First time home buyers

The housing market slows down for winter, but it doesn't stop. Here's a look at 12 cities where price cuts, rent appreciation and affordability conditions will give house hunters more negotiating power going into the new year.

Mortgage industry executives claim sparse affordable housing supply is the most impactful hurdle for first-time homebuyers entering the market in 2019, but the majority don't think regulatory policy will help the cause.

The amount of mortgage credit available to consumers increased to a post-crisis high in October in reaction to more first-time homebuyers entering the market, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Mortgage rates dropped slightly for the second time in the past three weeks as yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note remained flat for most of the period, according to Freddie Mac.

Atlanta's average home prices are up 5.8% since last year, according to a high-profile report on the nation's housing market issued Tuesday.

The homeownership rate in the U.S. increased in the third quarter, a sign that first-time buyers may be seeing the cooldown in housing as a buying opportunity.

Student debt continues to weigh down potential homebuyers, as the share of first-timers decreased for the third-consecutive year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

While all portions of mortgage credit underwriting standards have slipped since the early post-crisis period, it is the deteriorating conditions that most increases vulnerability for future loan quality, a Moody's report said.

Despite rising mortgage rates and a dismal start to the fall, homebuilders in the Twin Cities are picking up the pace.

Sales of previously owned homes eased in September to the weakest pace in almost three years, a sign rising prices and mortgage costs are keeping potential buyers on the sidelines, National Association of Realtors data showed.