By the Numbers

Rates have remained relatively stable since December, with the average 30-year mortgage rate posting a modest decline this week.

Prices improved 5.1% annually, the latest Case-Shiller report indicates, but a small dip between October and November ended a streak of monthly gains.

The largest firms are claiming an increasing number of sales, driven in part by fast-growing companies like Compass and eXp.

The uptick in pending homes is a “promising” sign of life in a market that has been sidelined by low inventory and high home prices.

Traffic data from Comscore showed Zillow with twice as many visitors as second-place Realtor.com, while Homes.com appeared to lose some ground.

A continued increase in mortgage applications suggests that more buyers are entering the market, but low supply could suppress activity.

For more than a decade, housing supply has not kept pace with demand. Building more homes might seem like the answer, but there’s more to it than that.

According to the latest NAR data, just 4.09 million existing home sales were reported in 2023, the lowest number in nearly three decades.

All eyes are on inventory levels — which are up slightly compared to a year ago — as the market gears up for spring.

Lower rates are good news for buyers, but increased demand could further erode limited inventory.

Home builder sentiment is up significantly in January as lower mortgage rates bring more buyers back to the market.

Baby boomer households without children own nearly 3 in 10 homes with 3+ bedrooms — millennials with children own half that amount.

Mortgage applications jumped nearly 10% as rates hold fairly steady, but higher-than-expected inflation numbers could spoil the party.

Realtor.com ranked the top spots for younger buyers and found that smaller towns scattered across the Northeast and Midwest hold the most potential.

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index closed out the year on a relative high note as borrowing costs fell.

According to the latest CoreLogic report, the Midwest and South saw the highest home price growth, and a handful of states posted double-digit gains.

Zillow predicts some of the hottest markets for price growth and home sales will be those in the Great Lakes region, with three Ohio cities in the top 10.

Interest rates were nearly flat in the first week of 2024, ticking up slightly after nine weeks of declines.

MoxiWorks predicts home sales will increase 8% year-over-year in January, which could bolster economist predictions of a rebound in 2024.

Following last week’s substantial drop, rates leveled off but still declined modestly, while pending home sales were flat.