John Boehner said zip-a-dee-doo-dah last week. What does that have to do with your house? This week brings the Redfin Demand Index, more congressional budget drama, and lots of data on home sales and jobs. And: Can bean bag chairs save China’s economy?
San Francisco home prices rose in August, marking seven straight months of double-digit growth, to a median $1.15 million. The supply of houses for sale has fallen every month for a year, giving buyers limited options and pushing up prices.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has it backward. There’s plenty of demand for housing. What’s missing is supply.
Will the Fed raise rates? Who knows. Should they? Absolutely. We explain why a September rate hike might be better for housing. Also: the world’s first crowd-sourced skyscraper and is suburban living like smoking?
If it gets more expensive to borrow, will people drop out of the housing market? Not likely. Rising mortgage rates — or the fear of them — barely registered in a recent Redfin survey of homebuyers. Fewer than 5 percent listed rising mortgage rates as their top concern, ranking it well below affordability.
The most important Fed meeting of all time is just a week away. As we await the central bank’s verdict on whether to raise interest rates, here’s what’s happening with mortgages: Nothing. For the seventh week, the average cost of a 30-year loan is below 4 percent.
John Boehner said zip-a-dee-doo-dah last week. What does that have to do with your house? This week brings the Redfin Demand Index, more congressional budget drama, and lots of data on home sales and jobs. And: Can bean bag chairs save China’s economy?
San Francisco home prices rose in August, marking seven straight months of double-digit growth, to a median $1.15 million. The supply of houses for sale has fallen every month for a year, giving buyers limited options and pushing up prices.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has it backward. There’s plenty of demand for housing. What’s missing is supply.
Will the Fed raise rates? Who knows. Should they? Absolutely. We explain why a September rate hike might be better for housing. Also: the world’s first crowd-sourced skyscraper and is suburban living like smoking?
If it gets more expensive to borrow, will people drop out of the housing market? Not likely. Rising mortgage rates — or the fear of them — barely registered in a recent Redfin survey of homebuyers. Fewer than 5 percent listed rising mortgage rates as their top concern, ranking it well below affordability.
The most important Fed meeting of all time is just a week away. As we await the central bank’s verdict on whether to raise interest rates, here’s what’s happening with mortgages: Nothing. For the seventh week, the average cost of a 30-year loan is below 4 percent.