Coming up with a down payment is among the biggest challenges for prospective home buyers, especially if it's their first time. While move-up buyers can use the money made from selling their current home, first-time buyers have to save the money from scratch. The good news is, depending on the terms of your loan, you'll have options, regardless of whether it's your first or fifth time buying. For starters, you don't necessarily have to come up with a full 20-percent down payment. In fact, the average down payment is around 6 percent. However, with home prices rising, so have down payments. And, according to newly released numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions, the median down payment is now at its highest level in more than 15 years. Their data shows that, during the third quarter of this year, the median down payment on a single-family home reached $27,500 – that's up from $26,000 during the second quarter and $19,502 last year at the same time. But where you're looking to buy will make a big difference in how much you'll need to save. For example, the highest down payment amounts were found on the coasts, with half of the top 10 in California. (source)

The housing market has been out of balance for a while now. Too many home buyers have been active in a market with too few homes for sale. That's the reason prices have been rising. It's also the reason homes have been selling so quickly. It's a problem with no quick solutions. Adding to the housing stock requires more new homes to built and more current homeowners to put their homes on the market. But while there aren't any easy answers, there are encouraging signs that next year will be a little better than this year's been. For one, the number of building permits for single-family homes has been rising and home builder confidence is high. Another positive sign is the number of forecasts predicting an increase in the number of existing homes that will be listed for sale in the coming year. For example, the National Association of Realtors' consumer website just released an outlook saying that existing-home inventory will actually show a slight increase in 2022, after suffering steep declines in 2021. Danielle Hale, the site's chief economist, says the market will remain competitive but should improve. “With more sellers expected to enter the market as buyer competition remains fierce, we anticipate strong home sales growth at a more sustainable pace than in 2021,” Hale said. (source)

The list of things home buyers consider important when deciding to move stays fairly consistent. Years go by without much change to buyers' wish lists. But like most everything else, the pandemic has led buyers to reconsider the things they're looking for in their next neighborhood. Not surprisingly, the quality of the neighborhood still ranks highest. Everybody wants to live in a nice area. The second slot, however, saw a change, as proximity to family and friends surpassed commute to work and affordability, which both ranked higher on last year's list. The data, from the National Association of Realtors' annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, shows the pandemic's impact on how we think about where we want to live and the type of house we're looking to buy. “Home sellers have historically moved when something in their lives changed – a new baby, a marriage, a divorce, or a new job,” Jessica Lautz, NAR's vice president of demographics and behavioral insights, said. “The pandemic has impacted everyone, and for many this became an impetus to sell and make a housing trade.” (source)

In a seller's market – when there are more home buyers than there are homes for sale – competition is common. A good listing will attract multiple offers and, more often than not, the house will be sold to the highest bidder. This year's market has been particularly competitive, as the number of homes for sale has been lower than normal while buyer demand has remained elevated. Fortunately, though, the housing market has cooled somewhat after a hot spring and summer. But while it has slowed down a bit, newly released numbers show that bidding wars are still a factor for buyers. In fact, 60.3 percent of home offers in October faced competition. That's about the same as it was in September – though significantly lower than in April when they peaked at 74.5 percent. In other words, while the number of bidding wars has fallen, the majority of homes for sale are still getting more than one offer. That means, fall and winter buyers should expect there to be multiple interested buyers competing for available listings, especially if the home is move-in ready and selling at an affordable price. (source)

Shopping for a house to buy involves many choices. One of the most obvious is whether you want to buy a new house or an existing home. But before you choose, you should know that market conditions can be very different between the two. For example, though the overall supply of homes remains low, there's actually a pretty good stock of new homes available for sale. In fact, according to recently released numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there was a 6.3-month supply of new homes for sale in October at the current sales rate. Comparatively, there was just a 2.4-month supply of existing homes. In other words, new home shoppers may find more options to choose from. Finding an affordable one may be more challenging, though. In October, the median sales price of new homes was $407,700, while the median existing-home price was nearly $60,000 less. (source)

If you're not looking to buy a new house, you may not think the number of new homes being built has anything to do with your home search. But it does. In fact, much of what's happening in the housing market today is a result of lagging new home construction numbers in the years following the housing crash and financial crisis. With fewer new homes being added to the national housing stock, low inventory became a persistent issue, driving prices and competition higher. The pandemic, supply shortages, and spiking material costs made it even worse over the past year and a half. New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development offer prospective home buyers some hope, though. According to their most recent release, the number of building permits to build new homes rose 4 percent in October. And the number of building permits for single-family homes was up 2.7 percent. That means, a rising number of new homes will be built in the months ahead, which should help alleviate some of the upward pressure on home prices and give buyers more options to choose from when shopping for a house to buy. (source)

Typically, home buyers have a wish list of features they're looking for in their next house. Whether it's a bigger yard, more storage, extra bedrooms, or a great location, buyers always have a reason they're ready to move. After all, why bother moving if your current home has everything you want and need? But when the number of homes for sale is low – as it's been for the past few years – finding all the things you want in your next house can become more difficult. Fewer options means buyers are more likely to have to compromise on a few or do without some of them altogether. That's why the early forecasts for next year's housing market should be encouraging for prospective home buyers. For example, according to one recently released forecast for the year ahead, new listings are expected to reach a 10-year high in 2022, surpassing their most recent high of 7.6 million in 2018. If the prediction comes true, it'll lead to a better balanced market and more options for home buyers. It'll also make it more likely that you won't have to abandon your wish list and settle for a home that has few of the features that had you ready to move in the first place. (source)

By now, anyone interested in buying a house knows home prices have been rising. Climbing prices have been a factor for home buyers for years, and especially over the past 12 months. But while home prices have risen, that doesn't necessarily mean you can't find a home that's affordable. It might actually be more possible than you think. For example, according to the National Association of Home Builders' most recent Housing Opportunity Index – which measures how affordable buying a home is for families earning the U.S. median income – 56.6 percent of homes sold between the beginning of July and the end of September were considered affordable. That's the good news. The bad news is affordability is at a lower level than it's been in recent years. And, according to NAHB chairman, Chuck Fowke, the challenges home builders are facing have made it difficult to build the new homes that could help provide more affordable options for buyers. “Persistent building material supply chain bottlenecks and tariffs on Canadian lumber and Chinese steel and aluminum continue to place upward pressure on construction costs and home prices,” Fowke said. “Policymakers must fix supply chain vulnerabilities that are disrupting and delaying construction projects and hurting housing affordability.” (source)

Temperature isn't the only thing that falls when the seasons change. If you follow the housing market, you know that the number of active buyers and available listings also begin to fall. It makes sense. The school year, the approaching holidays, and colder weather all have an effect on our willingness to buy or sell a home. And while this year's market has been hotter than normal, that doesn't mean we won't see the same seasonal trends as we head into winter. According to one recent report, it may already be happening. In fact, the report shows that the number of homes for sale dropped in October across every price segment. But while that may be true, the price range you're in will determine how many options you'll find, if you're house hunting this fall. For example, the number of available homes for sale under $200,000 has fallen 18.1 percent in the past year, while homes between $200,000 and $400,000 are down less than 1 percent. And as your price range rises, so do the number of listings. Year-over-year, homes between $400,000 and $600,000 are actually up, increasing 31.2 percent over the past 12 months. Similarly, homes between $600,000 and $1,000,000 rose 48.3 percent. (source)

Unless you're a real-estate investor, your primary focus when buying or selling a home shouldn't be profit. Your home, after all, is more than a mere investment. It's where you spend your life. But while your motivation may not be money, new numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions show that it could be a nice side benefit. Their third-quarter 2021 U.S. Home Sales Report found that the typical home sold this summer generated a profit of $100,178. That's up from $88,800 in the second quarter and $69,000 at the same time last year. In short, the market was hot. So hot, in fact, that median home prices rose year-over-year in 93 percent of metros with enough data to analyze. Todd Teta, ATTOM's chief product officer, says the gains are nothing new. “The third quarter of this year marked another period in a banner year for a housing market boom that's steaming ahead through its 10^th year,” Teta said. “Prices and seller profits again hit new highs since the market started coming back from the Great Recession in 2012.” According to Teta, though there have been signs of a possible slowdown in recent months, housing market gains look poised to continue for the foreseeable future. (source)