Sellers Are Meeting the Market and Buyers are Showing Up
Like the rest of the economy, the housing market found itself facing a familiar foe in May: inflation. April’s consumer price index came in at 3.8%, driven by the Iran war, and inflation nowcasts estimate May’s number will be closer to 4.2%. Rising prices deliver a double blow to consumers, eating away at paychecks and savings while driving up bond yields and, therefore, mortgage rates at the same time. Mortgage rates climbed from 6.30% to 6.53% throughout May, erasing much of April’s relief and presenting yet another round of housing market headwinds for the spring selling season.
1 in 3 Homeowners Plan to Move in Next 5 Years
Nearly 1 in 3 homeowners (32%) plan to move within the next five years, according to Hippo Home Insurance’s 5-Year Housing Forecast. Many plan to move due to space- or location-related motives, with the top reasons for near-future moves being:
Wanting a larger home or more space (27%)
Wanting to live in a different city or neighborhood (23%)
Wanting to downsize (13%)
Wanting to be closer to family or friends (12%)
Financial reasons (11%)
Read more from the PA Association of Realtors.
Summer is the Best Time to Attract a Surprise Buyer: Evening Lookie-Loos
Now that summer is in full swing, there’s never been a better time to sell your home.
Longer days give more buyers more opportunities to check out listed properties at "off" times, like after work. An evening drive-by allows these potential buyers the chance to gather initial impressions—and it can go a long way.
“Buyers want to see whether neighbors are outside walking dogs, kids are riding bikes, or people are sitting on porches. Scoping out homes during the summer nights can help them visualize what their life might be like in certain neighborhoods,” explains Dell Jeanty, real estate agent at Dell Residential in Arlington, VA.
The Typical U.S. Home Costs $400,000. Here's What That Buys You in 3 Cities, Including Philadelphia
In April, the median U.S. home sale price rose 2.4% year over year to about $400,000—the biggest increase in 13 months. With that in mind, we’re exploring what you can get in markets across the country for that price. Hint: A$400,000 home in Washington D.C. looks very different from a $400,000 home in Philadelphia.
Investor Home Purchases Fall to Lowest Level Since 2020
U.S. investor home purchases fell 6% year over year in the first quarter to their lowest level since 2020, when the start of the pandemic ground homebuying to a halt. Prior to 2020, the last time investors bought so few homes was in 2016.
This is based on a Redfin analysis of county-level home purchase records across 39 of the most populous U.S. metropolitan areas going back through 2000. We define an investor as any institution or business that purchases residential real estate, meaning this report covers both institutional and mom-and-pop investors. Please see the end of this report for a more detailed methodology, and please visit Redfin’s data center for downloadable data.
More Than Half of Young Adults Have Moved Back Home After Leaving
Almost 60% of young adults have moved back home at some point, but they don't see it as a failure to launch. They see it as financially savvy.
That the path to full independent living is increasingly an ongoing process, strewn with periods of moving out and then back in, is the conclusion of a new survey from storage solution company SpareFoot, which surveyed 981 Gen Z adults and young millennials.
Best Uses of AI and ChatGPT in Real Estate
“I always say having AI is like having your smartest best friend in your back pocket at all times,” said Craig Grant on a recent PAR webinar about AI in real estate. Grant is the founder of the Real Estate Technology Institute, as well as a best-selling author. He shared 23 ways Realtors® can use AI in their businesses. Here are five.
1. Automating Tasks
AI can automate tasks by scheduling the things Realtors® do on a recurring basis, like sending emails, sending text messages, scheduling reminders and appointments, answering questions, making to-do lists and more.