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☆ Don't get your hopes up about the housing market
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-24 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One of the most painful ways higher interest rates have impacted Americans is through higher housing costs. The combination of high borrowing costs and skyrocketing home prices and rents — caused by a housing shortage — has created an enduring housing affordability crisis. On the one hand, lower borrowing costs would likely make mortgages cheaper for buyers and encourage builders to construct desperately needed new homes. But rate cuts would also spur new home construction, as builders respond to higher demand and lower borrowing costs for acquisition and construction loans. On top of high borrowing costs, builders are struggling with a severe shortage of construction workers and high building material costs.

Persons: —, Jerome Powell, Daryl Fairweather, Wells, underbuilding, Ben Metcalf, Metcalf Organizations: Service, Jackson Hole , Wyoming ., Business, Bank of England, Terner Center, Housing Innovation, UC Berkeley Locations: Jackson Hole , Wyoming

☆ The US needs to build 2 million houses to revive the American dream of homeownership
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A shortage of 2.2 million homes suggest the US housing market will remain unaffordable. The research firm said a shortage of 2.2 million homes is compounding the US housing market's affordability issues. Related stories"Since 2015, we have been warning about a chronic housing shortage, leading to a supply/demand imbalance. Rising development prices across the board suggest to NDR that housing supply will remain constrained for years to come. "The wave of immigrants has not seemed to impact the supply/demand balance for workers, a traditional area for Latino immigrants," NDR said.

Persons: —, Ned Davis, Joseph Kalish, Veneta Dimitrova, Powell Organizations: Service, Ned Davis Research, NDR, Federal Reserve

☆ The US needs immigrants to fill jobs, but can't house them. Nowhere makes this more clear than New York City.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

An influx of over 175,000 migrants in New York City has further exposed the city's housing crisis. AdvertisementNo country in the world attracts more immigrants than the US — and no place symbolizes this better than New York City. Pushing migrants out of sheltersNew York City has managed to absorb much larger influxes of immigrants in the past. The New York City comptroller's office says the Adams administration is intentionally making life more difficult for asylum-seekers as a way to force them out of the city. "It is just a system that is meant to really discourage people from getting help from the city and from exercising their rights that they have as residents of New York City."

Persons: Eric Adams, —, It's, it's, aren't, He's, who've, Elon Musk, Selcuk Acar, Susan Pozo, Pozo, Goldman Sachs, Adams, Celeste Hornbach, they've, they're, Sam Stanton, Hornbach Organizations: Service, New, New York City, Getty, Immigrants, Western Michigan University, Goldman Locations: New York City, Southern, New York, York, stoke, New

☆ Housing affordability has improved, but not by much
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Yuheng Zhan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The last time the typical household earned more than the median-priced home was in February 2021. AdvertisementMortgage rates have eased from multi-decade highs hit late last year, but housing affordability hasn't improved much in 2024. "For over a decade, America has been slowly marching toward a housing affordability crisis due to chronic underbuilding, and that crisis was kicked into overdrive when the pandemic homebuying boom fueled a meteoric rise in housing prices," said Redfin senior economist Elijah de la Campa. On the flip side, buyers in Anaheim, California were hit by the nation's biggest housing affordability crunch, as they needed 20% more income compared to the previous year. The median home price has climbed twice as much as the 6% rise in median household income over the past year.

Persons: Redfin, —, It's, Elijah de la, Campa Organizations: Service Locations: America, San Antonio , Texas, Anaheim , California

☆ Population and economy in South Carolina are booming
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Tami Luhby | Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“And, of course, South Carolina is in the heart of the Southeast.”Job seekers check-in to a job fair at a Schneider Electric manufacturing facility in Hopkins, South Carolina, in January 2023. “You can reach about twice as many people within an 8-hour drive from South Carolina as you can from Florida,” he said. “The housing market and the manufacturing industry, particularly in South Carolina, saw a major increase in demand,” Von Nessen said. South Carolina home sale activity fell by double-digits in 2022 but has since started to stabilize, he said. “We’re just treating so many more patients that we don’t have capacity,” said Thornton Kirby, CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association.

Persons: ” Joseph Von Nessen, Darla Moore, ” Von Nessen, ”, it’s, It’s, Sean Rayford, Barrie Kirk, “, Von Nessen, Micah Green, “ We’re, Thornton Kirby, Malcolm Isley, “ We’ve, ” Isley, Arnold Kamler, Inc . Kent, Kent, Kamler, Nikki Haley, —, Daniel Slim, Scott Huffmon, Donald Trump, Haley, they’d Organizations: CNN, Palmetto State, of Labor Statistics, University of South, of Business, North, SC Council, Competitiveness, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor, Midlands Technical College, Technical College Midlands Technical College, Schneider, Bloomberg, Getty, Census, US Federal Reserve, US News, South Carolina Hospital Association, “, Prisma, Health Prisma Health, Greenville Technical College, Health Center for Health, Life Sciences, Kent International, Walmart, Kent, Inc ., Winthrop University, —, Charleston City Market, Winthrop’s Center, Public, Research, Palmetto, Republican, Trump, CBS Locations: South Carolina, South, “, Carolina, Myrtle Beach , South Carolina, North America, University of South Carolina, West Columbia, United States, Hopkins , South Carolina, Florida, droves, Myrtle Beach, ’, Manning, New York City, Georgia, Charleston, AFP

☆ An Incredible New Housing Map Could Help Bring Down Home Prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Which means there are more than 30,000 different sets of zoning rules in America. AdvertisementFor the first time, a team of researchers is compiling every city's zoning rules into a National Zoning Atlas. Cities and towns in both states, they could see, penalize or outright prohibit duplexes and other forms of housing that bring down prices and help prevent urban sprawl. Enacting a more permissive set of zoning rules gave everyone something they wanted. "The state of California has been passing zoning change after zoning change," Freemark says, "but it's still facing low housing construction statewide."

Persons: you've, nix, we'll, Sara Bronin, It's, Bronin, we'd, Kendall Cotton, Lefty, Cotton, Montana, Yonah Freemark, Freemark, Italo, Marco Polo, Kublai Khan, Polo Organizations: America, Zoning, Cornell University, Big Sky, California ., Urban Institute Locations: America, we're, Milford , Connecticut, Montana, California, California . Cities, Los Angeles, Missoula, LA

☆ Why it’s so hard to find an apartment you can afford
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington, DC CNN —Finding a new apartment to rent can be a slog. In New York City, the rental vacancy rate, which is the share of habitable unoccupied units, has dropped to a record low 1.4%. In Boston, the rental vacancy rate was a very tight 2.6% at the end of last year, according to the Census Bureau. However, the most recent vacancy rate is also lower than the more typical 3.6% from prior to the pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%.

Persons: Maria Torres, ”, Orphe Divounguy, “, that’s, Lawrence Yun, Yun Organizations: DC CNN, New York City Department of Housing Preservation, Development, Census, New York City, Springer, Real Estate Investment Services, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, National Association of Realtors Locations: Washington, Northeastern, New York, Boston, New York City, Yorker, Manhattan, Northeast, Southern, Austin , Texas

Wayne said that has been the case in his district, where an Ohio corporation has bought more than 150 single-family homes in recent years — often pushing out individual homebuyers with all-cash offers. Wayne's bill offers few specifics. It consists of a single sentence that says a corporation, hedge fund or other business may not buy purchase single-family housing in Nebraska unless it's located in and its principal members live in Nebraska. Currently, about 13% of single-family homes in Lincoln are owned by out-of-state corporate firms, he said. As in other states, Wayne's bill likely faces an uphill slog in the deep red state of Nebraska.

Persons: Sen, Justin Wayne’s, Wayne, it's, ” Wayne, isn't, Wayne Mortensen, Lincoln, Mortensen, ” Mortensen, Omaha Sen, Brad von Gillern, “, ” Organizations: Control, American Homes, Democratic, Banking, Insurance, Commerce Locations: Nebraska, Omaha, Ohio, Minnesota , Indiana, North Carolina, Texas, Lincoln

☆ 3 reasons it could be the right time to buy a home, despite high interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Despite high prices and mortgage rates, they said homeownership will pay off for many people in the long-run. Many Americans have been left wondering when — if ever — the time will be right for them to enter the housing market. "Many homeowners first bought their home when interest rates were high — the 50-year average rate on a mortgage is 7.8%," he said. Even if cuts to interest rates cause mortgage rates to fall, they're unlikely to return to the near-zero levels they were in 2022. If and when mortgage rates fall, Yun said that some homeowners who have been eager to move — but have been reluctant to give up their low interest rates — will likely decide to sell.

Persons: homeownership, —, Andy Walden, homebuyers, Jerome Powell, Alex Wong, Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's, Lawrence Yun, Yun, Selma Hepp, Connolly, Mott aren’t, David Meyer, Redfin's Fairweather, Fairweather, There's, there's, Jenna Stauffer, Hepp, Meyer Organizations: Service, National Association of Realtors, ICE Mortgage Technology, CNBC, Federal Reserve, Reserve, CoreLogic, Brigade, Homeowners, International Realty Locations: Washington , DC

☆ Mortgage rates climb, edging closer to 7%
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —US mortgage rates jumped this week, climbing closer to 7%. “This development, along with upcoming employment and inflation data, will determine how much mortgage rates may rise in the short term.”Should employment and inflation pick up steam, she said, mortgage rates are likely to continue climbing as markets anticipate further monetary tightening. Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on 10-year US Treasuries, which move based on a combination of anticipation about the Fed’s actions, what the Fed actually does and investors’ reactions. When Treasury yields go up, so do mortgage rates; when they go down, mortgage rates tend to follow. Many homeowners held off on listing their home for sale, largely in response to today’s high mortgage rates, Jones said.

Persons: Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, ”, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s, Hannah Jones, Jones, ” Jones, “ Organizations: DC CNN, Federal Reserve, Fitch, U.S, Realtor.com, US Treasury, Treasury Locations: Washington, “

☆ Housing affordability isn't improving soon as the market faces a decade of undersupply, Realtor.com economy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Housing affordability isn't improving anytime soon, Realtor.com economist Danielle Hale said. The tightness in the market can be chalked up to a decade of housing undersupply. In an interview with CNBC on Friday, the chief economist pointed to the precarious state of the housing market, with demand far outstripping supply. "Affordability just isn't there for buyers, especially with mortgage rates remaining as high as they have been," Hale said. Mortgage rates are likely only to ease to 6.1% by the end of the year, per Realtor.com's latest forecast.

Persons: Danielle Hale, Hale, —, Realtor.com's Danielle Hale, millennials, Realtor.com, you've, Freddie Mac Organizations: Service, CNBC Locations: underbuilding

☆ House hunting is already tough. Guess what? It's about to get harder
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The number of homes for sale this month was actually 7% higher than June of last year, according to Realtor.com. An even tighter housing market ahead means home prices are unlikely to cool. They began to fall because mortgage rates had doubled in a matter of months. "Despite sluggish pending contract signings, the housing market is resilient with approximately three offers for each listing," NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said in a release. Higher mortgage rates have been less of a factor, as builders, some of whom have their own mortgage arms, have been buying down rates for buyers.

Persons: Craig Lazzara, DJI, Lawrence Yun, hadn't, Peter Boockvar Organizations: Mortgage News Daily, National Association of Realtors, Census, Builders, Bleakley Financial

☆ Homebuyers on a budget should look for a house in these 15 smaller markets where the average down payment for a starter home is $50,000 or less
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Affordable starter homes that were once ubiquitous can now be rare finds. Here are 15 towns where the average down payment on a starter home is $50,000 or less. The firm found that the share of starter homes built has fallen from about 70% in the 1940s to just 7% in the early 2020s. Unlike in previous decades, homebuyers can't count on finding affordable starter homes in so-called "secondary" cities that neighbor larger metropolitan areas. 15 towns with relatively affordable homesThough prospects for first-time homebuyers seem grim, it's worth noting that starter homes in smaller secondary cities haven't been completely picked over yet.

Persons: it's, they're, It's, Alexandra Ciuntu, Point2, homebuyers, Ciuntu, unaffordability Organizations: Boomers Locations: Point2

☆ Real-Estate Agents Face a Reckoning As Housing Market, Home Sales Slow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Just as the housing market goes through booms and busts, so do the ranks of real-estate agents. This has left real-estate agents fighting over a dwindling pool of listings. That makes the job of a local real-estate agent trickier and more nuanced than it was a year ago. "What makes a good real-estate agent and what makes a successful real-estate agent have almost no crossover." She joined a women's support group for real-estate agents on Facebook, where she found many others were experiencing similar challenges.

☆ The US housing market is short 6.5 million homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The gap between single-family home constructions and household formations grew to 6.5 million homes between 2012 and 2022. However, this figure overstates the housing shortage, since new multi-family homes offer options both to buyers and renters. During the same time period, 13.3 million housing units were started, and 11.9 million were completed. This includes 9.03 million single-family homes and 4.2 million multi-family homes. Of those, only 8.5 million single-family homes and 3.4 million multi-family homes are completed.

☆ Here are the US cities where home prices are actually falling
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

San Jose, California, was the most expensive place to purchase a home in the United States in the fourth quarter. Prices for San Francisco homes are already down 21% in the fourth quarter from the peak median price of $1,550,000 in the second quarter. Among the most expensive cities that saw prices falling are Anaheim, California, with the median price of $1,132,000, down 1.6% from a year ago; Los Angeles, with the median price of $829,100, down 1.3%; and Boulder, Colorado, with the median price of $759,500, down 2.0%. Other places with falling prices saw the big price increases during the frenzied home buying market of the past few years. Instead, prices for single-family homes climbed in nearly 90% of metro areas tracked by NAR in the fourth quarter: 166 markets out of 186 saw prices still going up.

☆ First-time homebuyers face a lose-lose scenario
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Matt Turner | Dave Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On the agenda today:But first: Our LA bureau chief Alison Brower has been at the Sundance Film Festival this week. Brooke Shields attends the 2023 Sundance Film Festival "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields" Premiere at Eccles Center Theatre on January 20, 2023 in Park City, Utah. Amy Sussman/Getty ImagesIt was impossible not to feel optimistic about the state of independent film at the opening weekend of the 39th Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Insider's Alison Brower writes. The party scene was as lively as ever, anchored by HBO Documentary Films' annual shindig at Ruth's Chris Steak House. Many experts worry that without some type of major intervention, the obstacles facing first-time homebuyers will continue to get worse for years to come.

☆ Bad news for millennials: Things have never looked bleaker for first-time homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

For first-time homebuyers like Talej, the outlook has never been bleaker. This unfortunate combination means first-time buyers are waiting longer to purchase homes and winning out with less frequency than ever before. And during that year, first-time buyers accounted for just 26% of all home purchases, the lowest percentage ever, according to the NAR. The percentage of first-time homebuyers who were white hit a two-decade high of 88% last year, up from 83% in 2003. These trends only compound the bad economic news for millennials, who make up the majority of today's first-time buyers.

☆ First-time homebuyers are 'royally screwed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

For first-time homebuyers like Talej, the outlook has never been bleaker. And during that year, first-time buyers accounted for just 26% of all home purchases, the lowest percentage ever, according to the NAR. The racial makeup of first-time homebuyers also set records in 2022, but the lack of progress in Black homeownership was perhaps most shocking. The percentage of first-time homebuyers who were white hit a two-decade high of 88% last year, up from 83% in 2003. Hope is a fickle thingThere's some slight relief on the horizon for first-time homebuyers.

☆ First-time homebuyers are pretty much screwed in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | Andy Kiersz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Starter homes are typically more affordable houses that are purchased by new home buyers. Their absence has made it difficult for many first-time buyers to afford homeownership. The stark indicator only illustrates that starter homes are vanishing from the US real-estate market. Starter homes are typically smaller, more affordable houses that are purchased by first-time buyers or those on a tight budget. With higher home prices, mortgage rates and property taxes, as well as a possible recession looming in 2023 — that could trigger mass job losses — the odds are stacked against many would-be first-time buyers.

☆ Housing isn't getting any cheaper. But an expensive mortgage is not the only thing making homes so unaffordable.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Everyone's talking about how the Fed's rate hikes have sent mortgage rates skyrocketing. But even as mortgage rates have climbed above 7%, my colleague Alcynna Lloyd and I report that there's more to the story. The general gist is that the surge in home prices — fueled by the low rates of the pandemic era — hasn't come down as fast as mortgage rates have come up. There's a saying, "all real estate is local." This self-made millionaire who made his money investing in real estate isn't interested in taking out a mortgage right now.

☆ Housing Outlook: Low Supply Is Making Home Prices Unaffordable
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mortgage rates have climbed above 7% for the first time since 2001, but that's only half the story of the affordability crisis. The deeper issue is that there aren't enough homes to fulfill every would-be buyer's dream, which means people are competing with their wallets and driving prices higher and higher. Mortgage rates are above 7% for the first time in over two decades for the most popular type of mortgage, and are only expected to keep rising. So far in 2022, US housing construction has fallen in four out of nine months. It's a decision that Dietz said could result in housing supply dwindling further.

☆ First-time homebuyers are being shut out of the market like never before
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

First-time buyers made up just 26% of all homebuyers in the year ending June 2022, down from 34% the year before, according to NAR’s 2022 report on homebuyers and sellers. The median household income for first-time buyers slipped to $71,000 during the year ended in June, down from $86,500 in the previous 12-month period. “For first-time homebuyers, the lack of affordability is playing a key role in holding them back from homeownership,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR’s vice president of demographics and behavioral insights. “With the rise of rents and how that is hitting first-time homebuyers, it impacts Black buyers more than it would any other group,” said Lautz. Lautz said the research showed buyers faced hard decisions to close the deal on a home they could afford.

☆ The housing markets could crash in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. They're 3 cautionary tales for the US.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-09 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Global real estate markets have been in overdrive during the Covid-19 pandemic. The US housing market shares some of their problems, and it's a cautionary tale for us. In countries across the globe, rapid home price growth fueled by lackluster housing supply and robust investor activity have distorted local housing ecosystems — especially in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. As New Zeleand's housing crisis escalates, The Guardian reports that less and less of the nation's young buyers can afford home purchases. Economic volatility stunts buyer demand in AustraliaAustralia has not escaped the housing slowdown gripping global real estate markets.

☆ The corporate landlords buying up America's houses are hiring high-profile PR execs and lobbying Washington regulators to convince opponents they're not the bad guys
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-28 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Corporate owners of single-family homes face mounting criticism as their presence grows. Organizers from the Center for Public Democracy stood atop the stage at the Park Hyatt hotel in Washington, DC, where they interrupted a conference for owners of single-family rental homes. Institutional owners of single-family homes have typically preferred to operate quietly. In the decade-plus since the financial crisis, institutional investors have poured billions of dollars into acquiring and developing single-family homes for rent. It's for that reason that Howard is concerned about homeowners associations barring investors from buying homes in certain neighborhoods.

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