Housing markets

Bidding wars are also coming back into play in several markets across the country, with the Northeast, in particular, seeing increased activity, according to Redfin.

Contract closings decreased 1% from a month earlier to a 3.78 million annualized rate, according to National Association of Realtors data released Friday.

Sekisui House Ltd. announced a $4.9 billion agreement on Thursday to buy MDC Holdings Inc., ikely the biggest U.S. purchase of a homebuilder by a Japanese company.

The median listing price per square foot changed an average of 11.04% from one year to the next in the top five metro areas.

Lending activity among builders surged over 22% annually in December, but the growing share of FHA-backed borrowing in the segment took a step back for the first time in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Single-family home construction fell by the most since July 2022, following a surge in November, while multifamily projects rose to a five-month high.

With traders reducing wagers on a rate cut at the Federal Reserve's March meeting and the yield on 10-year Treasuries rising to 4.11%, the highest since Dec. 12, real estate is primed to take a hit.

Much has been said about how millennials and Gen X have a higher homeownership rate now, but how these generations compare at age 24 is a different story.

But the index is still well below pre-pandemic levels, suggesting momentum may be slow to build with borrowing costs still twice as high as they were two years ago.

The index of mortgage applications to buy a home increased 9.2% in the week ended Jan. 12 to 162.2, the highest since July 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Properties in the top three ZIP codes are seen by an average of 4.5 times more unique viewers than the typical property in the U.S. and spend an average of 16.3 days on the market.

Home buyers appear to place the highest priority on affordability, with cities in the Midwest and Northeast taking the majority of top spots on Zillow's list.

The consumer price index increased 3.4% in the year through December, the most in three months, led by increases in shelter costs.

Overall, U.S. home prices increased 5.4% in the year ending in November, CoreLogic's latest Home Price Index report found.

Analysis conducted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency found values coming in under contract price as often as 15% of the time in recent years, with appraisers failing to account for quickly changing market conditions.

While several communities offer monetary incentives to attract new residents, some are making overtures with down payment and other types of assistance aimed at building up their local housing markets.

Tracy Kasper's departure follows the November exit of former CEO Bob Goldberg.

Manhattan home prices rose for the first time in more than a year, as surging high-end sales propelled the market and lower mortgage rates set the stage for a broader recovery in 2024.

The segment demonstrated sustained resilience in the third quarter, growing its share of the market each month amid rate volatility, according to Corelogic.

The share of relocators was 23.9% in November, the first annual decline recorded by the brokerage but still well above the 19% pre-pandemic rate.