Lack of access to small mortgages can stymie homeownership
Buyers seeking small mortgages have been increasingly shut out of traditional lending channels, leaving them with riskier options.
April 16, 2023
Dave Gallagher
Director, News Reporting
Dave's journalism career spans 24 years covering business, the economy and real estate in Northwest Washington. He's also a numbers nerd, examining data to spot emerging trends in industries. Having started his career as a sports writer, he's a lifelong baseball and soccer fan and recently discovered pickleball. He grew up in Yosemite National Park and earned his journalism degree at Humboldt State University in northern California.
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- Can California solve its worsening affordability crisis?High prices are nothing new in the Golden State, but an increasingly small fraction of residents can afford a home. Is a turnaround in sight?April 15, 2023
- Investor home sales could boost overall inventoryA survey by Bright MLS found that investor properties accounted for more listings this spring, possibly due to fears of a looming recession.April 13, 2023
- Mortgage rates decline for a fifth week; applications riseThe 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped slightly to 6.27%. Rates in the 6% range may no longer be phasing buyers — particularly repeat buyers.April 13, 2023
- New auction marketplace puts a twist on how agents get paidReal estate consultant Rob Hahn is introducing a marketplace auction website that allows homeowners to sell without paying commissions.April 12, 2023
- Hot or not: Where the market is going this summer and beyondWith inventory low and interest rates elevated, economists don’t expect to see activity pick up until later in the year.April 10, 2023
- Office-to-housing conversions are on the riseTransforming underutilized office space to living space can create needed housing inventory, but it's not always easy. Some cities are trying to change that.April 9, 2023
- Spring inventory: ‘Buyers can’t buy if sellers don’t want to sell’Even as falling interest rates have opened the door for more buyers, not enough sellers are listing, keeping inventory stubbornly low.April 8, 2023
- Interest rates keep dropping, but low inventory puts damper on springMortgage applications have slowed even though rates fell for the fourth straight week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hitting 6.28%.April 6, 2023
- Home features that can fetch your sellers a better priceZillow's latest analysis of listing descriptions found that certain keywords were correlated with higher sale prices and faster sales.April 5, 2023
- MLS collaboration aims to be leading source of housing dataREdistribute, led by powerhouses Bright MLS and CRMLS, has launched with the goal of monetizing MLS data and sharing revenue back to participants.April 5, 2023
- No mass movement: Americans are staying putApart from an early-pandemic spike in moves, mobility has continued to decline for decades, particularly among young renters.April 3, 2023
- Home flippers were busy in 2022, but profits sankThe number of homes flipped last year reached a two-decade high, but average gross margins declined, and market conditions may deter flippers in 2023.April 2, 2023
- Mortgage rates continue 3-week declineSince peaking in November, rates have been up and down — and up and down. Economists say it's hard to predict what's next, but buyers may want to act now.March 30, 2023
- Only 5 of the top 20 real estate companies boosted sales in 2022In a tough year for real estate, many of the top companies and franchise brands held onto their rankings, but only a few were able to grow sales volume.March 30, 2023
- Pending sales signal modest improvement in housing marketNAR reported that February pending home sales were up 0.8% from January, making it the third consecutive month of increases.March 29, 2023
- MLS-owned Nestfully wants to make home shopping more pleasantThe new home search platform, a joint venture between Bright MLS and CRMLS, aims to inspire a sense of calm and simplify the process for consumers and agents.March 29, 2023
- Price growth continues to slow, especially in the WestThe Case-Shiller and FHFA indices reported dips in annual and monthly home price appreciation, with current levels reflecting more typical rates of growth.March 28, 2023
- Boomers are now biggest group of buyersMillennials dominated the market in 2021, but as affordability pushed younger buyers to the sidelines, boomers took over as the top group of buyers 2022.March 28, 2023
- Mortgage interest rates fall for a second weekRates dropped to 6.42% this week, down significantly from 6.73% just two weeks ago, which could give buyers a window to act.March 23, 2023
