Buying a home is a process. There are several steps between the day you're approved to borrow and the day you get keys to your new home. Among them, having an offer accepted and signing the contract to buy is a big one. Barring something unforeseen, it means you're a …

Affordability is a top concern for today's home buyers. Mortgage rates have risen recently and home prices continue to climb. But while it may seem like buyers haven't gotten any good news lately, the most recent new residential construction report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing …

By now, just about everyone knows home prices rose in 2021. Even if you weren't shopping for a home last year, you probably came across a headline or news story covering the accelerated pace of price increases. What you may not know, though, is just how high they climbed. New …

When you choose a home to buy, you're also choosing a neighborhood. The area surrounding the house you buy will play a big part in how much you like living there. After all, you aren't going to be spending all of your time indoors. That's why it's important as a …

The winter housing market is typically the slowest of the year. Many prospective home buyers, anticipating the start of the spring sales season, put their plans on hold and wait for warmer weather. But while this winter saw the market slow down a bit, it's been anything but typical. With …

Determining how much house you can afford can be complicated. There are a lot of numbers involved. Home prices and mortgage rates are important, of course, but so is your downpayment, household budget, and income. In other words, it's an equation that's pretty specific to your financial situation, the house …

Traditionally speaking, marriage and homeownership go hand-in-hand. First, you get married, then you buy a home and start a family. It's all a part of settling down. But while that's the classic order of things – and the majority of today's home buyers are still married couples – this somewhat …

Buying a house is a major financial transaction. For most of us, it'll be among the biggest we're ever involved in. But money isn't the only thing you're committing when you purchase a home, you're also committing your time. The average home buyer will spend the next five to 10 …

Nearly 200,000 more Americans will turn 32 this year than did last year. That may seem like a random factoid but it actually has big implications for the housing market. That's because 32 is the age when many Americans buy their first home. It's also close to the median age …

The gap between what homeowners owe on their mortgages and what their homes are worth continues to widen, according to new numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions. Their most recent U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report found that 41.9 percent of mortgaged residential properties were considered equity rich in the fourth …