Latest news with #NAR
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
The best places in America to buy a house on a $125,000 salary
If you want as many options as possible when house hunting, don't sleep on Ohio. The Buckeye State is home to the five areas with the most affordable homes for Americans making $125,000, according to the 2025 Housing Affordability and Supply Report from the National Association of Realtors and The South was well represented in the top 10, too, including cities in Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina and Texas. The U.S. housing market "is at a turning point," says NAR Senior Economist Nadia Evangelou. After a years-long shortage, inventory has started to rebound: The number of listings shot up nearly 20% between March 2024 and March 2025. But an affordability gap persists. "For many first-time homebuyers, navigating the current housing market still feels like window shopping," Evangelou said in a release. "Listing prices don't match [their] budgets." According to the report, middle- and upper-middle-income homebuyers (households earning between $75,000 and $100,000 a year) have seen the largest uptick in affordable housing supply. Meanwhile, households earning $75,000 are only able to afford about a fifth of home listings nationwide. Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.10–30 years62010-, 15- and 30-year fixed-term conventional loans, 30-year VA and FHA loans, custom mortgages with fixed-rate terms from 8 to 29 years.620 To determine the share of listings that are financially accessible on a $125,000 salary, NAR used listings from March 2025 in the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSA).The calculations are based on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a down payment of 20% or less, assuming that no more than 30% of a family's earnings are allocated toward housing, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Maximum home price: $410,340Share of affordable listings: 89% The MSA encompassing Youngstown and Boardman, Ohio, and Warren, Pennsylvania, is popular with commuters who work in nearby Cleveland or Pittsburgh. In 2024, NAR identified Youngstown as one of the last metro areas where a household of nearly any income level could find an affordable single-family home. Maximum home price: $402,940Share of affordable listings: 83% The fourth-largest MSA in Ohio, the greater Dayton area includes Kettering and the surrounding Miami Valley. A loss of manufacturing jobs and the 2008 housing market crash fueled a steep population decline, but the region has begun to recover: In 2022, the population was over 812,000, up from 799,700 in 2010. Maximum home price: $413,210Share of affordable listings: 82.7% Akron was the heart of the U.S tire and rubber industries throughout the 20th century, and both Bridgestone and Goodyear still have a major presence. The median household income in the Akron MSA was $48,544 in 2023, a 4.18% increase from 2022. Maximum home price: $408,270Share of affordable listings: 81.5% The Toledo MSA, which includes Ohio's Fulton, Lucas, and Wood Counties, has long been a bedroom community for Detroit. It's also home to Fortune 500 company Owens Corning, the world's largest manufacturer of fiberglass composites. Maximum home price: $414,350Share of affordable listings: 79.3% The Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio, MSA incorporates Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, and Medin Counties. In 2022, it had a population of 2.06 million, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in the state and the 33rd-largest in the nation. Maximum home price: $381,960Share of affordable listings: 79.1% Northeastern Pennsylvania's coal industry helped fuel the American industrial revolution. In 2024, the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre MSA remained the state's fifth-largest metropolitan area, with a population of 574,000. Maximum home price: $423,590Share of affordable listings: 78.2% The state capital, Little Rock is a political, economic and cultural hub in the American South. The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway MSA has seen a population surge over the last half-century, from 396,462 in 1970 to nearly 777,000 in 2024, Maximum home price: $427,430Share of affordable listings: 78.1% About 30 minutes east of Tampa, the Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA had a population of 852,878 in 2024, a major increase from 485,378 in 2000. Florida Southern College in Lakeland is home to the largest gathering of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. Maximum home price: $362,540Share of affordable listings: 78.0% The population of the El Paso MSA ballooned from 680,942 in 2000 to 879,392 in 2024. Located on the Mexico-U.S. border, El Paso is the epicenter of the Borderplex Region, considered the largest bilingual workforce in the Western Hemisphere. Maximum home price: $436,330Share of affordable listings: 77.8% The Columbia MSA is another region enjoying a growth spurt in the last quarter-century, with a population that jumped from 649,181 in 2000 to 870,193 in 2024. In addition to serving as the state capital, Columbia is home to Fort Jackson, where roughly half of all soldiers in the U.S. Army receive basic combat training. According to HUD, no more than 30% of your gross income should go toward housing expenses. That includes mortgage principal and interest, as well as: With that in mind, someone earning $125,000 a year should keep their total housing budget to $3,125 a month or less. How much you can spend depends on the size of your down payment, and the cost of expenses like homeowners insurance, property taxes and private mortgage insurance in your location. When NAR accounted for these variables, it found that the maximum price that families earning $125,000 could afford ranged from $356,940 to $542,440. See how much home you can afford using our mortgage calculator. In part, the current scarcity is being fueled by Covid-era supply-chain issues, material costs and labor shortages. But new home builds dropped sharply after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. And historically high mortgage rates have deterred many homeowners from selling, just as millennials entered their peak homebuying years. According to the Federal Reserve, the median U.S. home price in the first quarter of 2025 was $416,900. There are wide variations depending on the state, city and neighborhood you live in, however, and that figure doesn't factor in homeowners insurance, property taxes and other housing expenses. Someone earning $125,000 a year can spend as much as $542,440 on a house, depending on their location, down payment, outside financial obligations, current mortgage rates and other factors. Ohio is considered the most affordable state for homebuyers. The median household income is 1.5 times more than what's needed to afford a median-priced home in the state. At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every mortgage article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Pending Home Sales Slump as Mortgage Prices Weigh
The number of homes going under contract in the U.S. fell sharply in April, as high mortgage prices continue to hamper the market, according to a monthly index. Here are the main takeaways from the National Association of Realtors' report released Thursday:
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US pending home sales fall sharply in April
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes fell more than expected in April as rising mortgage rates and economic uncertainty weighed on demand. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on signed contracts, dropped 6.3% to 71.3 last month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast contracts, which become sales after a month or two, falling 1.0%. Pending home sales declined 2.5% from a year earlier. "At this critical stage of the housing market, it is all about mortgage rates," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.81% in April from around 6.65% in March, data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac showed.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US pending home sales fall sharply in April
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes fell more than expected in April as rising mortgage rates and economic uncertainty weighed on demand. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on signed contracts, dropped 6.3% to 71.3 last month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast contracts, which become sales after a month or two, falling 1.0%. Pending home sales declined 2.5% from a year earlier. "At this critical stage of the housing market, it is all about mortgage rates," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.81% in April from around 6.65% in March, data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac showed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
State reminds buyers of new real estate law ahead of home buying season
(WKBN) – As the spring buying season heats up, the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing is reminding buyers about changes to the relationship with their real estate agent. The notice surrounds changes that came about last August when Ohio House Bill 466 went into effect, which requires buyer agents to have a written agency agreement in place, including details about compensation, before they can conduct most real estate activities on behalf of their client. House Bill 466's legislation doesn't necessarily require an agreement to do things such as tour a home, however, a settlement agreement stemming from a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) requires one, and most real estate agents are members of NAR. House hunters have the option of signing an exclusive or nonexclusive buyer agency agreement or working directly with a seller's agent with the seller's approval. Here are some commonly asked questions about the new law: If you want to buy a home and hire an agent, do you need to sign a buyer's agent agreement?While Ohio law technically allows a buyer agent to show properties without a written agreement, most agents are members of the National Association of Realtors and must comply with the settlement agreement requiring a signed buyer agency agreement before showing homes. Consumers have the option of signing an exclusive or nonexclusive buyer agency agreement or working directly with a seller's agent with the seller's approval. What is the difference between exclusive and nonexclusive agreements?An exclusive agreement guarantees the agent earns their commission no matter who sells the property. In other words, the buyer agrees not to work with another agent while the agreement is in effect. A nonexclusive agreement provides the agent with a commission only if you purchase a property they introduced you to. As a result of HB 466, all agreements must include the amount and terms of the agent's compensation. Can you view a home without a buyer's agent?Yes, you can view a property by coordinating the visit with the seller's agent. Keep in mind, if you decide to make an offer, you will need to choose whether to proceed unrepresented or to utilize dual agency, if the brokerage allows it. Dual agency means the agent acts as a neutral facilitator for both the buyer and seller, ensuring fairness while not advocating for either party. If this option is chosen, both buyer and seller must authorize a dual agency agreement in order to proceed. Do you need to sign an agreement to attend an open house?No, you are not required to sign an agreement with a buyer agent or listing agent to attend an open house. If you are already working with a buyer agent, it's best to discuss open houses with them in advance. Remember, the listing agent represents the seller, so be cautious about disclosing personal or financial details. You can learn more about Ohio's real estate law and the new legislation on the Department of Commerce website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
