Real Estate News

As Interest Rates Rise, Pending Home Sales Fall

As Interest Rates Rise, Pending Home Sales Fall

While the spring is usually a busy season for home buyers, falling numbers of pending home sales during February could signal the possibility of a cooling housing market. This is likely spurred by a number of factors, including a lack of inventory for prospective home buyers, as well as rising interest rates. When put together with rising home prices, it is increasingly likely that the housing market may soon begin to experience a correction and start falling.

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CFPB Proposes Rule To Prevent Discrimination In Automated Home Valuation Models (AVMs)

CFPB Proposes Rule To Prevent Discrimination in Automated Home Valuation Models (AVMs)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has outlined a proposal for a new rule that would help to prevent discrimination in auatomated home valuation models (AVMs). This proposal, which would involve joint rulemaking with a number of other relevant agencies, would look at the complex issue of how AVMs are used to estimate home prices, and the potential implications for fair housing laws. This, in turn, could help prevent cases where biases within AVMs effectively result in housing discrimination against marginalized home buyers.

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Supreme Court Rules Natural Gas Company May Seize State-Owned Land

Supreme Court Rules Natural Gas Company May Seize State-Owned Land

In a decision that surprised many viewers, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that a private company may condemn state-owned land, and that the doctrine of sovereign immunity does not apply. This decision is considered surprising for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it flew in the face of what many expected from traditional interpretations of federal law. As a result, the decision could substantially expand the power of certain companies to obtain land, even land owned by a state government.

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Zillow Predicts Home Prices To Increase 22% Due To Inventory Shortages

Zillow Predicts Home Prices to Increase 22% Due to Inventory Shortages

According to an analysis by Zillow, they expect housing prices to jump by as much as 22% this coming spring. This is blamed largely on a continuing shortage of available housing inventory, meaning there are far fewer houses than there are buyers. This, in turn, could lead to problems as even the most affordable homes on the market become too expensive for many prospective home buyers to purchase.

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Fed Proposes Raising Interest Rates As Early As March

Fed Proposes Raising Interest Rates as Early as March

The Federal Reserve, which is colloquially known as “the Fed,” has proposed to raise interest rates as early as this March. If it goes forward with this plan, it could substantially increase the interest rates for loans of all types, including mortgages. For prospective home buyers and others looking to purchase real estate, it could make efforts to make those purchases a much more expensive proposition.

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