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5 Home Upgrades to Consider This Season

When it comes to home improvement, the options are endless. While many homeowners have their sights set on a huge overhaul (hello five-star kitchen complete with the latest and greatest appliances and gadgets), simple home updates that can be completed in a timely manner—without breaking the bank—typically offer the best return on your investment. If you’re […]
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Study Finds Foreclosures Fueled Racial Segregation in U.S.

Some 9 million American families lost their homes to foreclosure during the late 2000s housing bust, driving many to economic ruin and in search of new residences. Hardest hit were black, Latino, and racially integrated neighborhoods, according to a new Cornell University analysis of the crisis. Led by demographer Matthew Hall, researchers estimate racial segregation […]
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Renters Feeling Heat from Heightened Housing Costs

The gap between rental costs and household income is widening to unsustainable levels in many parts of the country, and the situation could worsen unless new home construction meaningfully rises, according to new research by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR reviewed data on income growth, housing costs and changes in the share of renter and […]
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Consumers Increasingly Optimistic about Economy, Housing

Amid continued strengthening in employment, consumer optimism toward the economy is growing and appears to be contributing to further improvement in overall housing sentiment, according to results from Fannie Mae’s February 2015 National Housing Survey™. The share of respondents who believe the economy is headed in the right direction increased 3 percentage points last month […]
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Report: Americans Spending Nearly Five Hours a Day on Smartphones

Americans are now spending an average of 4.7 hours a day on their smart phones – more than their counterparts in at least 11 countries around the world – according to a new monthly report from Informate Mobile Intelligence, which tracks and measures consumer use of smartphones in 12 countries. Each edition of the monthly […]
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Good News for Housing: Consumers Show Positive Financial Attitude

Consumer optimism toward the housing market gained some momentum last month following a dip in December, likely getting a boost from their increasingly positive financial outlook, according to results from Fannie Mae’s January 2015 National Housing Survey™. The share of respondents who says their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago […]
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New Study Finds Price Premium for Solar Homes

A study conducted by a team of researchers,  led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Berkeley Laboratory, found that homebuyers are willing to pay more for homes that have installed solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. The research (Selling into the Sun: Price Premium Analysis of a Multi-State Dataset of Solar Homes) estimates a price premium of approximately […]
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87 Percent of U.S. Homes Qualify for Down Payment Help

RealtyTrac recently released a Down Payment Resource (DPR) on the availability of down payment programs across the country. Out of more than 78 million U.S. single family homes and condos, more than 68 million (87 percent) would qualify for a down payment program available in the county where they are located based on the maximum […]
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A More Robust Year for Housing in 2015

NAHB hosted an economic and housing outlook seminar at its International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas inviting Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, and David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance, to join David Crowe to discuss the outlook for 2015. Here’s the highlights. A strengthening labor market, low interest rates, improving mortgage availability […]