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Monthly Indicators Housing affordability continues to be a major roadblock for market participants, with mortgage rates more than double compared to this time last year. Buyers are delaying home purchases in hopes rates will drop, while many sellers are holding off on listing their homes due to weakening buyer demand, unwilling to trade in their… Read more »

Your Western Upstate REALTORS® Association government affairs staff learned this week that an obscure technical change made by the EPA earlier this year removed the exemption for property managers from the EPA’s Lead Safe Renovation, Repair and Painting Program. If you are a property manager and manage housing or a child-occupied property built before 1978,… Read more »

In case you missed it, the elections were last week.  I hope you voted.  Before I give you a rundown of the Upstate races, here are some observations: Turnout was high-not quite as high as 2018-but still good.  Anderson County was 51%.  Pickens County was 53%.  Oconee County was 54%.  Go Oconee! Penny sales tax… Read more »

Monthly Indicators Existing home sales declined nationwide for the eighth consecutive month, falling 1.5% as of last measure, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), with sales down nearly 24% from the same period last year. Pending home sales also declined, dropping 10.9% month-to-month, exceeding economists’ expectations. Stubbornly high inflation and soaring borrowing costs… Read more »

Monthly Indicators The U.S. real estate market continues to slow as we move into fall, as rising consumer prices and higher mortgage interest rates squeeze homebuyer budgets and cool activity. With inflation showing little sign of abating, the Federal Reserve implemented another 75-basis-point hike in September, marking the third such rate increase this year. The… Read more »

REALTOR® Party Voter Guide Who is on the ballot on November 8? Who is RPAC Supporting? Election Day is November 8. Are you registered to vote? Great! Did you know that 90% of WUAR members are registered to vote?  Not registered? Register online here. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. Polling Hours: 7 a.m. until… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview Builder sentiment slid into negative territory in August, as higher costs continue to impact buyers and builders alike. Buyer traffic has declined considerably this summer, with new home sales down 29.6% nationally compared to a year ago and falling to their lowest level since 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview New-home production is slowing, as soaring costs and declining housing affordability have caused builder confidence to plummet to its lowest level since April 2020. As material costs, interest rates, and home prices continue to surge—the median sales price of a new single-family home was north of $400,000 as of last measure—builders are… Read more »

Monthly Indicators Rising inflation, soaring home prices, and increased mortgage interest rates have combined to cause a slowdown in the U.S. housing market. To help quell inflation, which reached 8.6% as of last measure in May, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point in June, the largest interest rate… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview A spike in mortgage rates, increased building costs, and record-setting new home prices continue to take their toll on the construction industry, as new single-family home sales plunged 16.6% month-over-month, according to recent data from the Commerce Department. With the median price of a newly built home a record $450,600 as of… Read more »