Luxe Austin Homes - homebuyers

"Housing Market Predictions For 2025: When Will Home Prices Drop?"

Forbes Advisor writes, "Home prices remain at record highs and mortgage rates are climbing again. Is there any relief in sight for buyers? Potentially. Although home prices continue to break records, they’re rising at a slower pace due to loosening inventory and sluggish demand—and experts project further price growth deceleration in 2025.

Meanwhile, even as many are still waiting for lower mortgage rates before taking the home-buying plunge, pending sales data indicates that at least some prospective buyers are starting to dip their toe into the market.

In fact, experts say now might be the ideal time for buyers to get ahead of a potential demand surge in 2025—one that could drive home prices up again and leave some would-be homeowners out in…

368 Views, 0 Comments

"Assumable Loans: How To Get One of These Coveted Mortgages"

Realtor.com writes, "Many would-be homebuyers today are sidelined due to one financial hurdle: high mortgage rates that are pushing ever closer to 7%. Yet instead of getting a 2024 rate, some Veterans can get a low rate from years ago.

For military families, Veterans Affairs loans (or VA loans) offer a unique edge: the option to assume an existing VA loan from a seller, keeping the original low rate intact.

For qualifying buyers, these assumable VA loans, known as assumable mortgages, can mean major savings—especially when today’s rates are considerably higher than what sellers locked in years ago.

“If both buyer and seller are VA loan-eligible, the seller can pass on their current mortgage, and current rate, to the buyer without forfeiting…

283 Views, 0 Comments

"Austin, San Antonio, Houston Realtors to have access to nearly 60% of Texas real estate listings"

Community Impact shares, "A data share agreement between the Austin Board of Realtors, San Antonio Board of Realtors and Houston Association of Realtors is set to give Realtors with all three associations access to nearly 60% of all Texas real estate listings by the end of the year.

How it works

The agreement between the three metroplexes, which was announced in early October, will open up access between the associations' Multiple Listing Service, or the online portal where Realtors can share information about homes for sale in their markets.

As of Nov. 4, there are approximately:

• 17,970 ABoR MLS subscribers
• 14,889 SABoR MLS subscribers
• 48,000 HAR MLS subscribers

After the data share agreement goes live, the over 80,000 combined MLS…

235 Views, 0 Comments

"Housing market hits highest inventory since 2019 as sellers flood the market"

The New York Post writes, "The housing market is finally giving buyers some breathing room.

After two years of skyrocketing prices and shrinking inventory, the number of homes on the market just hit its highest level since 2019, sparking hope for frustrated buyers across the country.

In October alone, available homes surged 29.2% from last year, marking a full year of growth in listings, according to an analysis by Realtor.com.

Homeowners nationwide are throwing up “For Sale” signs in droves, especially in former pandemic hot spots like Austin, Memphis and Orlando.

These “boomtowns” are making a comeback in a big way, with Austin inventory jumping a staggering 40.1%, while Memphis and Orlando posted gains of 39.2% and 26.6% respectively.

168 Views, 0 Comments

"There Are Now 30 Renters for Every Home for Sale in the U.S."

Realtor.com reports, "the number of homes for sale for each renter household in the U.S. remains near record lows, highlighting the supply crunch that first-time buyers face in the current housing market.

Currently, there are about 30 renter households for each available home for sale, up from less than 10 in 2006, according to Freddie Mac’s latest market outlook report.

The supply shortage dates back to the Great Recession, which dealt a major blow to new home construction. Since then, construction has slowly increased, but failed to keep pace with demand, resulting in a shortage of at least 1.5 million homes.

“Therefore, not only do people seeking to buy their first home have to navigate an expensive market, but they also have to compete…

208 Views, 0 Comments

"Despite Inventory Rise, Home Buyers Remain Cautious"

Realtor Magazine writes, "Home buyers may finally be finding more inventory options this fall, but they’re still being cautious about entering the real estate market, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday.

“Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a 4-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy. Perhaps, some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election.”

Total existing-home sales—which reflects completed…

206 Views, 0 Comments

"Mortgage Rates Rise to 6.54% as Homebuyers Decide Whether To ‘Act Before Winter’"

Realtor.com shares, "mortgage rates climbed from 6.44% last week to 6.54% for a 30-year fixed home loan for the week ending Oct. 24, according to Freddie Mac.

“The continued strength in the economy drove mortgage rates higher once again this week,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Over the last few years, there has been a tension between downbeat economic narrative and incoming economic data stronger than that narrative. This has led to higher-than-normal volatility in mortgage rates, despite a strengthening economy.”

Unfortunately for would-be homebuyers—and sellers—this uptick marks the fourth week in a row that mortgage rates have risen.

“This rapid run-up in mortgage rates has sapped some of the burgeoning…

206 Views, 0 Comments

"Mortgage rates finally fell, but homebuyers still face a big problem"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The Federal Reserve may have cut interest rates last month, but homebuyers still face a challenge when assessing the current market for real estate: home prices.

Prices were up 5.9% in the third quarter this year over the same three-month period in 2023, according to data from Fannie Mae. While that increase is down from a 6.4% spike in the second quarter, it’s still a substantial jump for buyers who are looking for a home.

Mark Palim, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist, said the “robust” growth is because of a lack of supply. Many current owners don’t want to sell their homes and give up the low interest rate they obtained earlier only to step into a high-interest rate environment.

“Even though…

206 Views, 0 Comments

"Down Payments Are Dropping From Historic Highs—See How Much Homebuyers Can Save Today"

Realtor.com writes, "homebuyers might be relieved to hear that down payments are finally dropping from recent historic highs.

A new report by Realtor.com® shows that the median down payment homebuyers plunked down from July to September of 2024 was an average of 14.5%—or $30,300.

That’s a $2,400 savings from last quarter’s historic peak of $32,700 (14.9%).

So why are down payments dropping? Fewer homebuyers are out there, which gives those who do brave today’s market more leverage, according to Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones.

“The annual decline in down payments is the result of less buyer competition in the third quarter,” Jones says. “Easing demand and increasing inventory gave buyers more flexibility last…

202 Views, 0 Comments

"Mortgage Rates Rise to 6.44%, Yet ‘Buyers May Be Feeling Ready To Act’"

Realtor.com shares, "Mortgage rates rose from 6.32% last week to 6.44% for a 30-year fixed home loan for the week ending Oct. 17, according to Freddie Mac.

“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased for the third consecutive week, moving closer to 6.5%,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “In general, higher rates reflect the strength in the economy that is supportive of the housing market. But notably, as compared to a year ago, rates are more than one percentage point lower and potential homebuyers can stand to benefit, especially by shopping around for the best quote as rates can vary widely between mortgage lenders.”

This wasn’t exactly the news homebuyers were hoping for.

“While we expect the long-run trend…

202 Views, 0 Comments