Thursday, August 21, 2025

Annual Home Price Gains Remained Strong In October

Tue, 29 December 2020  |  housing real estate 

S&P Dow Jones Indices reported today that annual home price gains remained strong through October. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported an 8.4% annual gain in October, up from 7.0% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 7.5%, up from 6.2% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 7.9% year-over-year gain, up from 6.6% in the previous month.

Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego continued to report the highest year-over-year gains among the 19 cities (excluding D... Read More

Pandemic Brings Heightened Awareness to Need for Planning

Mon, 28 December 2020  |  pandemic financial planning 

The global focus on COVID-19 over the past year has caused people to evaluate aspects of financial security that they may have previously put off — most importantly, creating a will and an estate plan. But the Q4 Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index shows that while some progress has been made in this area, many investors have more work to do. Close to half of investors in the new survey (45%) report they have neither a will nor an estate plan. About a third say they do have a written will (34%), 4% have written estate plans, and 17% have both.

“The pand... Read More

Mortgage Rates Hit Record Low at Yearend

Mon, 28 December 2020  |  interest rates mortgage 

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.66 percent, the lowest rate in the survey’s history which dates back to 1971.

“The housing market is poised to finish the year strong as low mortgage rates continue to fuel homebuyer demand and refinance activity,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Moving into 2021, we expect rates to hold steady but the key driver in the near term will be the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic and the execution of the vaccine... Read More

Zillow Predicts Stronger Housing Market Across the Board in 2021

Mon, 28 December 2020  |  housing 

The for-sale housing market showed incredible strength in 2020, and Zillow® predicts 2021 will be even stronger. Demand continues to grow, and is expected to surge in the cities as economies reopen. Zillow forecasts annual home sales growth will be the highest in nearly 40 years as life and financial certainty brings more sellers into the market to meet the heavy demand and technology allows for faster connections with interested buyers. Home prices, mortgage rates and rents will rise, bringing affordability challenges that must be faced.

Zillow predicts 2021 will be a year u... Read More

COVID-19 Impacts Retirement Planning

Sat, 26 December 2020  |  retirement pandemic 

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the retirement timeline for 30% of Americans, according to research from Northwestern Mutual's 2020 Planning & Progress Study. The study finds that 20% of U.S. adults age 18+ plan to delay retirement beyond what they expected, while 10% plan to accelerate their timelines and retire earlier than anticipated.

Millennials are the most likely generation to move up their planned retirement date, with nearly one in six (15%) saying they would accelerate their plans. This compares to less than one in 10 among Gen Z (8%), Gen X (6... Read More

U.S. Retail Sales Grew 3.0% This Holiday Season

Sat, 26 December 2020  |  holiday retail sales 

According to Mastercard SpendingPulse™, holiday retail sales excluding automotive and gasoline increased 3.0% this expanded holiday season, running from October 11 through December 24. Notably, online sales grew 49.0% compared to 2019, the preliminary insights show. Mastercard SpendingPulse measures overall retail spending trends across all payment types, including cash and check.

“American consumers turned the holiday season on its head, redefining ‘home for the holidays’ in a uniquely 2020 way. They shopped from home for the home, leading to record e-commerce growth,�... Read More