and six-month inflation measures showi

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