No home is perfect. About 86% of home inspections will find something that needs to be fixed, according to a study on home inspections from Porch.com, a home improvement website.A home inspection can cost around $300 to $500, but studies estimate it could save the buyer an average of $14,000. A home inspector will evaluate the roof, ceilings, walls, floors, windows, doors, major appliances, heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing and elect
Double-digit annual price increases are occurring in housing markets across the country as buyer demand soars. But which housing markets are showing the strongest performance?U.S. News & World Report examined 96 metro areas to identify the top housing markets for 2021. They factored in year-over-year gains in median home sales prices, the markets with some of the lowest drops in inventory (meaning more supply is available), median days o
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reversed course this week, moving up to a 2.81% average. That marks its highest point since mid-November, Freddie Mac reports.“Economic spending has improved, due to the most recent stimulus, but supply chain shortages are causing downstream inflation, leading to higher mortgage rates,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While there are multiple temporary factors driving up rates, the underlyi
Take your home from builder-grade to custom-made with low-cost home upgrades you can tackle in a weekend or less.Keep in mind: Price and stock could change after publish date, and we may make money from these links.Paint the Front Door The front door is usually the first thing people see when entering your home. Make a great impression with a bright, welcoming front door color. Not sure what hue to choose? Take our quiz, then follow the step-by-
Renters are being drawn to smaller markets due to their lower costs and the opportunity for more space amid the pandemic—but they may now be facing rising rental rates.“Although rents across the U.S. have been growing at a slower pace since the onset of COVID-19 and the major tech hubs continue to see declines, some markets are seeing rents grow by double digits,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Many of the same fa
Heidi's Bridge/HouzzOf all the rooms in your house, your kitchen likely saw the most action in 2020. With so many people staying at home making artisanal pizza and using their countertops as an office or classroom, this room endured plenty of wear and tear. And that means it might just be the room that's most in need of a refresh. But where to start? For inspiration, we consulted with top designers from coast to coast to uncover the hottest
Opportunity zones are proving to be a profitable investment to those who’ve turned to the tax break to redevelop low-income areas across the country.Median home prices increased from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020 in 77% of opportunity zones with sufficient data. What’s more, median prices rose by more than 10% in nearly two-thirds of the areas—in line with growth seen in areas outside opportunity zones, according
The price of lumber hit a record high last week and is up more than 170% over the past 10 months. That is prompting builders to have to raise new-home prices as soaring lumber costs add thousands of dollars to the price of building a new home, the National Association of Home Builders reports.Builders point to tariffs on Canadian lumber shipments into the U.S. as exacerbating “unprecedented price volatility in the lumber market” over recent m
Credit scores have never been higher, positioning more Americans to qualify for some of the best mortgage rates ever. Yet, nearly 10.1 million Americans remain unemployed and have skipped mortgage or debt payments. How can this be?“It’s been bizarre with this recession to see credit scores go up,” Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, told MarketWatch.At the beginning of 2020, FICO credit scores averaged 703. By October, the ave
Subzero and Arctic temperatures across a dozen states this week are putting homes' pipes at risk of bursting. As water freezes, it expands. That can put pressure on metal or plastic pipes, prompting them to burst and leading to costly repairs and home destruction.Homes in the northern parts of the U.S. may be at less risk for frozen pipes since many homes are built with water pipes within a home’s building insulation to help protect them from f
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