For many aspiring home buyers, 2023 has been a game of wait-and-see. Soaring home prices, high interest rates and extremely tight home supply have made the search for homes both ultra-competitive and financially prohibitive in large parts of the U.S. The theme of the year has been the Federal Reserve’s aggressive activity to bring down […]
The Federal Reserve’s moves to stem inflation over the last year and change have been historic. Eleven rate hikes since March 2022 have raised the benchmark short-term by 5 percentage points, marking the most aggressive action the Fed has taken in 40 years. The central bank’s efforts are primarily focused on beating back the pandemic-related […]
Signs of slowing inflation sent Wall Street to its highest level in more than a year on Wednesday, boosting Asian stocks along with it as U.S. government data showed promising signs for the economy. The S&P 500 reached its strongest closing level since April 2022, with stocks from Big Tech to utilities rising along with […]
The high mortgage rates seen over the last year were supposed to give weary home buyers at least one potential silver lining. If the high monthly costs of home ownership dampened demand for homes, then list prices might fall off to levels that could make more homes affordable. But recent data on the U.S. housing […]
After 10 consecutive meetings in which the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate, this week the central bank decided to hit pause on further increases. The Fed pointed to reassuring data on inflation as the reason for the steadying measure, but indicated that two more rate hikes are expected before the end of 2023. It’s a welcome […]
The state of the U.S. housing market in 2023 is all about contingencies. Will inflation be contained by the Fed? Is a recession around the corner? Will a deal get done on the federal debt limit, relieving the pent-up angst that looms over the nation’s economic health? Against this backdrop, residential real estate has largely […]
The prospect of the U.S. government defaulting on its national debt has fueled panic and speculation about the implications of such an unprecedented move in the months ahead. With Democrats and Republicans locked in disagreement over raising the nation’s debt ceiling, some have pegged the dire default scenario to a so-called “X-date”” as early as […]
Making the decision to refinance a home can sometimes feel overwhelming for homeowners. With so many variables and market forces outside their control, some homeowners may have difficulty figuring out when the best time is to refinance, and whether doing so is a wise move. Fortunately, there are ways to simplify this choice — and […]
The decision to refinance a mortgage is often based on fickle metrics and margins, making it difficult for many homeowners to know exactly when to take advantage of a good opportunity to cut down their monthly payments. But with the 30-year-fixed mortgage rate on a general upward trend over the last year, any downward retreat […]
The landscape of the U.S. housing market has become more difficult both for buyers and sellers as a result of higher mortgage rates. When the 30-year fixed rate climbed above 7% in October for the first time in two decades, it became a clear sign that home affordability was slipping away from many buyers. One […]
