Housing markets

In the four years since February 2020, rents have risen overall by approximately 28%, Corelogic found.

Texas' largest markets saw the least amount of profit gained from flipped homes last year, with Austin even posting a loss, according to Attom.

The figures indicate the resale market is breaking out of a protracted slump due to high mortgage rates that discouraged homeowners from moving.

The program backed by Mayor Brandon Scott will offer more than 200 city-owned vacant properties to residents who commit to repairing and living in them.

A trio of Republican Congressmen stated they will investigate how the program got fast-tracked by the Biden Administration.

Industry veterans are wary of prospective borrowers who can't pay for agents, and of compensation guidelines clashing with government mortgage lending programs.

Fannie Mae's latest forecast now predicts rates to be half a percentage point higher, and volume to be $1.5 trillion lower than previously expected in 2024.

U.S. residential starts increased 10.7% in February, the largest since May, to a 1.52 million annualized rate, government data released on Tuesday disclosed.

Even with the recent pickup, builder sentiment may remain below its longer-term average until borrowing costs fall more significantly.

Listings of existing homes rose 12% in February compared with a year earlier, and one in five of them are seeing price cuts, according to Zillow Group Inc. 

Some potential sellers are realizing that waiting for lower rates might not be worth it given the amount of equity they have, Zillow said.

While prices for concrete, steel and gypsum products all increased, softwood lumber declined, the National Association of Home Builders said.

Gen Z and millennials are more willing to take a higher mortgage rate in order to buy a home than Gen X and baby boomers, the ServiceLink report found.

A greater number of refinances, particularly in the government market, led overall volumes higher, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

In an address on Tuesday, economic advisor Lael Brainard also discussed the controversy surrounding the president's proposed title waiver program.

Voters approved Proposition C, which offers a tax break for developers to convert up to 5 million square feet of commercial space by 2030.

Regardless of the effect housing prices have on ballot decisions, almost two-thirds of respondents indicate that current economic trends left them feeling negative about the economy, Redfin said.

Home sellers accuse the corporate giant, which owns HomeServices of America, of making billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains in 2023 alone.

Fannie Mae's home price sentiment index grew to 72.8 in February, up 2.1 points from the month prior.

Activity increased for both purchases and refinances, as well as for both conventional and government lending, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.