Housing affordability

PulteGroup's housing-finance unit recorded a year-to-year decline in its capture rate for the fourth quarter, as competition in the market intensified.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in November at the slowest pace since early 2015, decelerating for an eighth straight month as buyers balk at the ever-receding affordability of properties.

Property values have continued rising across the country, but six cities bucking the national trend are leading a shift in the housing market, which could lessen affordability hurdles for homebuyers, according to First American Financial Corp.

Several new members of the House Financial Services Committee with backgrounds in housing could use their experience to address Chairman Maxine Waters' top agenda items.

The real estate industry is expecting homebuilders, with the aid of local governments, to add more financially attainable starter homes to the market and ease burdens for buyers, according to Redfin.

Slower growth to interest rates and home prices will boost housing affordability in 2019, according to Fannie Mae.

Fewer houses getting sold helped gains in inventory and brought down the rate of sales price growth to wrap up 2018, according to Redfin.

With the promise of jobs and fledgling tech scenes, five of the top 10 hottest housing markets for 2019 all reside in the South, according to Zillow.

High home prices and expected interest rate hikes should lead to continued growth in multifamily mortgage origination volume in 2019, according to Freddie Mac.

Anticipated increases in 2019 mortgage rates also come with an expected 1 million households eliminated from affording the median-priced new home with every hike of 25 basis points, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

First-time homebuyers earn $30,000 more than their peers who didn't buy a house, and nearly $12,000 more than the country's overall median household income, highlighting affordability issues in current housing conditions, according to Zillow.

Millennials comprise the largest cohort of homebuyers as most have entered their prime purchasing years, and they just might shake up migration patterns in 2019, according to First American Financial Corp.

Home price appreciation gained $1.9 trillion in 2018, as the national housing market continued recovering from the Great Recession, according to Zillow.

Freddie Mac issued its first non-low-income housing tax credit forward commitment, providing financing for an affordable housing development in Minnesota.

The mortgage industry heads into 2019 with little relief from the market strains of the past three years. To succeed — or at least survive — lenders must confront major questions about demand, affordability and market consolidation.

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to examine the outgoing committee chairman's bipartisan GSE reform bill, but lawmakers were already looking ahead.

As home prices continue their ascent, affordability fell for four straight quarters, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Fannie Mae made a slight increase to its origination forecast, expecting housing affordability to improve in 2019 as mortgage rates remain flat and home price appreciation moderates.

While home values rose over 5% in November, air is getting let out of the home price balloon, as the growth rate remains low compared to the past few years, according to Quicken Loans.

The lack of housing affordability, caused by rising home prices and mortgage rates, remains a roadblock to homeownership.