Since real estate is local, whether it makes more financial sense to continue renting or to buy depends on where one lives. However, typical rent-versus-own calculations fail to include the main financial benefit of owning, which is the accumulation of equity. While rare, house price declines can make it more costly to own a home, but after ... Read More ›

Nationally, affordability improved modestly on a monthly basis in June, driven by slightly lower mortgage rates and positive income growth. However, on an annual basis, affordability nationally remains approximately 4 percent lower than one year ago. Two factors drove the annualized drop in affordability – a 5.6 percent annual increase in nominal ... Read More ›

Even with more existing-home inventory on the market than last year, today’s potential home buyers face one of the least affordable markets in history due to record-high and still-rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates. Each month, we use our Existing-Home Sales Outlook Report to ‘nowcast’ existing-home sales based on the historical ... Read More ›

Apart from the fall of 2023, affordability in May reached its lowest level in over three decades. On a year-over-year basis, affordability declined by nearly 9 percent. Two factors drove the sharp annualized drop in affordability – a 5.9 percent annual increase in nominal house prices, according to our First American Data & Analytics House ... Read More ›

As National Homeownership Month comes to a close, it’s important to examine the current challenges facing the housing market. Nationally, housing affordability has declined compared with one year ago, especially for potential first-time home buyers. According to our First Time Home Buyer Outlook Report, the median renter, who can also be ... Read More ›

The housing market is struggling to gain momentum with mortgage rates above their levels from a year ago. Higher rates have a dual impact on sales – pricing out buyers who lose purchasing power and keeping some potential sellers rate-locked in. Our Existing-Home Sales Outlook Report ‘nowcasts’ existing-home sales based on the historical ... Read More ›