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5 Emerging Home Design Trends to Watch

With more time spent on activities in the home, flexible design is becoming increasingly important to homeowners. Also, they want to bring more outdoor elements inside. These are among the latest home trends, according to Houzz, a home design and remodeling resource. Houzz researchers identified the top emerging home design trends based on search insights from homeowners and home professionals at its site.Here’s an overview of the five emerging

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Where the Youngest, Oldest Homeowners Live

Florida has long been a favored spot among retirees, while Texas is becoming a mecca for younger home buyers, a new study shows. LendingTree researchers looked at the average ages of homeowners and renters across the nation’s 50 largest metro areas to find more trends based on relocation and age.Miami and Tampa, Fla., are the metros with the oldest homeowners. Pittsburgh and New York tend to have the oldest renters, the study found. In general,

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Single-Family Rents Post Sharpest Increase Since 2005

Sparked by the pandemic, the surge in activity in the single-family rental market doesn’t appear to be letting up. Rents for single-family homes jumped 7.5% in June year over year, the highest recorded for at least the past 16 years, according to CoreLogic, a real estate data firm.The desire for more space has led to an increase in demand for single-family rentals. Rising home prices are pricing out some potential buyers and prompting them to r

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How Homeowners May Reduce Insurance Premiums

The price of homeowners’ insurance is on the rise, and many owners may be looking for ways to reduce their high premiums. While discounts can vary greatly based on location, size, and age of the house, some credits may be available that could reduce some homeowners’ premiums by as much as thousands of dollars per year, The Wall Street Journal reports.The average premium for a homeowners insurance policy increased 3.1% to $1,249 in 2

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25 Markets with the Biggest Price Jumps

Home prices have risen quickly amid the pandemic. The median sales price of single-family existing homes increased in 99% of the 183 metro areas tracked in the second quarter compared to a year ago. Ninety-four percent of the markets posted double-digit price increases, according to a new report from the National Association of REALTORS®.Inventory shortages and a large influx of buyers, particularly as mortgage rates remained historically l

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Building Material Costs Surpass Records

Prices for building materials have climbed 19.4% over the last 12 months, increasing 13% in 2021 alone, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.Buyers are seeing the results in the prices of new homes. The median sales price for a new home was $361,800 in June, up 6% compared to a year earlier.Steel mill product prices increased 10.8% in July following a 6.2% increase in June. Prices have increased 108.6% over the past year and 87.6% in 2021

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Values are Rising in Opportunity Zones, Too

Opportunity zones are keeping pace with national home price trends and proved to be a solid investment in the second quarter. Median single-family home prices rose annually in 75% of opportunity zones in the second quarter. In about half of them, home prices increased by at least 15%, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate research firm.Opportunity zones offer tax breaks for long-term investment in federally designated

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Mortgage Rates Rise for First Time in 6 Weeks

Mortgage rates inched up slightly from their near all-time lows this week. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87%, Freddie Mac reported.“Following last Friday’s strong jobs report, which revealed broad-based gains in employment and wage growth, mortgage rates are moving higher,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “After dropping for six consecutive weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased by 10 basis points

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Renters, Too, are Facing Bidding Wars

Bidding wars are growing more commonplace in the rental market as the demand for apartments and single-family rentals outpaces the supply.“We’ve been leasing property for almost 20 years, and we haven’t seen an applicant pool this competitive since we’ve started,” Vipin Motwani, managing principal at Iron Gate Development in Clinton, Md., told CNBC. Two weeks ago, Motwani listed a home for rent in Clinton and quickly received 10 applica

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Single-Family Lot Values Have Never Been Higher

Lot values for single-family, detached homes have never been higher. In 2020, prices jumped 18% to a median lot price nationwide of $53,000, according to an analysis of Census data by the National Association of Home Builders.The higher prices for lots—along with material costs—have pressed on buyers’ and builders’ budgets in building new homes.Lots are priciest in the New England area. Half of all single-family detached spec homes starte

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