News

Real estate Q&A: A new survey found the overlap, not uncommon as property lines don’t always match assumptions. Confirm the results first, then talk to the neighbor.

First-time claims, at 5,375, dropped for the 2nd week in a row. Fla.’s jobless rate has slowly increased to 4.6%, reflecting mid-February conditions.

Realtor.com April report: U.S. home prices fall for 6th straight month, but fewer price cuts indicate that sellers are entering the market with realistic expectations.

The government’s spending and investment grew at a 9.3% annual rate in Q1 while consumer spending growth slowed to 1.6%. Q1 covered about a month of the Iran war.

Thoughtful planning can help would-be home buyers prepare for the experience. A clear look at finances and budget is a good place to start.

Open houses can generate traffic, widen the pool of potential buyers, shorten the decision window and support stronger offers, plus reinforce buyer trust.

Ending a 3-week slide, it’s up from 6.23% last week, but lower than the 6.76% a year ago. The 15-year FRM rose to 5.64%; it was 5.58% last week and 5.92% a year ago.

Prices rose 3.5% compared to a year ago, pushing inflation further away from the Fed’s 2% target, likely leaving interest rates on hold at least for now.

Housing production bounced back in March as builders increased starts despite headwinds. Overall starts rose 10.8% to a seasonally adjusted pace of 1.5 million.

Real estate transactions may rely more on physical mail and delivery timelines than agents realize, creating potential exposure if postal service disruptions worsen.