Real Estate
Housing market coverage, home buying and selling, mortgages, rentals, and property investment. From market trends to the practical decisions involved in owning or renting.
Latest in Real Estate
Once you owe less than 80% of your home’s value, you can demand the lender cancel private mortgage insurance
Homeowners paying private mortgage insurance on conventional loans have a federal right to cancel that coverage once their loan balance drops to 80 percent of...
There are now 470,000 more home sellers than buyers, handing buyers the upper hand
Homebuyers across the United States now face a market tilted sharply in their favor, with sellers outnumbering active buyers by roughly 630,000, the largest gap...
The 30-year mortgage is averaging about 6.47% after the Fed signaled no rate cuts
Homebuyers shopping for a fixed-rate loan this week face a 30-year mortgage rate averaging 6.47 percent, a level that keeps monthly payments elevated even as...
About 308,000 homes sold in May, up 5.2% from a year ago even as prices set records
American home buyers closed on about 308,446 properties in May 2026, a 5.2 percent jump from a year earlier and the strongest monthly sales total...
The median U.S. home sold for a record $398,771 in May as buyer demand cooled
American homebuyers paid more than ever for a house in May 2026, even as fewer of them competed for listings and nearly six in ten...
Austin renters now pay about 5.1% less than they did a year ago
A one-bedroom apartment in Austin that listed for $1,400 a month last spring might now be advertised closer to $1,330. Across the metro, asking rents...
34.7% of home listings now carry a price cut as buyers regain leverage
More than a third of U.S. home listings now carry a price reduction, a share that has climbed as elevated borrowing costs and fresh supply...
Mortgage rates jumped within hours of the Fed’s decision and erased a week of relief
Homebuyers who spent the past week watching borrowing costs edge lower got a rude reversal on September 17, 2025, when mortgage rates climbed back within...
Home-equity and variable-rate borrowers got no relief from the Fed’s decision
Millions of Americans carrying home-equity lines of credit and adjustable-rate mortgages will keep paying the same elevated rates after the Federal Reserve held its benchmark...
San Francisco now leads the country in rent growth at 6.3% over the past year
Renters across San Francisco are absorbing the steepest annual rent increases of any major U.S. metro, with prices climbing 6.3 percent year over year as...
The median U.S. asking rent rose to $1,379 in May, its fourth straight monthly gain
Renters searching for a new apartment in May faced a median asking price of $1,379, the fourth consecutive month that figure has climbed. The streak...
A home-equity line lets you tap your house at rates well below most credit cards, but your home is the collateral
Homeowners carrying high-interest credit card balances face a straightforward but high-stakes trade-off: a home-equity line of credit, or HELOC, lets them borrow against their property...
Only 1 in 4 homes sold above asking in May, down from a year ago as sellers lose their edge
A year ago, bidding wars were still common enough across the Mid-Atlantic that sellers could list high and expect buyers to meet them there. That...
The typical U.S. home sold for $429,300 in May
Buyers paid a median price of $429,300 for an existing home in May 2026, even as mortgage rates climbed and borrowing costs squeezed household budgets....
Homes for sale just hit their highest level since 2020
Buyers shopping for newly built homes now face the widest selection of available properties recorded since 2020, a shift that could soften prices in new-construction...
Mortgage rates fell to a one-month low of 6.31% after the Iran deal
Homebuyers shopping for a fixed-rate mortgage caught a break after the Iran nuclear deal pushed rates to 6.31 percent, the lowest print in roughly a...
The 30-year mortgage is averaging about 6.6% as inflation keeps rates elevated
Homebuyers shopping for a fixed-rate loan in mid-2026 are paying roughly 6.6 percent on a 30-year mortgage, a level that has barely budged since late...
A transfer-on-death deed passes your home straight to heirs without going through probate
California homeowners gained a direct way to pass residential property to heirs without a probate filing when the state enacted the revocable transfer-on-death deed, effective...
Recasting your mortgage after a lump-sum payment lowers the monthly bill without refinancing
Homeowners sitting on a lump sum of cash, whether from an inheritance, a bonus, or the sale of another property, can cut their monthly mortgage...
A HELOC lets homeowners borrow against their equity, with the house as collateral
Homeowners who have built equity in their properties can convert that value into a revolving credit line, but the trade-off is direct: the house itself...