Housing.buzz - Aug. 17-23, 2024

Housing.buzz - Aug. 17-23, 2024

Weekly 'buzz' on housing trends, homebuilders, mortgage rates & more

Table of Contents

• 1st Time / First-time Homebuyers

• Buying & Selling

• Mortgages, Rates & Trends

• ‘New Construction’ & Home Builders

• Rental Housing

• 👉 Showcase your Company, Services or Press Releas …

• 🐝 Get more ‘buzz’ - AI, DataCenters & Silver Gen …

1st Time / First-time Homebuyers

California First-Time Home Buyer | 2024 Program & Grants, What to know about buying a house in California - Buying your first home can be a real challenge, especially in a state like California where prices are often sky-high.Luckily, the Golden State has a variety of first-time home buyer loans and grants to help those who need an extra hand. Here’s how to get started. (Source: The Mortgage Reports)

New Sacramento, CA program helps community members reach their goal of buying a first home - A new program to help first-time homeowners in Sacramento is seeing success, as people are moving into their own houses. The program, Cltre Keeper, focuses on helping people of color buy their own homes. (Source: KCRA)

Harris unveils economic plans on inflation, housing. Here's what economists think - The plans include eye-catching proposals such as a ban on grocery price gouging and a $25,000 subsidy for first-time homebuyers. Economists who spoke to ABC News offered up a mixed assessment of the newly released agenda. Some experts lauded the effort to slow rising costs and restrain corporate power in key sectors, while others criticized what they consider a misguided attempt to override market forces that risks worsening the nation's debt. (Source: ABC News)

Guide to first-time homebuyer grants - Coming up with a down payment on a home can feel impossible — especially if it’s your very first home. The good news is that there are many first-time homebuyer grants available that can help you bridge the savings gap to get into a home. These programs are typically offered by banks or non-profit organizations, but state and local governments also offer them. (Source: Bankrate)

Last week’s news: Harris to propose up to $25K in down-payment support for 1st-time homebuyers (ABC News), Detroit’s down payment assistance plan serves as model for Harris proposal, Duggan says (Detroit Free Press), Harris to announce 4-year plan to lower housing costs (CNN)

Buying & Selling

How will the Los Angeles Olympics Effect the Real Estate Market? - The Los Angeles Olympics will undoubtedly affect real estate in Los Angeles County. The questions are how, when, and where. New infrastructure and investment will likely lead to higher prices, even higher than the current average home prices in Los Angeles County are currently $883,000, more than double the national average, according to Zillow. (Source: House Beautiful)

Housing Market Predictions For 2024: When Will Home Prices Be Affordable Again? - The housing market might finally be entering a transitional phase. Summer sales have been tepid thus far, but there are signs that activity could heat up by the end of the summer as mortgage rates plunge to their lowest levels in roughly 15 months and much-needed resale inventory continues to enter the market, giving buyers more options. Other good news for home shoppers is the ongoing decline in the median price for a new home—now below the median resale home price—even as builders continue offering buyer incentives. (Source: Forbes)

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s Beverly Hills mansion hits the market for $68M — wait until you see the tax bill ($400K!) (Source: NY Post)

Last week’s news: How hard is it to buy a home right now? The new NBC News Home Buyer Index measures the market (NBC News). As new real estate agent rule goes into effect, will buyers and sellers see impact? (USA Today), Can Real Estate Commissions Be Financed via the Mortgage? (see below)

Mortgages, Rates & Trends

How to Prequalify for a Home Loan as a First-Time Buyer - As you prepare to buy a home, you’ll likely wonder how to get prequalified for a home loan. Loan prequalification is the first step in the mortgage process, where a lender provides a ballpark estimate of how much house you can afford. (Source: The Mortgage Reports)

Housing Market Decoded: Is prime shopping season about to hit? - The pendulum is swinging in buyers' favor this fall. See which three trends could finally give them some leverage. (Source: RE News)

Rate Cuts Could Renew Interest in Mortgage REITs - With hope building that the Fed Reserve will finally pare interest rates in September, some income investors are considering returns to high-yield, rate-sensitive asset classes, including mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITs) (Source: ETFTrends)

Earlier news: First-Time Home Buyer Programs by State - Down payment and closing cost assistance, special loans with reduced interest rates, and much more are available to first-timers. Learn about the resources and participating lenders in your area. (Source: NerdWallet), Lower Mortgage Rates Bring More Buyers Off Sidelines. Today’s Mortgage Rates, Aug. 16, 2024 (CNet), Refinancing demand surges on mortgage rates dropping (Fox)

‘New Construction’ & Home Builders

Latest Denver home construction trends show off at Parade of Homes - Technology and adjusting to the region's high cost of homeownership are popular trends this year. 25+ builders are showcasing 80 new homes showcasing a variety of trends, including smart homes, energy efficiency, multi-generational layouts and more. (Source: Denver Gazette)

Home builders tell VP Harris her housing plan needs to address regulatory barriers - The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) responded to Vice President Harris' housing plans that were unveiled Friday as part of her economic agenda and found that while some elements of the proposal are positive, it fails to address a key policy area holding the housing sector back. (Source: Fox Business)

Last week’s news: Hurricane Beryl, excess inventory pressure US single-family homebuilding - U.S. single-family homebuilding dropped to a 16-month low in July, likely weighed down by Hurricane Beryl and an oversupply of new houses as higher mortgage rates and prices depress sales.The fifth straight monthly decrease in homebuilding reported by the Commerce Department on Friday suggested the housing market remained subdued at the start of the third quarter. A slowing labor market also poses a challenge to the housing market recovery. Overall housing starts plunged 6.8% to a rate of 1.238 million units, the lowest level since May 2020. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast starts would fall to a rate of 1.330 million units. (Source: Reuters)

Rental Housing

3 Affordable Places Where Renters Are Thriving Due to a Construction Boom - While the housing market remains stagnant with high interest rates and low inventory for buyers, a construction boom in the U.S. has provided better opportunities for tenants to find affordable apartments, as landlords lower rental prices and offer perks to decrease vacancies. If you’re looking for a deal for your next rental, these are affordable places where you might find them: Greater Orlando, South Florida, Wilmington, NC (Source: MSN)

Earlier news: Renting Is Now Cheaper Than Buying a First Home by Over $1K per Month—See the Top Cities Where It Pays To Lease (Realtor.com), Startling rise in rent prices in major cities across the US as Americans struggle to keep up - (Daily Mail UK), Bay Area Gen Zers can expect to spend up to $300K on rent by the time they reach age 30 (PaloAlto Online)

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