Real Estate

  Mortgage rates have been the monster under the bed for a while. Every time they tick up, people flinch and say,   “Maybe I’ll wait.”   But here’s the twist. Waiting for that perfect 5-point-something rate could end up haunting your wallet later. The Magic Number According to the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR): “. . . a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of 6% would make the median-priced home affordable for about 5.5 million more households—including 1.6 million renters.  If rates were to hit that magic number, it’s likely that about 10%—or 550,000—of those additional households would buy a home over the next 12 or 18 months. ” When the market hits that mortgage rate sweet spot, as expert forecasters are starting to say is more likely in 2026, the psychological shift to lower rates will kick in for more of today’s hopeful buyers. That will unleash some pent-up demand that’s been waiting on the sidelines, and the increase in activity will cause pri...

  Downsizing Without Debt: How More Homeowners Are Buying Their Next House in Cash If you’ve been thinking about downsizing to lower your expenses, be closer to family, or just make life easier, here's a trend worth paying attention to: More homeowners are buying their next house outright, without taking on a new mortgage. And, if you’ve owned your home for a while, you may be able to do the same. No mortgage. No monthly housing payments. A Record Share of Homeowners Are Mortgage-Free According to analysis from ResiClub of Census data , more than 40% of U.S. owner-occupied homes are mortgage-free – an all-time high for this data series. That means 4 in 10 homeowners own their homes free and clear ( see graph below ): One big reason for this trend? Demographics. As Baby Boomers age and stay in their homes longer, many have had the time to fully pay off their mortgages. You might be in that group too and not even realize just how much buying power you now have. It’s time to change...

  Is It Better To Buy Now or Wait for Lower     Mortgage Rates? Here’s the Tradeoff Mortgage rates are still a hot topic – and for good reason. After the most recent jobs report came out weaker than expected, the bond market reacted almost instantly. And, as a result, in early August mortgage rates dropped to their lowest point so far this year (6.55% ). While that may not sound like a big deal, pretty much every buyer has been waiting for rates to fall. And even a seemingly small drop like this reignites the hope we’re finally going to see rates trending down. But what’s realistic to expect? According to the latest forecast, rates aren’t expected to fall dramatically anytime soon. Most experts project they’ll stay somewhere in the  mid-to-low 6% range through 2026  ( see graph below ): In other words, no big changes are expected. But small shifts, like the one we just saw, are still likely.  Each time there’s changing economic news, the...