U.S. sales of previously occupied homes jumped in August to the highest level in more than two years, adding momentum to the housing recovery. Sales rose 7.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million, the National Association of Realtors said.
Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week and are just slightly above record lows reached earlier this year. The low rates have contributed to a modest housing recovery.
Americans bought more homes in July than in June, the latest evidence that the housing market is slowly, but steadily, improving. Sales of previously occupied homes rose 2.3 percent in July.
If you've been putting off buying a house -- playing a game of chicken with long-term interest rates to see just how low they can go -- now might be the time to make your move: Mortgage rates and home prices are slowly heading back up.
Home prices rose in nearly all major U.S. cities in April, further evidence that the housing market is slowly improving. According to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index, the only top 20 metro area to see prices fall was Detroit.
Americans bought new homes in May at the fastest pace in more than two years. The 7.6% increase suggests a modest recovery in the housing market is continuing, despite weaker job growth.
U.S. builders started work on more single-family homes in May and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in three and a half years. The increase suggests the housing market is slowly recovering even as other areas of the economy have weakened.
Houses are cheap. Interest rates are low. And the economy is improving. Even Warren Buffett says that housing might be the best investment today. So should you run out and buy a home? Not necessarily.
Thanks to record-low interest rates, consumers with good credit can get 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for about 3.75%. But that's sky high compared to the 0.75% interest IBM is going to pay $900 million worth of corporate bonds.
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae says it made $2.7 billion in the first quarter, the first time it has had a net income gain since it was taken over by the government during the 2008 financial crisis.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hovered above its record low for a sixth straight week. But the super-low rates aren't providing a lift to the struggling housing market. Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks this year. Yet this year could be the worst for home sales in 14 years.
There's a surprising new finding that says women get lousier mortgage rates than men, but not because of gender discrimination. It's because instead of shopping around, they rely on friends' recommendations.
The Obama administration is revamping a program that's designed to let more homeowners refinance their mortgages even if they don't have any equity. This isn't a new program, but instead attempts to turbo-charge an existing federal initiative called the Home Affordable Refinance Program. Here's a look at some frequently asked questions.
Today's record-low mortgage rates are out of reach for millions of U.S. homeowners who would benefit from them most. These "underwater" borrowers have virtually no shot at refinancing. Their plight is a drag on the housing market and the broader economy.