Total mortgage activity—which includes applications for refinancings and home purchases—rose 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis as homeowners rushed to take advantage of lower mortgage rates.The refinance market was what drove last week’s increase, rising 7 percent week over week as mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level since November 2016. Still, refinance activity remains about 34 percent below where it was a year ago, the Mo
New buyers are gradually increasing their stake in the housing market. First-timers comprised 32 percent of existing-home sales in March, up from 30 percent a year ago and 29 percent in 2014.The looming threat of interest rate increases may be prompting more buyers to enter the market this year. But also, sustained job and income growth is playing a role, according to last month's REALTORS® Confidence Index. The aging of the millennial generat
As the White House shifts its focus to tax reform, analysts are examining who will benefit from the proposal announced Wednesday afternoon. The New York Times reported yesterday that this week’s stock market surge could be attributed to President Donald Trump’s call to cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, from 35 percent. However, the article goes on to note that optimism on Wall Street doesn’t always translate to growth on Main Street
As the Trump administration unveils its plan to reform the U.S. income tax system, NAR President-elect Elizabeth Mendenhall visited key lawmakers on both sides of the aisle yesterday to remind them of the central role the mortgage interest deduction and other tax code provisions have long played in incentivizing Americans to become homeowners. Removing or diluting those incentives, which make it possible for millions of Americans to own a home, w
It's important to thank your customers for their business, and that couldn't be easier with the rise of social media as a mass communications method. Gratitude should be at the core of a marketer’s brand, says Bardi Toto Drake, author of “The Power of Asking.” She encourages marketers to avoid “bragging and selling” strategies but instead find ways to show gratitude to increase business. She offers some of the following tips on how in a
Sales of newly built single-family homes increased for the third consecutive month, posting a strong showing to the spring selling season, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Single-family new-home sales rose 5.8 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000 units.“The March sales numbers are the second highest on record since the Great Recession, which is especially encouraging considering the poor weather conditions t
Results from the composite of single-family home price indices calculated every monthKey Takeaways The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.8 percent annual gain in February, up from 5.6 percent last month and setting a 32-month high.February’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index numbers set a fourth consecutive all-time high — the highest HPI seen in a wh
Amid a surge in new supply, vacancy increases in many major U.S. office markets are slowing price hikes, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate services firm. Nationally, average asking rents for office space rose 1.8 percent between the first quarter of 2016 and the same time period in 2017, the slowest annual rate of growth since 2011, according to data firm Reis Inc.The office market is not expanding at a rate in line with the res
With adjustable-rate mortgages resetting to a lower rate, homeowners with these loans are seeing more money in their pocket and are increasing their overall spending, according to a newly released report by JPMorgan Chase Institute. Borrowers with ARMs have increased their spending by 15 percent relative to their baseline, which equates to about $488 per month, according to the report.Further, these homeowners spent 9 percent more ahead of the ex
Move over, Silicon Valley, because there are some new tech hubs gaining clout. And where the technology industry goes, real estate booms are sure to follow.The tech boom in Silicon Valley has prompted more U.S. cities to focus on attracting new jobs in the industry, but these are places where most Americans can also afford to live comfortably, according to realtor.com®. The number of people moving to Silicon Valley has dropped by 27 percent betw
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