Housing Market

Better launches bank statement HELOC for small business owners

Better announced on Wednesday the launch of its Bank Statement home equity line of credit (HELOC) aimed at the 36.2 million small business owners in the United States who often don’t fit within traditional underwriting standards. The new program lets self-employed borrowers access home equity without tax returns, W-2s or profit-and-loss statements. Instead, applicants can […]

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Home price growth drops to lowest level in two years

Home prices are continuing to rise, but at a much slower pace. Home prices rose 1.7% nationwide in July, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index released Tuesday.  This pace is slower than the 1.9% annual growth recorded in June and marks the slowest pace of annual home price appreciation since July 2023. In comparison,

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Home price growth drops to lowest level in two years

Home prices are continuing to rise, but at a much slower pace. Home prices rose 1.7% nationwide in July, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index released Tuesday.  This pace is slower than the 1.9% annual growth recorded in June and marks the slowest pace of annual home price appreciation since July 2023. In comparison,

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Mortgage spreads are the hero of the 2025 housing market

Mortgage spreads are the hero of housing in 2025, quietly helping housing demand pick up even when nobody else notices. What are mortgage spreads? In the slow dance between the 10-year yield and 30-year mortgage rates since 1971, the mortgage spread is the distance between them — the key variable keeping them close or distant. 

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NFIP set to expire as shutdown, disaster seasons collide

With the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) set to expire Sept. 30, just as hurricane and wildfire seasons collide with the threat of a federal government shutdown, uncertainty is mounting for homeowners, insurers and the housing market. The NFIP has faced repeated short-term extensions and lapses, including under the Biden administration two years ago. Between

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The Great Stay: Why the US housing market is divided in two

I recently gave a talk to a few hundred real estate professionals in Chicago. I started with the map below of the U.S. showing the days on market for pending home sales in different states. It’s a stark illustration that the country is divided into two distinct real estate markets.  The states with the shortest

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Existing home sales show year-over-year growth again 

Existing home sales have shown year-over-year growth for two consecutive months, as mortgage rates have remained below 6.64% for the same period. However, let’s remember that the bar is very low for yearly growth. In fact, for many months, I’ve said that the reports coming out from June to October — which will be reported

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New home sales shocked, but are these numbers legit?

Today’s report on new home sales printed one of the most surprising results I’ve seen in a while, showcasing significant growth. Now, we should have expected some growth in new home sales, given that mortgage rates have declined recently. In fact, each time mortgage rates have approached 6% since late 2022, new home sales have

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Baltimore launches $6.2B housing redevelopment effort

Baltimore is embarking on what civic leaders call ‘the nation’s most ambitious housing redevelopment program’ — a 15-year effort that aims to turn around more than 37,000 vacant or at-risk properties and influence market conditions for another 33,000 homes and lots. The strategy is supported by $1.2 billion in public funding commitments and is expected

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Neptune Insurance Holdings prices IPO, seeks $2.8B valuation

Neptune Insurance Holdings Inc., the parent company of Neptune Flood, on Monday announced the launch of its initial public offering (IPO) of 18.4 million shares of its Class A common stock. The shares will be sold by existing stockholders, who also intend to grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2.7

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