Author: Habitat Abstract

  • May 2024 Real Estate Market Overview

    May 2024 Real Estate Market Overview

    The real estate market going into the late spring has proved to be somewhat disappointing. While February initially saw a surge of buying, as tends to happen when the spring arrives, those numbers declined in March, and remain suppressed despite higher available housing inventory. One of the biggest issues is…

  • March 2024 Real Estate Market Overview

    March 2024 Real Estate Market Overview

    The real estate market is seeing two very different trends coming to a head at the same time, with very different results. On the one hand, the residential real estate market is continuing to be squeezed by a lack of available inventory, which has only gotten worse as housing demand…

  • Fewer Homes Are Underwater, Home Equity Increases

    Fewer Homes Are Underwater, Home Equity Increases

    A recent report from CoreLogic announced that the number of homes that are underwater — that is, when the home’s value is less than the amount owed on the house — decreased while homeowner equity has risen. According to CoreLogic, the number of homes underwater, or in negative equity, fell…

  • Housing Affordability Continues to Stay at Historic Lows

    Housing Affordability Continues to Stay at Historic Lows

    The most recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) came out and it showed that less than four in 10 new and existing homes — 37.7%, to be exact — that were sold in the fourth quarter of last year were considered “affordable,” based on…

  • Habitat February 2024 Housing Market Overview

    Habitat February 2024 Housing Market Overview

    Demand for new mortgages has begun to dip slightly as interest rates once again rose above 7%, thanks to a better economic outlook. Refinancing on mortgages, meanwhile, ticked up somewhat, although this is due in part to how low the rate of refinancing applications had become. Meanwhile, the commercial real…

  • January 2024 Real Estate Market Overview

    January 2024 Real Estate Market Overview

    The real estate market is seeing signs of significant recovery after more than a year of issues due to high interest rates and low inventory. Demand for new housing is on the upswing, and home builders are cautiously optimistic about the future. However, affordability remains a consistent problem, and many…