Housing markets

Homes are 4.4% more affordable, the first annual improvement in years, while first-time buyers with lower incomes can qualify for a median priced house.

The top five states have more than 403,000 housing units approved to begin construction in 2024, according to LendingTree.

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

New single-family home sales decreased 4.7% last month to an annualized rate of 716,000 after rising at the fastest pace since early 2022, government data showed Wednesday.

"A slight upward turn reflects a modest improvement in housing affordability, primarily because mortgage rates descended to 6.5% in August," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a prepared statement.

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.

The state, with the support of its Realtors, will be mandating that real estate salespeople have a contract with the home seekers they are representing.

While real estate agents have softened their opinions on the National Association of Realtors commission settlement, almost two-thirds remained opposed, a Clever RE survey found.

A letter from several U.S. senators asked Director Sandra Thompson to follow the lead of her counterparts at other government-housing departments with similar rules already in place.

Home-price gains in the U.S. slowed in July as still-high mortgage rates kept would-be buyers on the sidelines while inventory piled up.