Latest news with #Krimmel
Newsweek
18-06-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Americans See Suburban Dream Homes Sliding out of Reach
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Owning a beautiful home in the suburbs with white picket fences was once a cornerstone of the American dream; but in this economy, many U.S. residents are opting for renting such properties instead. With the median list price of a typical U.S. home at $440,000 last month, according to data, and the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 6.8 percent, many buyers have been pushed to the sidelines of the market, delaying any purchase to a later, better time. Renting, on the other hand, is much more affordable. A recent study by Bankrate found that, nationally, an average mortgage payment costs 38 percent more per month compared to the average rent. Big cities like San Francisco; San Jose, California; and Seattle have the largest gaps between renting and buying affordability. American suburban houses in Racine, Wisconsin, in 2014. American suburban houses in Racine, Wisconsin, in 2014. Getty Images The market is taking notice of this significant shift in the U.S. housing market, where a growing number of Americans are looking to rent instead of buy. According to a recent report by analyzing data from the American Community Survey, the supply of rental properties in suburbs surrounding major metropolitan areas has surged in recent years, both because of new construction and because many homes once occupied by the owners are now being rented out. Why Is Renting Surging in the Suburbs? senior economist Jake Krimmel found that suburban rentals increased between 2018 and 2023 in metros that saw a boom in new constructions—such as Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee, and Denver—as well as in those with low construction rates—such as Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. "In general, the suburbs have boomed during and after the pandemic, due in large part to people wanting more space and also because the large generation of millennials were beginning to settle down and start families," Krimmel said in the report. "With all this demand for the suburbs, we saw a lot of new construction activity there." Suburban areas close to red-hot markets which exploded during the pandemic saw the biggest increases in renter-occupied homes, however. Bastrop County in Texas, some 30 miles from downtown Austin, reported a surge by nearly 50 percent between 2018 and 2023. Williamson County, near Nashville, saw a 25-percent increase in the number of rentals in five years. Suburbs near major metros still suffering from more acute inventory shortages and with lower pace of constructions still reported significant increases. Prince George's County and Howard County, near Washington, D.C., saw the number of rentals go up by 11 percent and 12 percent, respectively, between 2018 and 2023. "In short, demand for suburban living is up, and supply in many markets has met that demand," said Krimmel. "But even in metros that didn't build a lot in response to this demand, we still see a rise in suburban rentership." Built-to-rent construction has also increased over the past few years, with roughly 100,000 new build-to-rent properties being developed across the U.S. at this time. The top five metros with the highest number of build-to-rent units are Phoenix (17,000 units), Dallas (15,000 units), Houston (9,000 units), Atlanta (8,000 units) and Charlotte, North Carolina (4,000 units.) Is Renting Really That Much More Affordable? Not only renting a property is much more affordable than buying one—it is also becoming increasingly cheaper over time. May marked the 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year decreases, according to with the median rent nationwide at $1,705 per month in the 50 largest metros in the country, down 1.7 percent year-over-year. President Donald Trump's policies targeting international students are also likely to bring down rents in cities hosting prestigious institutions such as Harvard, experts say. "A decline in international student enrollment could weaken the global and even domestic talent pipeline feeding into high-growth industries and potentially soften rental demand in these markets," economist Jiayi Xu said in a report. But experts warn that in the long run, homeownership might still be a better investment than renting. "The thing you have to consider is that rent could definitely go up in the long run, whereas mortgage rates will probably fall in the long run," Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, told Bankrate. "Eventually, you'll pay it off and own it outright."
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 tips for selling your home in today's housing market
"Imagine a seller listing their home at $450,000. After weeks with no offers, they reduce the price to $425,000, and within days, they secure a buyer." That's Joe Manausa, a real estate broker in Tallahassee, Fla., talking about today's home seller in a YouTube video. What's the lesson? Did the seller back down on their price too soon? Overprice the home from the beginning? Sell too cheap? Nationally, almost 1 in 5 home listings (19.1%) had price reductions last month. According to the May housing report, price reductions were twice as common in the South and the West as in the Northeast. In a time of shrinking affordability and mortgage rates on par with the historical average — but well above buyer expectations, home sellers face new challenges in today's real estate market. This embedded content is not available in your region. Learn more: What home improvements should I bother making before selling my house? Manausa said the price reduction scenario above reflects how sellers are adapting to "a more balanced" market. During the years of low housing inventory and historically low interest rates, price reductions were rare. Sellers could command top dollar. "Now with inventory climbing and borrowing costs higher, sellers are finding that pricing aggressively doesn't always lead to quick offers. Adjusting prices is a natural response to these conditions, not necessarily a sign of weakness," he added. Here are three strategies home sellers should consider to price a home and sell it in a reasonable amount of time. Dig deeper: Will mortgage rates ever be 3% again? Ask your real estate agent about housing inventory in your market. Jake Krimmel, senior economist for told Yahoo Finance in a phone interview that year-over-year housing inventory is up 30% nationally. "So you're thinking, there must be a glut of homes on the market. It must be a horrible time to sell," Krimmel said. "But it's important to zoom out to the larger context. So we're still nationally around 14% below the pre-pandemic norms for inventory. For every 100 homes that were on the market then, we're only back to about 86 right now." That's the national view. The reality of real estate is always local. Take New York City, Boston, and Hartford, Conn. "These are places that were in demand, and prices were going up throughout the pandemic. They didn't build much, and their inventories have not recovered." He noted that as a result, the housing markets in those metros are much tighter and look much like they did during the pandemic. Learn more: The best mortgage lenders right now Median list prices can also be a guidepost for setting a sales price. For example, according to median prices in Baltimore are up 10.4% year over year. Cleveland prices are up 3.8%. Though not typically known as hot housing markets, Krimmel said these markets still have limited housing supplies. "That means prices are still going up, and sellers are still able to get that high price that they want," he added. If median prices are rising in your market, it's a seller's market. If prices are declining, it's a buyer's market. Which brings us to time on the market. Be aware of the trade-offs between the price you want to sell your home for — versus how long it will take to get that price. "What is going on in Northern California might be different than what's going on in Southern California. So look at what's going on in your metro in terms of active listings and time on market," Krimmel said. Nationally, houses spent a median of 51 days on the market in May, according to Compared to the pre-pandemic May trend, only homes in the West are selling more slowly: West: 5 days slower South: 2 days faster Midwest: 9 days faster Northeast: 13 days faster Read more: How to sell your home fast "I think sellers need to be aware that leverage is shifting a little bit more toward buyers in general, and in some markets, much more toward buyers," Krimmel added. "And keep in mind, we're coming off a period where it was the seller's market of all seller's markets. We're gradually getting back, in that sense, to a more balanced market." That's what YouTuber Joe Manausa said: The real estate market is more balanced now. Understanding inventory, the time it takes to sell, and your local market's trends will help you set realistic expectations and plan Grace Tarpley edited this article.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Home Prices Dip for the First Time Since March as Housing Market Cools
The price of the typical American home fell last week compared with a year ago, following nine straight weeks of flat or rising prices—as the number of for-sale properties continued to climb. For the first time since mid-March, the national median list price edged down by 1.1% year over year, as home sellers struggled to find a market amid persistent affordability challenges and prospective buyers' growing concerns about the state of their personal finances and job security, according to the Weekly Housing Trends Report. The home price softening should come as no surprise, considering that nearly 4 out of 5 home shoppers said they believe it's a bad time to buy, according to the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index released in April. This week, the mortgage rate ticked up to 8.86%, according to Freddie Mac. And while the median list price per square foot—which accounts for changes in home size—ticked up by 0.3% last week from the same time in 2024, indicating rising home values, it marked the slowest annual growth since September 2023, further reaffirming that buying demand is waning. 'These trends point to a gradually more favorable environment for buyers this spring, with more options and some price softening,' says economist Jake Krimmel. 'However, elevated mortgage rates and persistent affordability challenges continue to weigh on demand.' Fresh listings nationwide increased by 8.2% from a year ago, continuing their upward trajectory. 'The momentum that began earlier this spring remains strong, signaling a vibrant market as we head into late spring and early summer,' says Krimmel. 'With more fresh inventory hitting the market, buyers have better opportunities to find a home that fits their needs.' Meanwhile, the overall inventory, which includes both old and new listings, also continued trending up, registering a 29.7% year-over-year increase. This marks the 80th consecutive week of annual gains in the number of for-sale homes. All in all, there were more than a million homes for sale last week, the highest inventory level since December 2019. But while choices for buyers have expanded, it's important to note that overall U.S. housing supply remains far below levels before the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the Midwest and Northeast. The pace of the domestic housing market continued to slow down last week, with the typical home waiting for a buyer six days longer than a year ago. 'It's the longest stretch of additional days on the market since March, giving buyers valuable time to consider their options,' points out Krimmel. On average, it took roughly 50 days to sell a home in May. For context, during the pandemic, a home would be snapped up in around 33 days. Although annual inflation ticked down to 2.3% in April, its lowest level in 50 months, Krimmel stresses that broader economic uncertainty lingers—and prospective buyers are taking note, with consumer sentiment remaining relatively low. Looking ahead, the Federal Reserve has signalled interest rates could stay higher for longer, and mortgage rates recently edged up again, creeping back toward 7%. 'Despite improvements in several key housing supply indicators, housing activity is expected to remain muted until borrowing costs or prices come down more meaningfully,' concludes Krimmel. 'The Bachelorette' Star Jenn Tran Reveals Cute Miami Apartment Where She's Hunkering Down To Finally Finish Physician's Assistant Training Natalie Portman Reveals Real Reason She Quit Los Angeles To Raise Her 2 Kids in France Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy's Rivalry Is Heating Up—but Which of the PGA Championship Stars Has Hottest Home?
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mortgage rates jump above 7% after Moody's downgrade of U.S. credit
Mortgage rates surged after the credit-rating agency Moody's downgraded U.S. debt. Moody's cut the U.S.'s sovereign credit rating from AAA to Aa1. It was the last of the major credit-rating firms to strip the country of its triple-A rating. S&P Global Ratings downgraded U.S. debt in the summer of 2011. 'They will drown you too': My coworker found out I inherited money — and harassed me to give him a loan 'I'm an idiot': I'm middle aged, earn $68,000 a year and have $39,000 in credit-card debt 'He's lied to us all': My father is leaving my sister, brother and me a $450K lakefront property. We want to cut my feckless brother out. Capital One's stock looks like a bargain following Discover acquisition Jamie Dimon warns of stock-market 'complacency' as investors keep shaking off bad news. Strategists see evidence he's right. From the archive (August 2011): U.S. triple-A debt rating cut by Standard & Poor's The downgrade of debt put upward pressure on bond prices on Monday morning. That pushed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage up 12 basis points to 7.04%, according to Mortgage News Daily. It later settled at 6.99% later in the day. Moody's MCO cited an increase in government debt and interest-payment ratios that were significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns as reasons for its decision. Read more: Mortgage rates tend to move in tandem with Treasury yields. With the 10-year yield TY00 going up, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was going to trend upward as well, Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at told MarketWatch. ( is operated by News Corp subsidiary Move Inc., and MarketWatch publisher Dow Jones is also a subsidiary of News Corp.) Mortgage rates going up is 'really not ideal for prospective buyers,' Krimmel added. The housing market, meanwhile, is mired in a crisis of affordability. Elevated mortgage rates and record-high home prices have put homeownership out of reach for many Americans, as demonstrated in the chart below. Home sales plummeted to a 30-year low in 2024. Even though the spring season is typically the busiest time of the year for the residential real-estate market, buying and selling have remained 'sluggish,' Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said of home sales through March. Against this backdrop, 'the housing market really does not need another factor pushing mortgage rates up — or preventing them from coming down,' Krimmel said. Economic uncertainty is also weighing on residential builders, who are responsible for a critical part of housing supply. In their most recent housing-market confidence reading, builders expressed a heightened level of pessimism. The reasons cited for the gloomy outlook include high interest rates, policy uncertainty and building-material costs. The silver lining is that the housing market is becoming more buyer-friendly. Price cuts are becoming more commonplace. More builders are slashing prices on new homes, with 34% cutting prices in May, which was up from 29% the previous month. The size of the average price cut was 5%. More selling homeowners are offering concessions to buyers in some markets. About 25% of listings on Zillow ZG, a major real-estate platform, saw a price cut in April. That was the highest share for this busy time of year since the company began keeping track in 2018. The median sale price of a U.S. home as of April, the most recent month for which complete data are available, was $438,500, according to data from the real-estate brokerage Redfin RDFN. That was up 1.4% from a year ago. My wife and I paid off my stepdaughter's $415K mortgage in exchange for her house, but it's now worth $310K. Should we sue? Recession indicators are out of control. When will this madness end? My husband and I spend more money on our daughter and her family than on my single son. Do we compensate him? I'm 57 and ready to retire next year on $7,500 a month, but my wife says no. Who's right? Bond yields jump after Moody's downgrade of U.S. credit. Why it matters for consumers — and Congress.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing costs are still the stickiest part of an otherwise cool inflation report
Inflation may be broadly cooling, but housing continues to be one of the most stubborn rising costs consumers face. April's Consumer Price Index data showed that shelter costs rose 0.3% last month, accelerating slightly from March and accounting for over half of the 0.2% month-over-month price increase across all goods and services. Compared with a year earlier, shelter costs are up 4%. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Owner's equivalent rent — an estimate of how much a homeowner would pay to rent an equivalent property — rose 0.4% in April, while rent jumped 0.3% from a month earlier. Housing inflation has remained elevated since the pandemic, and its persistence has complicated the Federal Reserve's efforts to broadly bring down inflation. But there are some signs that costs are cooling this year. Learn more: Is it a good time to buy a house? A surge in multifamily construction in recent years has helped keep asking rents relatively flat in much of the country for the past year, and home price appreciation is slowing from levels seen in recent years. While lower broad inflation levels should be good news for homebuyers and sellers, many are still contending with other factors that make it hard to move forward, Senior Economist Jake Krimmel said in a statement. 'With the spring housing season underway, both buyers and sellers are facing a market where optimism over lower levels of inflation is tempered by elevated borrowing costs and economic uncertainty,' Krimmel said. 'Until borrowing costs fall meaningfully, housing activity is likely to remain subdued, even as underlying demand and supply slowly improve.' Claire Boston is a Senior Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
