Migration

According to Realtor.com's August 2023 Rental Report, buying a starter home in the top 50 metros cost approximately 60.3% more than renting, while median U.S. rents experienced their fourth consecutive month of year-over-year declines.

Five Star’s annual Single-Family Rental & Investment Roundtable on Tuesday united investors, service providers, and experts to discuss how volatile factors such as inflation, escalating interest rates, and affordability concerns impact the ongoing growth and investment opportunities within the single-family rental market.

The Five Star Lending Forum hosted a keynote from Freedom Mortgage CEO Stanley Middleman, as well as an in-depth panel discussion with representatives of Churchill Mortgage Corporation, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Guild Mortgage, Chase, and Xome about how the industry can support the American Dream of homeownership.

Purchase demand remained strong in August for newly constructed homes, increasing 20.6% compared to a year ago, according to the MBA Builder Application Survey, while the average loan size for new homes increased to $398,092.

“We continue to see pockets of the U.S. housing market where the foundation is a bit shakier—or more solid—than others, based on important quarterly metrics,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM.

“No one who has bravely served our country should struggle to secure and maintain housing," said Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. "HUD is taking an important step toward helping improve the quality of life for Native American Veterans."

Two new studies from the National Association of Realtors show that elevated home prices and limited housing supply are continuous homebuying barriers cited across different races and ethnicities, hampering home sales and affecting prospective buyers nationwide.

“Mortgage applications decreased for the seventh time in eight weeks, reaching the lowest level since 1996,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s VP and Deputy Chief Economist. “Last week’s decline was driven by a 5% drop in refinance applications, to the weakest reading since January 2023.”

According to a new Redfin survey, the most common reason home sellers are relocating is the desire for more space, followed by proximity to family and a lower cost of living. Click here to see why sellers are choosing to move despite record-high mortgage rates and an increasing lack of inventory.

While millions of units are expected to be developed in the coming years, developers are expected to open 460,860 rentals by the end of December. However, a new RentCafe study revealed even that may not be enough to keep up the pace with surging nationwide rental demand as more and more Americans opt for renting over buying.