The price of homeowners’ insurance is on the rise, and many owners may be looking for ways to reduce their high premiums. While discounts can vary greatly based on location, size, and age of the house, some credits may be available that could reduce some homeowners’ premiums by as much as thousands of dollars per year, The Wall Street Journal reports.The average premium for a homeowners insurance policy increased 3.1% to $1,249 in 2
Home prices have risen quickly amid the pandemic. The median sales price of single-family existing homes increased in 99% of the 183 metro areas tracked in the second quarter compared to a year ago. Ninety-four percent of the markets posted double-digit price increases, according to a new report from the National Association of REALTORS®.Inventory shortages and a large influx of buyers, particularly as mortgage rates remained historically l
Prices for building materials have climbed 19.4% over the last 12 months, increasing 13% in 2021 alone, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.Buyers are seeing the results in the prices of new homes. The median sales price for a new home was $361,800 in June, up 6% compared to a year earlier.Steel mill product prices increased 10.8% in July following a 6.2% increase in June. Prices have increased 108.6% over the past year and 87.6% in 2021
Opportunity zones are keeping pace with national home price trends and proved to be a solid investment in the second quarter. Median single-family home prices rose annually in 75% of opportunity zones in the second quarter. In about half of them, home prices increased by at least 15%, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate research firm.Opportunity zones offer tax breaks for long-term investment in federally designated
Mortgage rates inched up slightly from their near all-time lows this week. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87%, Freddie Mac reported.“Following last Friday’s strong jobs report, which revealed broad-based gains in employment and wage growth, mortgage rates are moving higher,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “After dropping for six consecutive weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased by 10 basis points
Bidding wars are growing more commonplace in the rental market as the demand for apartments and single-family rentals outpaces the supply.“We’ve been leasing property for almost 20 years, and we haven’t seen an applicant pool this competitive since we’ve started,” Vipin Motwani, managing principal at Iron Gate Development in Clinton, Md., told CNBC. Two weeks ago, Motwani listed a home for rent in Clinton and quickly received 10 applica
Lot values for single-family, detached homes have never been higher. In 2020, prices jumped 18% to a median lot price nationwide of $53,000, according to an analysis of Census data by the National Association of Home Builders.The higher prices for lots—along with material costs—have pressed on buyers’ and builders’ budgets in building new homes.Lots are priciest in the New England area. Half of all single-family detached spec homes starte
Fifty percent of leads that filter to real estate agents’ businesses tend to be highly qualified, and one out of 10 tends to be a seller lead too, according to research from Homesnap, a national real estate search portal.Real estate pros should cast a wide net to gather more leads over the next few months. But the market for those leads is increasingly competitive.Homesnap offered these tips on how real estate pros can attract leads a
As the rental market surges, investors are looking to extend their portfolios. Many investors are mom-and-pop investors, who own one or two properties. But where can rental investments offer the biggest returns over the long term?SmartAsset, a personal finance resource, analyzed 120 U.S. cities with populations of 200,000 or more to determine which markets pose the most favorable home investments. They factored in housing affordability and rental
California’s largest single wildfire on record continues its long trail of destruction in the northern part of the state, scorching an area more than twice the size of New York City. Nearly 900 homes have been destroyed since the Dixie Fire began in mid-July. A historic Gold Rush town in Greenville has mostly been destroyed.Firefighters reported on Monday that the Dixie Fire has been about 25% contained. But blazing temperatures forecast for th
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