Anyone who's been on a great vacation knows how a beautiful spot can get the imagination going. Sunny beaches, mountain views, and seaside towns often lead to daydreams about packing up and starting over somewhere new, far from home. But while these are just fantasies most of the time, one online real-estate portal says the pandemic has more of us looking into making them a reality. According to the analysis, the number of page views of listings in vacation metros is up over last year. In fact, views of vacation listings are up nearly 50 percent from one year ago. Compared to a 37 percent increase in overall views nationally, that's significant. But what does it mean? Well, it could mean Americans are shopping for a second home, just dreaming of a new life, or actually making one happen. The pandemic has caused us to reconsider where and how we'd like to live – and remote work has opened up possibilities that weren't available in the past. Whatever the case, views in places like Myrtle Beach, S.C., Key West, Fla., Lake Tahoe, Nev., Cape Cod, Mass., and Park City, Utah are spiking and pending sales numbers indicate so are sales.

Typically, there are fewer home buyers in the fall. Because of this, homeowners who sell after summer have to work a little harder to attract attention. This year, however, things are different. According to a new analysis from the National Association of Realtors' consumer website, the housing market hasn't cooled and there's been little drop off in the number of interested buyers. Which means, anyone with a home to sell should be eager to take advantage, since the summer sales season seems to have extended into autumn. But while the number of buyers give sellers an advantage right now, homes for sale are still much lower than last year. During the first week of October, for example, for-sale inventory was down 38 percent nationally. And while that's a slight improvement from the previous week, it's not enough to meet demand, slow competition, and moderate home prices. That means, fall home buyers should expect summer-like conditions will linger, since the number of interested buyers continues to outpace the number of homes available for sale.

Americans' confidence in the housing market has bounced back, according to the results of the most recent Housing Market Index from Fannie Mae. The index – which asks Americans how they feel about buying and selling a home, mortgage rates, prices, their jobs, and financial security – showed consumer sentiment improved in September and has now recovered more than half of the losses suffered in the early days of the pandemic. In particular, the components gauging perceptions of selling a house, job security, and home prices saw gains over the month before. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's senior vice president and chief economist, says market dynamics will be determined by the number of homeowners who decide to list their homes in the months ahead. “Going forward, we believe the wild card to be whether enough sellers enter the market to continue to meet the strong home buying demand,” Duncan said. “The home purchase market requires the proper mix of home price growth and continued economic recovery to achieve sustainable levels of housing activity.” The net share of survey respondents who said it was a good time to sell rose 14 percent in September.

You don't need to be able to define exactly what makes a home green to know you'd like a home with energy-efficient features. All you really need to know is that an eco-friendly home can help lower your bills and improve your quality of life. That's why green features consistently rank high on home buyer wish lists. So if you're shopping for a house and aren't sure what to look for, here are a few easy things to check. Start with insulation. A house with good insulation holds heat and conserves energy. Try to learn as much as you can about what's in the home's walls. Also check the doors and windows. If they aren't fit properly or have a cracked seal, it can put stress on the home's heating and cooling systems. Naturally, Energy Star windows are best, but the newer the better. Additionally, you'll want to look at which direction the house is facing. How a home is situated and the amount of natural sunlight it gets will have an impact on its efficiency. Of course, there are standards and certifications that can be verified to determine how green a home is but, outside of those, just asking about the age and maintenance of the home's HVAC system, windows, and insulation can help you choose a home that operates more efficiently and keeps your utility bills low. 

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index tracks the number of signed contracts to buy homes each month. The index is a good indicator of future home sales numbers, since contract signings precede closings by several weeks. According to the most recent release, pending sales hit an all-time high in August, rising 8.8 percent over the month before and 24.2 percent over last year at the same time. It marks the fourth consecutive month of positive contract activity. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says low mortgage rates have helped home sales recover and it looks like they'll stay low for the foreseeable future. “Tremendously low mortgage rates … have again helped pending home sales climb in August,” Yun said. “Additionally, the Fed intends to hold short-term fed funds rates near 0 percent for the foreseeable future, which should in the absence of inflationary pressure keep mortgage rates low, and that will undoubtedly aid home buyers continuing to enter the marketplace.” Though the news is good, Yun cautions that more for-sale inventory is needed in order for the market's strong recovery to be sustained.

If you're trying to calculate how much house you can afford, the most commonly cited rule is that your mortgage payment should be no more than 28 percent of your monthly wages. And while everyone's situation and finances are different, it's a pretty good gauge. That's why ATTOM Data Solutions uses it when putting together their quarterly affordability report. By comparing average wages and the monthly payment on a median-priced home – including taxes and insurance – they can estimate how affordable homes are in counties across the country. According to their most recent release, 39 percent of the counties they looked at were affordable. That's down from the previous quarter, mostly because the hot summer housing market helped drive home prices upward. But where are the country's most affordable counties? Well, mostly in the Midwest. The report shows that counties in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania make up most of the top 10, with Maryland and Georgia rounding out the list. Not surprisingly, the most expensive areas were mostly on the coasts, with counties in California, New York, and Hawaii requiring the largest percentage of wages to buy a home.

When there are more buyers than homes for sale, it can be difficult to find a home without compromising on your wish list. Maybe, for example, you wanted an extra fourth bedroom but have to settle for three. Or you can't find a home with as much outdoor living space as you hoped. Or you're having trouble finding something in your price range. Expanding your search area is one way to increase the odds you find a place that fits your needs. And a growing number of buyers are doing it. In fact, according to one recent analysis, nearly 30 percent of potential home buyers have searched outside of their metro area for a home to buy. There are a few reasons for this. One big reason is the growing number of Americans who are able to work remotely. This has made it possible for hopeful home buyers to move further from work, allowing them to look in neighborhoods and areas that may offer better prices and more choices. Whatever the case, it's clear that the pandemic and a hot housing market have caused home shoppers to reconsider what they're looking for, and where.

The lack of available homes for sale has been getting a lot of attention lately. That's no surprise. When there aren't enough homes to accommodate interested buyers, prices rise and competition heats up. So, naturally, housing market observers have been watching to see if home builders can build new homes quickly enough to even out the market's imbalance. That's why August's New Residential Construction report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is encouraging. The report found that the number of new, single-family homes that began construction during the month was 4.1 percent higher than the previous month. Permits to build were also up, rising 6 percent. Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, says low mortgage rates are helping to fuel the improvement. “Low interest rates and solid demand are spurring single-family construction growth, which makes up the bulk of the housing market,” Dietz said. “Single-family permits continue to rise as well, and are now up almost 7 percent on a year-to-date basis.

Sales of previously owned homes continue to improve, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors. Their existing-home sales report shows sales rose another 2.4 percent in August and are now up 10.5 percent over last year at the same time. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says home buyers are back. “Home sales continue to amaze, and there are plenty of buyers in the pipeline ready to enter the market,” Yun said. “Further gains in sales are likely for the remainder of the year.” Yun says low mortgage rates and the job recovery are the primary factors driving the rebound. However, though buyers are back, housing inventory continues to lag. In fact, according to the report, it's down another 0.7 percent and is now nearly 19 percent lower than last year. Because of the lack of available homes, those for sale are selling quickly. For example, in August, 69 percent of homes were on the market for less than a month. That means, buyers should be prepared to act fast, once they find a home they like.

In early spring, when coronavirus shutdowns began, few would've predicted that the summer housing market would be as hot as it turned out to be. Buyer demand rebounded quickly and home sales numbers surpassed year-before levels sooner than anyone could've expected. However, though the housing market's rebound is undoubtedly good news, there is another side to the story. Put simply, home buyers returned to the market before sellers and the resulting imbalance drove already low inventory levels even lower. And naturally, fewer homes for sale combined with an increasing number of interested buyers put upward pressure on home prices. In fact, according to one recent analysis, the shortage of homes for sale caused a 0.7 percent price increase month-over-month in August. That might not seem like much, but it's actually the largest monthly gain in seven years. It was also pretty evenly spread, with 48 of the 50 largest markets showing accelerating home prices during the month. Fortunately for home buyers, mortgage rates remain near record lows, which helps to counteract the spike in prices. Also, home builders have begun to ramp up construction, which should help bring some relief to markets suffering from a lack of homes for sale.