Home prices

Consumer sentiment for home buying stayed near its record high behind low mortgage rates and a strong job market, though the declining stock markets and COVID-19 concerns may change that soon, according to Fannie Mae.

Mortgage rates, which fell to a 50-year low last week, are keeping Oahu's real estate market relatively strong even as uncertainties mount over the economic impacts of coronavirus outbreaks.

To help the housing crunch, a growing consensus of economists believe adding homes on lots where one already exists would benefit affordability and incrementally boost supply, according to Zillow.

Even as concern over the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus mounts, the most recent data on area home sales from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service shows the market for Seattle-area residential realty remains hot.

Single-family home sales in the Rockford, Ill., region rose last year to heights not seen in more than a decade and climbed even higher in January, according to the Rockford Area Association of Realtors.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Texas housing market broke records in terms of the number of homes sold and median prices, according to the 2019 Texas Real Estate Year in Review report issued by Texas Realtors.

The Spokane County, Wash., median home price continued to rise, but sales held steady in February, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors.

Toronto home prices surged in February, and sales jumped from a 10-year low, as buyers stampeded back into the market.

New Zealand's property market is heating up again and a fresh round of interest-rate cuts in response to the coronavirus could give it another shot in the arm.

Above-average snowfall and rising concerns about the coronavirus didn't put a damper on local home sales last month, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.