How the Realtors' legal settlement could change the buyer-agent relationship

Mar 18, 2024
More agents might start charging buyers hourly rates or working on retainer.
In the traditional model, home sellers pay the buyer’s agent. The NAR settlement could mean more buyers directly paying their Realtors.
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Mortgage payment on a typical home nearly doubled in last 4 years, report finds

Mar 1, 2024
According to real estate firm Zillow, the typical buyer pays $2,188 monthly — well above the 30% of median income guideline used to calculate housing affordability.
Homeownership now costs well over the 30% of median income that was once thought to equate to “affordable” housing in the U.S.
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Profits from sales of median-price homes fell slightly last year, but are still pretty huge

Jan 25, 2024
People who sold a median-price home last year made more than $120,000 in profit on a typical sale, according to a new report out today from the property data company ATTOM.
High home sale profits might be a sign that the market is starting to normalize.
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First-time homebuyers are older these days

Nov 21, 2023
The median age of first-time homebuyers is now 35 — up from 29 in 1981. And the median age of all homebuyers is now 49 — up from 31 in 1981.
The longer people have to wait to become homeowners, the more pressure there is on the rental market, says Daniel McCue with Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
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Thanks to a Missouri jury, the way we buy and sell homes may change

Nov 1, 2023
The jurors found that the National Association of Realtors and a couple of big brokerages conspired to inflate commissions.
Homebuyers could have more power to negotiate lower agent fees, said Susan Wachter of  Wharton.
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With many homebuyers priced out, builders try to sweeten the deal

Oct 25, 2023
A lot of homebuilders are working with lenders to offer lower mortgage rates — or they're offering other incentives like money towards closing costs.
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Homebuyers face a double whammy: rising mortgage rates and rising prices

Oct 5, 2023
The average monthly payment on a new mortgage rose 46% in 2022, and home prices and mortgage rates have continued to climb in 2023.
With home prices and interest rates so high, people are increasingly having trouble qualifying for a mortgage.
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For public good, not for profit.

The housing market is a tale of two people: The buyer and the seller

Sep 26, 2023
Both the buyer and the seller have unrealistic expectations right now, while prices and mortgage rates are high.
"Sellers don’t want to take anything less than the peak," Daryl Fairweather of Redfin says. "Buyers are hoping it’s 2008,” says Michael Orbino of Compass.
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Mortgage demand is up, but lenders are more cautious

Jun 14, 2023
Mortgage applications rose last week, thanks in part to a dip in mortgage rates, according to a new report. But credit availability has been falling.
Mortgage demand and mortgage supply are moving in different directions.
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More buyers are backing out of housing contracts

Jan 26, 2023
They're down about 26% compared to a year ago.
When buyers back out of contracts, that can slow down construction of new homes, said Clint Mitchell, CEO of Estridge Homes in Indianapolis.
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