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Mortgage rates have fallen, but are homes more affordable?

Mar 25, 2024
When you take mortgage rates, housing prices and incomes into account, homes are 44% less affordable than they were two years ago.
New home sales were 6% higher than the same time last year. But that doesn't mean the new homes are more affordable.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Is there a chance your key could work on another house? 

Mar 22, 2024
There’s a chance – albeit very small – you have the same key as someone else out there in the world.
No key is truly unique.
akinshin/Getty Images Plus

Rising insurance costs are making homeownership even more expensive

Mar 21, 2024
Climate risk and inflation are making insurance harder to find and mortgages harder to afford.
The main reason for higher home insurance costs is climate change, which is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images

More housing stock means the market may be shifting in favor of buyers

Mar 18, 2024
New home listings hit a 17-month high in February, and as more sellers sell, housing prices could flatten, says Conor Sen at Bloomberg Opinion.
"We're seeing inventory really grow off the very low levels of last year," says Bloomberg's Conor Sen. "And in a market that's very undersupplied, that's becoming a meaningful amount of inventory."
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Why might Americans be moving less?

Rather than chasing higher-paying jobs, many Americans are opting to stay put. Housing costs have something to do with it.
"Higher wages still attract workers, but people are reluctant to move because of high housing costs," explained senior economics contributor Chris Farrell.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

After dreaming of living in a dome home for decades, this Texas woman made it a reality

Mar 7, 2024
"I'm not getting any younger. If I'm going to have a dome, I need to get on with it," said Paula Stone of Fredericksburg, Texas.
Paula Stone's home is made up of five connected monolithic domes that she designed herself.
Courtesy Stone

Suburban home values were up 5.6% last year

Mar 6, 2024
But suburban owners still want to be close to downtown amenities.
Suburban homeowners experienced bigger price gains than homeowners near city centers over the last year, according to Redfin.
George Rose/Getty Images

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This van life-er left her corporate job for a life on the road

Feb 29, 2024
Abby Joselyn planned to live out of her van for two years. But now, a year and a half into her vanlife journey, she "can't imagine being done in six months."
Joselyn now makes lifestyle videos for social media full-time to pay for her expenses.
Courtesy Abby Joselyn

For a couple in Maine, calling a Grange Hall home means financial freedom

Feb 23, 2024
With the goal of living mortgage-free, "I really knew that I would go anywhere and I would live in anything," Kate Mill says.
After living in Nashville, Tennessee, for 23 years, Henry Pile and Kate Mills bought this  Grange Hall in Livermore Falls, Maine.
Courtesy Henry Pile

High mortgage rates, low inventory keep the housing market tight

Feb 19, 2024
High interest rates and limited inventory are key factors in restricting affordability.
The "mortgage lock-in effect" is part of what's keeping the inventory of homes on the market low right now.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images