Millennials are reportedly accelerating their homebuying timelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey by realtor.com® and HarrisX of 2,000 buyers. Low mortgage rates and more available savings for a down payment, accumulated during stay-at-home periods earlier this year to fight the pandemic, have unleashed a wave of buyers the real estate market has long been waiting for.But which cities offer the best prospects for fi
Expect to see a greater mix of stucco, vinyl, and fiber cement siding as you travel around new-construction neighborhoods. Twenty-seven percent of new single-family homes in 2019 used stucco as their siding material, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction.Vinyl siding was the second-most common option, at 25%, followed by fiber cement siding (such as HardiePlank or Hardie Board) at 21%. Only about 5% of new
Fort Collins, Colo., is the best place to live in 2020, according to new rankings from Livability.com.Each year, Livability.com ranks the 100 best places to live in America based on an analysis of more than 1,000 small to midsized cities on characteristics such as affordability, safety, economic stability, outdoor recreation, accessibility, and community engagement. This year’s survey also weighed an “opportunity score,” reflecting the city
Home prices have hit a record-high growth of 12.9% over the last year. Yet the higher prices aren’t scaring buyers. Homes are still selling quickly—nearly two weeks faster than they did last year.The U.S. median home price remained near its summer peak of $350,000 during the first week of October and has shown no signs of cooling, according to realtor.com®’s Weekly Housing Report, reflecting the week ending Oct. 3.“While buyers woul
Real estate professional Ashley Scott and entrepreneur Renee Walters have a dream of creating an entire town dedicated to developing an “authentic Black community and culture that feels safe, feels prosperous.” They recently led an effort to recruit 17 other Black families and investors to purchase 97 acres of land in rural Wilkinson County, Ga., to create the Freedom Georgia Initiative.Scott and Walters are quick to clarify that the land is
Smaller metro areas are gaining population at faster rates than large cities in the pandemic. With telecommuting on the rise and expected to remain so after the pandemic, more Americans may have the freedom to move anywhere they wish.“We are beginning to see signs of the COVID effect on migration,” writes Nadia Evangelou, a research economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, on the Economists’ Outlook blog. “For instance, the na
Millennial home shoppers are quickening their homebuying timelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey by realtor.com® and HarrisX of 2,000 buyers. Born between 1981 and 1997, millennials make up the largest generation in U.S. history, and they are now very eager to buy, many surveys show.“If there is a silver lining to the current economic landscape, it’s that mortgage rates are hanging around record lows,” says Daniel
During the pandemic, outdoor space has become a premium consideration. Homeowners are sprucing up their spaces to maximize every square inch of their properties, and home buyers are reportedly giving more weight to the outdoor appeal of homes. But as the weather cools, how can you continue to take advantage of these spaces?You can still stage an outdoor space to show off its appeal in any season, designers say. Here are few tips from&nb
Coronavirus-related restrictions may limit ski season this year, but that hasn’t stopped home sales from surging in popular ski town areas. Home prices are rising quickly in these areas as more residents flock to them amid the pandemic.“This was the busiest summer selling season ever,” Ben Fisher, a broker with Summit Sotheby’s International Realty in Park City, Utah, told The Wall Street Journal. Sales of single-family homes ov
New homes are being built on smaller lots. The median lot size for single-family homes that sold in 2019 dropped to 0.188 of an acre (or 8,177 square feet)—the smallest on record, according to Census Bureau data recently analyzed by the National Association of Home Builders.Regional differences persist. For example, the median lot size in New England is three times as large as the national median. “New England is known for strict local zoning
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