Nov. New Home Sales Drop More than Expected: 11%
An ongoing shortage of land, labor and materials pushed new-home sales lower than experts expected – but they were still 20.8% higher year-to-year.
2020 May Be Considered ‘the Golden Age of Mortgage Rates’
While 2020 will forever be the year of the pandemic, real estate pros might also remember it as the year when mortgage rates kept dropping to all-new record lows.
Body Language Rules When You’re Wearing a Mask
In an industry that relies on human contact, masks conceal expressions, muffle speech and create misunderstandings. But people can read a smile through your eyes.
The 2021 Rental Market: 3 Predictions
Rental prices will probably stabilize in the first half of 2021, with possible dips in urban areas as more working-from-home renters move to the suburbs.
What Real Estate Has to Be Grateful For in 2020
It’s hard to look at 2020 in a positive light, but the real estate industry was uniquely and unexpectedly a beacon of hope for a nation battered by the COVID-19 virus. Home sales boomed, mortgage rates repeatedly hit record lows and rising values bolstered homeowners’ equity.
Fla.’s Nov. Housing Market: Sales, Median Prices, New Listings Up
Florida Realtors’ data: Single-family home sales are up 22.9% year-over-year, median sales price up 14.1%; condo sales up 30.2%, median price up 16.9%. Chief Economist O’Connor: All 22 of Fla.’s metros saw gains in closed sales – but inventory remains far below normal levels.
Landlord Relief Is On the Way But Timeline Still Unclear
The pandemic relief bill has $25B for rental assistance that landlords can request on behalf of tenants. But the president must sign it and each state must distribute it.
FHA Extends Help for Pandemic-Affected Homeowners
FHA borrowers can still get help to avoid an eviction or foreclosure. FHA will also maintain temporary policy flexibilities for lenders and servicers.
Has 2020 Killed These 3 Home Design Trends?
Americans expect things from a 24/7 home that they don’t from an after-I-get-home-from-work home. Sterile, open-design trends seem to be quickly falling out of favor.
NAR: Existing-Home Sales Dropped 2.5% in Nov.
Overall, U.S. sales dropped a bit, prices rose strongly (up 14.6%), and the inventory of for-sale homes fell to a record-low 2.3 months as the average home sold in 21 days.