Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips - Marie Kozacek - iPro Real Estate

NAR Economist Says Housing Recession is Over

Contract signings picked up the pace last month, and home buyers are increasingly facing multiple offer situations. NAR releases its housing forecast for the remainder of the year and 2024.Pending home sales rose slightly in June, and the latest indicators are showing a housing market on the mend. Median existing-home sales prices in June soared to their second highest on record in the last two decades, and more buyers are facing multip

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Mortgage Rates Inched Back Up this Week

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to a 6.81% average, Freddie Mac’s latest national mortgage market data shows. The latest increase in mortgage rates translates into a $2,172 monthly payment on a typical single-family home and $1,888 for a typical condo, says Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®.“Interest rates near 7% are not only a consideration for housing consumers’ budgets,” but she adds

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Congressional Budget Office Predicts Slower Economic Growth and 4.7% Unemployment into 2024

The Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday that economic and job growth so far this year has been stronger than forecast in February, but an updated outlook sees parts of the economy as weakening through 2024.The latest 10-year budget and economic outlook from the nonpartisan office shows how difficult it is to figure out where the United States is going in the wake of the pandemic. Many economists and investors were caught off guard as F

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Sticky Inflation Contributes to Slowing Growth in July

‘July is seeing an unwelcome combination of slower economic growth, weaker job creation, gloomier business confidence and sticky inflation’ The S&P flash U.S. services-sector index fell to 52.4 from 54.4 in the prior month. That’s the lowest reading since February.Most Americans are employed on the service side of the economy, in areas such as technology, healthcare, finance and hospitality.The S&P U.S. manufacturing-sector index, m

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Demand for Mortgages Wanes as Rates Plateau Near 2023 Highs

A decrease in applications for FHA loans popular with first-time homebuyers helped push the average purchase loan application to $432,700, according to the latest MBA lender survey Homebuyer demand for purchase mortgages waned last week as mortgage rates plateaued near 2023 highs set earlier this month, according to a weekly survey of lenders by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed requests

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New-Home Sales Slip in June but Remain Elevated Amid Low Inventory

New-home sales drooped 2.5% from May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 697,000 — 23.8% higher than June 2022, according to data released Wednesday by the US Census Bureau Sales of newly built single-family homes dipped modestly in June but remained significantly elevated from their 2022 levels, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.New-home sales drooped 2.5 percent from May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 697

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Home Prices Rose in May in Defiance of Down Housing Market

Prices rose 0.7% from April to May after adjusting for increases typically experienced in spring, according to estimates released Tuesday by CoreLogic and the Federal Housing Finance Agency A drought of new listings continued to push up home prices in May despite an ongoing low-transaction environment, according to two widely tracked measures released Tuesday.Prices rose 0.7 percent from April to May after adjusting for the typical incr

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Rising Rents are Driving Homelessness, Advocates Say

Government investment in affordable housing will bring down the rising rate of homelessness, experts say Although mental-health conditions, disability and drug use have long been seen as the primary causes of homelessness, rising rents are in fact the driving force behind recent increases in the number of homeless people, advocates say — and rental-assistance programs are the solution.More than half a million people in the U.S. were homeless in

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The Most Popular Finishes in Kitchen Remodels

From sinks to faucets, find out what consumers prefer when outfitting their new kitchen.Homeowners are still warming up to smart-home technology in the kitchen. For now, they prefer mostly standard options when it comes to faucets and appliances, according to a new survey from Ferguson,(link is external) a supplier of home fixtures and appliances for kitchens and bathrooms. Ferguson recently surveyed about 1,000 consumers from across th

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Mortgage Rates Pull Back from Near 7% High

As home prices continue to surge, buyers may welcome even a slight dip in borrowing costs as they face affordability constraints.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.78% this week, backing away from its near-7% mark last week. “That relief is welcome at a time when the St. Louis Fed is reporting there are tighter lending standards now for consumers seeking mortgages,” says Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of rese

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