Housing
Housing shortage starts easing as listings surge in June
A “For Sale” sign is seen outside a home in New York. Shannon Stapleton | Reuters A historic housing shortage – brought on by the one-two punch of slow construction and strong pandemic-induced demand – is finally starting to ease. Active listings for homes jumped 19% in June, the fastest annual pace since Realtor.com began […]
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Singapore’s unemployment has dropped close to pre-Covid levels, minister says
Singapore’s labor shortage problems are easing as unemployment continues to fall close to pre-pandemic levels, said Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng. “For local unemployment, we are actually in a fairly good state. The unemployment has dropped. I think we’re close to pre-Covid levels,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday. “We are seeing […]
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Summer temperatures — and inflation — are running hot. Here’s how to save money on cooling bills as prices rise
A pedestrian uses an umbrella to get some relief from the sun as she walks past a sign displaying the temperature on June 20, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. Ralph Freso | Getty Images Tips for efficient energy use Most cooling systems use electricity, so making sure your home is running as efficiently as possible can […]
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Mortgage demand stalls again, even as interest rates swing briefly lower
After rising steadily for three weeks, mortgage rates dipped slightly last week, prompting a small increase in refinance activity. Activity from homebuyers, however, pulled back further, leaving total mortgage demand basically flat from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with […]
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Home price increases slowed in April for the first time in months, S&P Case-Shiller says
People walk into a house for sale in Floral Park, Nassau County, New York. Wang Ying | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Home price increases slowed ever so slightly in April, but it is the first potential sign of a cooling in prices. Prices rose 20.4% nationally in April compared with the same month […]
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Pending home sales post surprise increase in May, likely due to brief pullback in mortgage rates
A house’s real estate for sale sign shows the home as being “Under Contract” in Washington, DC. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images Pending home sales, a measure of signed contracts on existing homes, rose slightly in May, up 0.7% compared with April, according to the National Association of Realtors. That broke a six-month […]
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Demand for adjustable-rate mortgages surges, as interest rates make biggest jump in 13 years
Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 8% last week compared with the previous week, bolstered in part by demand for adjustable-rate mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Applications were, however, 10% lower than they were in the same week one year ago. A big jump in mortgage rates may have […]
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Sales of existing homes fell in May, and more declines are expected
Sales of existing homes in May dropped 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.41 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 8.6% lower than in May 2021. April’s sales were revised slightly lower as well. This is the weakest reading since June 2020, which was during the early months […]
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Here’s why this housing downturn is nothing like the last one
As quickly as mortgage rates are rising, the once red-hot housing market is cooling off. Home prices are still historically high, but there is concern now that they will ease up as well. All of this has people asking: Is today’s housing market in the same predicament that it was over a decade ago, when […]
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Mortgage demand is now roughly half of what it was a year ago, as interest rates move even higher
Total mortgage application volume was 52.7% lower last week than the same week one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Sharply rising interest rates are decimating refinance volume, and those rates, along with sky-high home prices and a shortage of houses for sale, are hitting demand from potential buyers. Last […]
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