In an effort to determine how affordable it is to buy a home, ATTOM Data Solutions looked at how much of the average wage earner's monthly income is needed to make the mortgage payment on a median-priced home in counties across the country. The results of their recently released Q2 U.S. Home Affordability Report show 49 percent of US counties are now more affordable than their long-term historical average. That's a significant improvement from last year, when the report found just 31 percent of counties affordable. Todd Teta, ATTOM's chief product officer, says current market dynamics are encouraging for both buyers and sellers. “The latest affordability numbers reveal a win-win situation for sellers as well as buyers,” Teta said. “Prices are rising again around the country during the current home-buying season, despite worries that the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic would halt the nine-year run up in home values. But a combination of wage gains and declining mortgage rates are helping to override the increases and make homes more affordable in large swaths of the United State.” The report found the counties where payments required the smallest percentage of wages were in the Midwest, with counties in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan making up the top 5 most affordable.

Naturally, home prices are the housing market data most important to potential home buyers and sellers. Before mortgage rates, inventory, time on market, or any other measure, buyers and sellers want to know where prices are and where they're headed. This makes sense, after all. If you're selling a house, you want to get the best price. And, if you're buying one, you also want to get the best price. That's why the S&P Case-Shiller Indices are closely followed. Considered the leading measure of U.S. home prices, the index has been keeping records for more than 27 years. According to the most recent release, prices remain steady, with small increases seen both month-over-month and annually. Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P, says home values have been remarkably stable, despite the economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus. “April's housing price data continue to be remarkably stable,” Lazzara said. “The National Composite Index rose by 4.7 percent in April 2020, with comparable growth in the 10- and 20-City Composites (up 3.4 percent and 4 percent, respectively). In all three cases, April's year-over-year gains were ahead of March's, continuing a trend of gently accelerating home prices that began last fall.” 

In March, when the pandemic took hold and things started shutting down, many home buyers and sellers put their spring plans on hold. The start of the housing market's typical sales season was delayed indefinitely as Americans took a wait-and-see attitude. Now, three months later, local economies have reopened and consumers have started to adjust to new safety measures. But what has happened to the plans of those home buyers and sellers? Well, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors' consumer website, home buyers have returned to the market much faster than sellers. In fact, buyer demand has bounced back in full, while new listings are down 19 percent from where they were last year at the same time. That means, a lot of homeowners who were planning to sell have yet to put their homes on the market. How many of them eventually do, and when, will help determine where home prices are headed, how much competition buyers face, and how quickly the homes that are for sale end up selling this summer.

Buying a home takes a while. But though the process takes several weeks, you won't necessarily have a lot of time to deliberate once you've found a house you like. In most cases, you have to make an offer quickly or you'll risk losing the home to another buyer. That's because, in the current market, inventory is low. The number of homes for sale was already lower than normal before the coronavirus and, since the onset of the pandemic, it's fallen further. So, when you've found a house that fits your budget and lifestyle, chances are someone else has found it too. And competition from other buyers means you have to be prepared to move fast. How fast? Well, according to one new analysis, the typical home sold in June had an offer accepted within 22 days of it being listed. That's the fastest homes have sold since the summer of 2018. And, while there are some cities where homes stay on the market longer, 29 of the 35 largest metros are seeing homes sell faster than they were last year at the same time. That means, in most markets, there are more buyers than homes for sale. So, if you're planning on buying this summer, you should also plan to move quickly when you find the house you want.

New home sales are a good indicator of what's currently happening in the housing market. This is due to the fact that they're counted when a contract to buy is signed, rather than at closing like existing-home sales. That's also why new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are good news for the market's recovery. According to the most recent results, sales of newly built single-family homes rose 16.6 percent in May from the month before and are now 12.7 percent higher than they were last year at the same time. The strength of the rebound was unexpected, as economists were predicting gains but thought sales would rise just 2.9 percent month-over-month. That the improvement was as strong as it was is an indication that home buyers – many of whom were sidelined by coronavirus shutdowns in March and April – became much more active in May. Along with other recent data showing signs of a rebound, May's new-home sales numbers are reason to be optimistic that the housing market's recovery will continue to gain strength as the summer goes on. 

When stay-at-home orders became widespread in March, it would've been safe to assume that the economic shutdown and ensuing uncertainty would cause prospective home buyers to put their plans on hold. And they did, for a while. But now, just a few months later, it looks like staying in has caused buyers to be even more ready for a move. In fact, according to one new survey, 53 percent of home buyers say they are more likely to buy a home in the next year because of the pandemic – compared to 27 percent who said they hadn't changed their plans and 20 percent who said they'd be less likely to buy. But why would the coronavirus make home buyers more enthusiastic to buy? Well, the vast majority said mortgage rates. Rates were already favorable to start the year but are now at record lows. That makes buying more affordable and presents movers with an opportunity to lock in a historically low rate. Another reason is Americans have been able to save money during lockdown because they've been spending less. That means more money set aside for a down payment. Perhaps the most relatable reason survey respondents gave, though, belongs to the 28 percent who said they were ready to make a move because they'd been stuck in their small space for so long.

Before you start looking at homes, you have to make some decisions. Where you'd like to live should be among the first. After all, you can't begin to calculate the costs and whether or not you can afford them without knowing what areas you'll be targeting. For example, would you prefer a place in the city or a house in the suburbs? Well, if new home construction is any indicator, many Americans are making the decision to move further away from city centers and into the inner and outer suburbs. According to a new report from the National Association of Home Builders, construction activity has been increasing in low-density markets for a while now. For example, their Home Building Geography Index recently showed the strongest growth in the outlying suburbs of small metro areas. And that trend is likely to be exacerbated by the effects of the coronavirus. For one, the pandemic hit high-density areas the hardest, which may lead people to want a home away from the densely populated urban core. Another factor is the increasing number of people working from home. Americans who no longer have to consider their commute to work are more likely to be comfortable living further from the city. Whatever the case, the trend is clear. Americans are ready to spread out and home builders have noticed.

If you've ever had a pet, you know that they quickly become a member of the family. And, for most pet owners, keeping them healthy, happy, and comfortable is important. That much isn't a surprise. What may be, though, is just how much pet owners make them a priority. For example, a recent survey found that 95 percent of prospective home buyers who owned a pet said their furry friends would be at least somewhat important when choosing a home to buy. The vast majority ranked their pets' needs as “extremely” or “very important,” with 84 percent saying so. That's nearly unanimous. But, if you're thinking they'd change their minds if they found an otherwise perfect home that wasn't a fit for their animal companions, you'd be wrong. In fact, 68 percent of participants said they'd pass on a perfect house, if it didn't meet the needs of their pet. The survey, based on responses from more than 2,000 people, also found that it wasn't just dog and cat owners who were so devoted to their pets. Among bird owners, 89 percent said their needs were extremely or very important, with almost as many fish, reptile, rodent, and horse owners saying the same.

The housing market, like any market, is a balance of supply and demand. That means, conditions are a reflection of how many buyers and sellers there are, rather than the strength or weakness of the overall economy. For example, when coronavirus mitigation efforts shut down much of the country's economy, there was a lot of speculation about what would happen to prices. But, though the economy suffered, home prices didn't. In fact, they rose. According to the most recent CoreLogic Home Price Index Report, home prices increased 5.4 percent in April over last year at the same time. And, not only did they improve, they did so at a stronger pace than last April, when they were up just 3.6 percent. So why did home price gains accelerate while the economy was suffering a severe downturn? Well, it's pretty simple, actually. When stay-at-home orders went into place, many home sellers pulled their listings and decided to wait a while before selling. The corresponding drop in for-sale inventory meant there were more home buyers than homes for sale, which led to more competition for available homes, bidding wars, and higher prices.

The coronavirus and efforts to slow its spread have caused big changes to Americans' day-to-day routine. From becoming more reliant on delivery services to doing more of our own cooking, we've had to rethink the way we live our lives and get things done. Among those changes, working from home has been a big one. Modern technology has made it easier for more people to work from wherever they are. And now that the pandemic has more of us working remotely, it's beginning to change the way we think about our living space and what we need. For example, one recent analysis found an increasing number of Americans who would make a move if allowed to work remotely long term. But it isn't only our ideas about where we'd like to live that have changed, it's also the features we look for in a house. The survey found the majority of respondents who are working from home said they're working from a room that isn't a dedicated office. That's led to an increase in interest in homes that have an office, or at least enough extra space to find a quiet spot to get some work done.