Housing affordability

The next administration should look for areas in title insurance, homeowners' insurance, and appraisals to pass savings back to homebuyers which could translate into homebuying power for those on the brink of accomplishing their goals, writes Vishal Garg.

Government lending leaders also addressed efforts to increase housing stock and affordability in a discussion at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual conference.

Hispanic-owned houses are worth 11.9% less than those owned by non-Hispanic White households, compared with 12.4% in December 2021, a recent high in the gap, Zillow said in a blog post

While people are talking about supply, the former National Association of Realtors exec adds more attention must also be given to home insurance affordability.

Despite rising consumer confidence in the housing market, declining mortgage rates, alone, don't seem to be able to lure home buyers in, two new reports find.

The bank just added an additional $6 million to a program that pays for a 2 percentage point buydown in the mortgage rate for eligible borrowers.

Some recipients of the new multimillion-dollar funding announced this week include several organizations partnering with historically Black colleges and universities.

Affordability improved for a fourth straight month, but questions remain about whether recent trends will bring a significant number of buyers into the housing market.

Sen. Tim Scott's housing bill calls for Congress to play more of a role in reviewing public intervention in housing while reforming or expanding certain programs.

Asked about inflation risks ahead, she pointed to the impact of housing on the consumer price index, describing it as the "stickiest piece." Stripping out housing, the U.S. consumer price index is only rising about 1.8%, she said.