Mortgage rates dipped slightly to a nearly three-year low because of concern about a potential global economic slowdown and some weak home sale news.

According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 3.75 percent with an average 0.5 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount and are in addition to the interest rate.) It was 3.81 percent a week ago and 4.54 percent a year ago.

The 15-year fixed-rate average declined to 3.18 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 3.23 percent a week ago and 4.02 percent a year ago. The five-year adjustable rate average dropped to 3.47 percent with an average 0.4 point. It was 3.48 percent a week ago and 3.87 percent a year ago.

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young adults today are facing larger hurdles than older generations when it comes to housing. 

Based on our analysis, housing costs and labor market outcomes explain over half of the gap between the household formation rates of young adults in 2016 versus young adults in 2000.

Household formation is an important predictor of growth in the housing market. For example, when the economy was strong, young adults went on to form their own households, thereby increasing the demand for housing. However, during the recession many young adults moved back in with parents or doubled up with roommates shrinking the number of households and shrinking demand as well. To prepare for future housing demand, it is important that we track trends in household…

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 If you’re a homeowner with a mortgage, paying off your mortgage early may be an excellent way to dodge interest over the years, saving you thousands over the length of your mortgage.

However, before you begin prepaying, talk to your lender to see if there’s a prepayment penalty on your loan, as well as a financial advisor to see if your additional payments could accrue more in an investment fund.

If prepaying your mortgage seems like a smart move, take these steps to get started.

Bump up your monthly payment.  An extra few hundred dollars a month can seriously decrease your overall interest over the length of your loan. Or, if you get a pay raise, include that extra income percentage into your monthly payment.

Make one…

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The most recent data shows that the average length of time someone lives in their home reached 11.3 years in May 2019, a 10 percent increase compared with a year ago.

First American Financial Corporation, a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, today released First American’s proprietary Potential Home Sales Model for the month of May 2019.

May 2019 Potential Home Sales

  • Potential existing-home sales increased marginally to a 5.20 million seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR), a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase.
  • This represents a 54.8 percent increase from the market potential low point reached in February 1993.
  • The market potential for existing-home…

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Sitting between their millennial children and baby boomer parents, Generation X appears to be hitting their stride as they take on a new milestone: their 50s.

As such, Gen Xers are looking ahead to their next stage of life. According to a recent survey by Del Webb, America’s leading builder of active adult communities, Gen Xers who are celebrating their 50th birthday are looking forward to retirement.

Until they get there, they are enjoying their careers, building larger nest eggs and even getting ready for their next big move, which may require enough room for their boomer parents.

“It is hard to believe that start of the Gen X demographic is turning 55 and are closer in age to retirement than to when they were first introduced to grunge,”…

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For the first time in a long time, Denver’s bustling real estate market has slowed.

The top line: The steep rise in prices is slowing and there are more houses on the market.

That’s making it easier for buyers like Philip Wang, who was looking for a bigger house for his growing family this spring.

Wang, a marketing operations manager for a medical device software company, lives in a fairly large house in Arvada — more than 2,000 square feet — but the bad layout made it feel small.

“A wife, kid and a dog, and sort of getting a little cramped,” he said.

He and his wife found the place they wanted in Westminster, and they pulled off a feat that used to be almost impossible: they sold a home and bought another at the same time.

“We thought this…

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Sales of existing homes fell for a second straight month in April, but the market should rev up soon, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Tuesday.

Home sales dipped 0.4% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million . Sales were down 4.4% from a year ago.

Student debt is still holding back many millennial buyers, says Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. And prices for the entry-level homes that age group targets have risen sharply because of low supplies.

Meanwhile, a big drop in mortgage rates didn’t boost home sales. The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.14% in April from 4.27% in March, according to Freddie Mac, the mortgage loan company. The average rate in 2018 was 4.54%.

Yun…

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After piling in when the market was hot, investors are facing losses from homes that take too long to sell.

Sean Pan wanted to be rich, and his day job as an aeronautical engineer wasn’t cutting it. So at 27 he started a side gig flipping houses in the booming San Francisco Bay Area. He was hooked after making $300,000 on his first deal. That was two years ago. Now home sales are plunging. One property in Sunnyvale, near Apple Inc.’s headquarters, left Pan and his partners with a $400,000 loss. “I ate it so hard,” he says.

A new crop of flippers, inspired by HGTV reality shows, real estate meetup groups, and get-rich gurus, piled into the market in recent years as rapid price gains helped the last property crash fade from memory. Many newbie…

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Where is housing headed in the Denver Metro Area?

Although of course she doesn't claim to have a magic crystal ball, Megan Aller of First American Title and A Girl and Her Graphs dug deep into the data this month to make some predictions:

Based on previous years in this cycle (2013-2018) the values in these Housing Heat Maps represent the best times to be in the market in 2019. 

(Yellow represents a Seller's Opportunity, and Blue represents a Buyer's Opportunity.)

The market is likely to favor those sellers who are ready to take advantage of early buyer activity. 

Sellers late to the market in the summer months are more likely to spend longer on the market, make price reductions and sell at lower prices than spring sellers.

Buyers are most…

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