Zombie Home Foreclosures Continue to Grow in the U.S.

Vacant Homes in Foreclosure Increases for Fifth Straight Quarter Based on ATTOM’s newly released second-quarter 2023 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report,  almost 1.3 million (1,285,633) residential properties in the United States are vacant. That figure represents 1.3 percent, or one in 79 homes, across the nation. The report also reveals that 311,508 residential properties…

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New Home Sales in U.S. Boosted by Lack of Resales Inventory

According to new data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, sales of newly built, single-family homes in April 2023 increased 4.1% to a 683,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in March 2023. This is the highest level since March 2022. “A lack of…

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U.S. Mortgage Applications Dips in Mid-May

According to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 19, 2023, U.S. mortgage applications decreased 4.6 percent from one week earlier. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On…

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What’s the Average Texas Real Estate Commission Rate?

Most real estate agents in Texas get paid through commissions. Commissions are typically calculated as a percentage of a property’s sale price, though some brokerages will charge a flat fee. The average agent commission rate nationwide is 5.8% of the home sale price, according to HomeLight’s real estate transaction data of thousands of home sales…

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How Big Is an Acre? A Guide for Homebuyers

You’ve been searching online and found a few homes that meet your criteria of three bedrooms and two bathrooms. But as you read the listing descriptions that indicate one house is on 0.23 acres and another has a lot size of 8,730 square feet, you’re baffled by what these numbers actually represent. Your digital assistant…

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Lack of Listings Inventory Keeps U.S. Home Prices Propped Up

According to national property broker Redfin, new listings of homes for sale fell 22.4% nationwide from a year earlier during the four weeks ending April 23, 2023, one of the biggest declines since the start of the pandemic. Homeowners are staying put because they want to hang onto their low mortgage rates–this week’s average 30-year…

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Profit Margins on U.S. Home Sales Drop to 2-Year Low

Based on ATTOM’s newly released first-quarter 2023 U.S. Home Sales Report, profit margins on median-priced single-family home and condo sales across the United States decreased to 44.2 percent as home prices stayed flat or kept declining around most of the nation. The drop-off in typical profit margins, from 48.7 percent in the fourth quarter of…

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Pending Home Sales in U.S. Drop 5.2 Percent in March

According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales decreased in March 2023 for the first time since November 2022. Three U.S. regions posted monthly losses, while the South increased. All four regions saw year-over-year declines in home sales transactions. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) – a forward-looking indicator of home sales based…

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Life Sciences Office Vacancies on the Rise in Early 2023

According to a new report from CBRE, lab vacancies increased across the top 13 U.S. life sciences markets in the first quarter of 2023, providing relief for companies that had found little available space in recent years. Average vacancy of 6.7% in the first quarter marked an increase of 170 basis points from a year…

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U.S. Homeownership Slightly More Affordable in First Quarter

Based on ATTOM’s newly released first-quarter 2023 U.S. Home Affordability Report, median-priced single-family homes and condos are less affordable in the first quarter of 2023 compared to historical averages in 94 percent of counties across the nation with enough data to analyze – far above the 62 percent of counties that were historically less affordable…

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