Utah was named the BEST STATE in the nation, according to the 2024 rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

“Utah has a vibrant, diverse economy and unsurpassed natural beauty, but what truly sets our state apart is our people,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement. “We lead the nation in volunteering and charitable giving every year and this spirit of community leads to a collaborative approach to problem solving, an ecosystem that supports innovation, and a culture that strengthens families and individuals.”

In recent years, Utah has become a hub for startups and tech entrepreneurs. The state also had a low unemployment rate of just 2.8% in March, which was less than the national rate of 3.8% that same month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It’s just a fantastic place to live and work,” says real estate broker Joel Carson, at Utah Real Estate based in Salt Lake City. He touted the state’s national parks, including Zion National Park. “It’s really attracting a lot of people.”

The median home list price in the state was $604,105 in April, according to https://rltor.cm/a2cwwm

These are the 10 Best States in America: https://rltor.cm/yzhqi8

Down payments in Texas are falling as more affordable homes hit the market.

On average, home buyers in Texas now need to put down $15,105 to purchase a median-priced home.

See the full Down Payments Trends Report: https://rltor.cm/1riafb

A huge number of homeowners have mortgage rates that are just too good to give up.

A recent report by the Federal Housing Finance Agency found that the mortgage rate "lock-in" effect prevented 1.33 million home sales. This contributed significantly to last year's near 30-year low in home sales.

In the U.S., most of the 50 million people with active mortgages have fixed interest rates that are lower than current market rates. This situation makes many homeowners reluctant to sell. Research shows that when market mortgage rates are higher than their original rate by one percentage point, the likelihood of these homeowners selling drops by 18.1%.

This reluctance to sell due to locked-in mortgage rates caused a significant 57% decline in home sales with fixed-rate mortgage in the fourth quarter of 2023. It also prevented approximately 1.33 million home sales between mid-2022 and late 2023.

As a result of this reduced supply of homes for sale, prices went up by 5.7%. This increase outweighed the impact of higher interest rates, which would typically push prices down by 3.3%.

These findings highlight how locked-in mortgage rates can limit people's ability to move to homes that better suit their needs, drive up home prices, and make housing less affordable. It particularly affects certain groups, like those with lower wealth, who may struggle to time their home sales strategically, exacerbating inequalities in housing.

More on this: https://rltor.cm/znk40w

Tarek vs. Christina: Who’s better at flipping homes?

Former husband and wife Tarek El Moussa and Christina Hall are back together—and believe it or not, their new spouses are involved in the drama, too.

The former stars of “Flip or Flop” have agreed to appear in a new HGTV series, cheekily titled “The Flip Off,” where they vie to find, buy, renovate, and flip a house for the biggest profits.

As if competing with an ex isn’t complicated enough, their new spouses are not backing away from this fight: Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa will go head to head (or sledgehammer to sledgehammer) with Christina and Josh Hall in the new series, slated to air on HGTV in early 2025.

Full story: https://rltor.cm/sw2ode

Would you live in this skinny house?

A leftover plot of land in Florida was used to build this two-story skinny house and it listed for $619,000.

A vacant lot that used to be a neighbor's garden is now the site of a charming 1,547-square-foot home, cleverly designed on a narrow 25-foot-wide lot.

Despite some initial neighborhood concerns raised at a public hearing, including objections from a neighboring gardener, the builders were able to create a cozy home within the 10-foot width limitation (instead of the desired 15 feet), and it has since found eager buyers.

Peek inside the home 👀 https://rltor.cm/2w6oby

1 in 10 homebuyers is holding on to the real estate they already own—and could become a whole new generation of de facto landlords.

Chris L. and his husband purchased their first home together in September 2023, prompting the question of what to do with Chris's townhouse purchased nine years earlier. Despite being more modest than their new home, the townhouse boasts a low 2.65% mortgage rate.

Instead of selling, Chris opted to rent it out.

Their new $1.35 million home carries a 7.5% mortgage costing around $7,000 per month. Renting out the townhome for $3,200 monthly covers its $1,670 mortgage, providing additional income for their new home's expenses.

Chris's decision reflects the current housing market, where mortgage rates have risen above 7%. Homeowners fortunate to have secured low rates in 2021–22 are holding onto properties and renting them out.

Full story: https://rltor.cm/vx2mle

The nation's top housing market to watch is Rockford, Illinois.

This midsized city in northern Illinois topped the annual The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Housing Market Ranking list. The list identified some of the strongest housing markets in the nation that are poised to continue growing in the coming months.

The ranking looked at the 200 largest metropolitan areas and weighed real estate demand; housing inventory; median days on the market; price trends; property taxes; climate risks; unemployment rate; wages; regional price parities; percentage of foreign-born residents; small businesses; amenities; and commute times in these areas.

These places also offer more affordably priced housing. Three-quarters of the top 20 markets boasted price tags below the national median list price of $424,900.

Markets on the rise:
1. Rockford, IL
2. Canton, OH
3. Ann Arbor, MI
4. Akron, OH
5. Springfield, MO

See the entire list here: https://rltor.cm/us3j60

Millennials are facing a staggering reality: homes are now nearly 80% pricier for them than they were for baby boomers when they were in their 30s, adjusting for typical income levels.

Back in 2022, when the majority of millennials were hitting their 30s, the median home price soared to 6.3x the median household income. To put numbers to it, the median household income stood at $74,580, while the median home price skyrocketed to $468,000.

If the current trend persist, by 2030, the median home will ring in at a whopping 6.9x the median household income. Fast forward to 2050, and the median home would cost 8.4x the median household income.

See what salary you would need to earn to buy a home in every state: https://rltor.cm/7n7jpm

What's better?

A. PJs all day
B. No cooking
C. Empty laundry basket
D. House all to yourself

Did you know 'The Money Pit' home was an actual fixer upper house just outside New York City?

Bought: $2.125m (2002)
Renovation cost: $5.9m (2002-2003)
List price: $12.5m (2014)
Sold price: $3.5m (2019)
Relisted: $$6.9m (2020)

Built in 1898, the house was purchased in 2002 for $2,125,000 by Christina and Rich Makowsky. While the couple knew the house was old and had heard of its ties to the infamous film, they figured the home’s flaws were mostly fiction—only to be proved wrong once they moved in.

The Makowskys hired a construction crew of 30 to renovate the house for over a year and a half, spending a total of $5.9 million to add en suite bedrooms, an elegant pool (complete with a pool house), stunning fireplaces, and a modern, open kitchen, all on 5.5 acres of land. So when the Makowskys decided to list the house in 2014, they felt justified in asking for the purchase price of $12.5 million.

Yet there it sat with no buyers, despite numerous price cuts, for five years. At long last, it sold for $3.5 million in 2019. Since then, the house has been on and off the market between 2020-2022 with list prices between $4.5 million to $6.9 million.

Full story: https://rltor.cm/e047kc