Housing markets

Purchases of new single-family homes decreased 5.6% to a 679,000 annualized pace last month, government data showed Monday.

The former Trump-appointed Federal Housing Finance Agency head offers insights on the road ahead for mortgage lenders and residential real estate at large.

Contract closings decreased 4.1% from a month earlier to a 3.79 million annualized pace, still the lowest since 2010, National Association of Realtors data showed Tuesday.

The top five cities have an average down payment of $181,282.

Regulatory changes and a dearth of existing new inventory is opening a pipeline of leads in the market, but interest rate pressure cuts into optimism.

Also, Wells Fargo, Finance of America entered into partnerships affecting real estate tax and cybersecurity solutions.

Follow-through has been weak, but there's hope lower mortgage rates could improve conditions, according to new housing reports from Redfin and MBS Highway.

More than half of millennials and Gen Z ranked house hacking — the opportunity to rent out a portion or the entire property to earn extra income — as an important factor in their search, according to Zillow research.

Residential starts increased 1.9% last month to a 1.37 million annualized rate, the highest in three months, government data showed Friday.

With mortgage rates retreating and inflation abating, short sellers who'd been capitalizing on the three-month slump in homebuilder stocks may need to prepare for a rebound toward year-to-date highs.

Applications to purchase newly constructed properties increased for the ninth consecutive month on an annual basis, as the inventory shortage for existing homes continues.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo gauge decreased six points to 34 this month, according to data out Thursday.

With a scarcity of listings driving high home prices, both repeat and new purchasers are putting the most money down in decades, the report found.

The top five cities have an average down payment of $51,920.

Between 2020 and 2022, both companies benefited from locked-down consumers that took on renovations.

Median housing costs came in higher in every region of the country, but several cities that saw the most growth two years ago continue to see declining values, the National Association of Realtors said.

Sun Belt cities saw the greatest annual decline in transactions over the third quarter, with Atlanta's number down to half of its level at the same time in 2022, Redfin said.

Bigger metro areas Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta each added at least 16,000 units over the past year, increasing their inventories by as much as 5.6%. Rents consequently fell in each market.

Voters in one of the U.S. most expensive markets are poised to approve a ballot measure tripling the supplemental property tax that funds programs to support affordable housing.

The top five cities have an average median residential price per square foot of $148.