Personal Finance

How to tell if your housing market is buyer friendly

Published

9 months ago

July 30, 2024

Affordability remain stretched in housing market but inventories are rising, says Ivy Zelman

Even as home prices hit new highs, experts say there are signs that the housing market is becoming better for buyers in some locations.

The median cost of an existing, single-family home in the U.S. was $426,900 in June, a new all-time high, according to the National Association of Realtors. About 3.89 million homes were sold in June, a 5.4% decrease from May, NAR found.

While mortgage rates have declined from their May peak, borrowing costs remain expensive for buyers. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage in the U.S. nudged up to 6.78% from 6.77% on Thursday, according to Freddie Mac data via the Federal Reserve.

Despite those headwinds, some indicators show the housing market is shifting away from a seller’s market.

That doesn’t mean it’s a buyer’s market — yet: “The term buyer’s market is always a bit tricky to work with,” said Chen Zhao, the economic research lead at Redfin, an online real estate brokerage firm. There are “rules of thumb” to define a buyer’s market, like having more than four months of supply, she said.

“The market is certainly tilting more towards buyers, I would say maybe it’s coming more into balance,” said Zhao. “Things are better, but they’re not great yet.”

Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow, agreed.

“We’re still nationwide somewhat in a seller’s market, not a buyer’s market yet,” he said. “However there’s good news for buyers on the horizon.”

4 signs of ‘a more neutral market’

There’s still an affordability challenge at large. But those buyers who can certainly afford to purchase, they’re “realizing the pendulum is swinging back slightly in their favor,” said Divounguy. “Things are moving towards a more neutral market,” he said.

Here are four signs that can help you recognize if the housing market in your area is more in buyers’ favor:

1. Homes are lingering on the market longer

As homes sit on the market for longer, buyers might have an opportunity to get a property for under its listed price, Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, previously told CNBC.

About 64.7% of homes that were on the market in June have been listed for at least 30 days, up from 59.6% from a year ago, according to Redfin. Homes are sitting on the market for slightly longer because mortgage rates and prices are still generally high for buyers.

According to Zillow data, homes are on sale for 46 days, compared to 35 days last year and 19 days in 2021, said Divounguy. “So homes are staying on the market for longer.”

2. Buyers are backing out

Sdi Productions | E+ | Getty Images

In some areas, homebuyers are backing out of a home purchase after making it as far as closing.

About 56,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in June, Redfin found. Some of those abandoned deals may stem from buyers rethinking their budget and needs.

“Buyers are getting more and more selective,” Julie Zubiate, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in the San Francisco Bay Area, wrote in the Redfin report. “They’re backing to due to minor issues because the monthly costs associated with buying a home today are just too high to rationalize not getting everything on their must-have list.”

“You really don’t think about insurance and taxes,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic. “Then you get the first estimate from a lender and then you decide to back out.”

3. Sellers have more competition

In other cases, buyers might be getting pickier as more listings pop up in their area.

Total housing inventory registered at the end of June was 1.32 million units, up 3.1% from May and 23.4% from a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.1-month supply, up from 3.7 months in May and 3.1 months a year ago, according to NAR.

Competition is easing fastest in the South, where all major southern markets except Dallas and Raleigh are either neutral or buyer-friendly, according to the June 2024 Zillow Housing Market Report.

“With more inventory, that does certainly mean that buyers have more options,” said Hepp, “but that is very regional. And the ones with the most increases in inventories, they’re struggling with other issues.”

4. Sellers are cutting prices

For a few years, home sellers have had the advantage of selling their homes for more than they bought it because valuations have skyrocketed, compounded with the fact that homes have been in low supply for so long.

“Sellers are having to do a little bit more to entice buyers,” said Divounguy. “We see one in four sellers are cutting their prices — the most for any June in the last six years — to try to sway buyers.”

About one in five, or 19.8%, of homes for sale in June had a price cut, the highest level of any June on record, according to Redfin. That’s up from 14.4% from a year ago.

Home builders are also trying to attract buyers: About 31% of builders cut prices to increase home sales, up from 29% in June and 25% in May, according to a July 2024 survey by the National Association of Home Builders.

Personal Finance

Consumers are making different financial choices in response to tariffs

Published

12 hours ago

April 22, 2025

Business Finance News

The Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025.

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Even as a pause on reciprocal tariffs has been put into effect, consumers are already anticipating the pressures of higher prices.

A majority of Americans — 85% — have concerns about the tariffs, according to a new NerdWallet survey of more than 2,000 individuals conducted this month.

Among top concerns of consumers is that the new policies will impact their ability to afford necessities and that the U.S. economy will fall into a recession.

Meanwhile, cracks in consumer confidence are showing elsewhere.

The University of Michigan’s consumer survey shows sentiment has dropped by more than 30% since December among persistent worries of a trade war. The latest reading for April fell 11% from the previous month, which was worse than expected.

The worries are not unfounded, experts say. Tariffs could cost the average household $3,800 per year, the Budget Lab at Yale University estimates.

“Most Americans are worried about tariffs, and it’s actually impacting their spending plans,” said Kimberly Palmer, personal finance expert at NerdWallet.

In the next 12 months, a significant portion of individuals surveyed by NerdWallet plan to make changes to their spending habits, with a notable shift towards saving more.

Specifically, 45% plan to spend less on non-necessities, 33% intend to spend less on necessities, and 30% plan to save more money in an emergency fund. However, a smaller percentage, 14%, anticipate paying less on their debts.

The tariffs come as consumers were already struggling to pay for groceries and other essentials amid higher prices, according to Palmer.

“These tariffs are adding to that financial stress and basically forcing people to make some difficult decisions,” Palmer said. That includes scaling back on travel and planned big-ticket purchases like a car.

Emergency savings is ‘most important’ priority: expert

New economic pressures may prompt income to be eaten up by rising prices and competing interests, according to Stephen Kates, a certified financial planner and financial analyst at Bankrate.

Consumers may have to make tough choices between saving, investing and paying down debts.

“If you have nothing [saved], start with the emergency fund,” Kates said.

Individuals should strive to have at least one month of essential expenses set aside at the very minimum, Kates said. Ideally, that would be more like three to six months’ living expenses, he said.

James Gorman: Trade policy has definitely been a shock and will affect how the Fed behaves

That way, if a job or other income loss happens, consumers can protect themselves from going into debt, Kates said.

For individuals who already have racked up debt balances, prioritizing emergency savings still makes the most sense, Kates said. And if you’re choosing between emergency savings or saving for retirement, emergency savings should still be the highest priority, he said.

To be sure, that doesn’t necessarily mean individuals should ignore their other goals.

Kates discussed using what is called the “debt avalanche” strategy.

The focus is on paying down the debt with the highest interest rate first — while paying minimums on the others — then move on to the account with the next highest rate, and so on. That can provide an immediate return and help free up money in household budgets, Kates said.

When it comes to retirement savings, it’s important to make sure individuals are contributing enough to take advantage of a match, if their employer offers one, he said.

Personal Finance

Trump said tariff revenue could replace the income tax. What experts say

Published

13 hours ago

April 22, 2025

Business Finance News

In this aerial view a forklift drives among stacked shipping containers in Hamburg Port on April 15, 2025 in Hamburg, Germany.

Sean Gallup | Getty Images

Tariff tax base is ‘a lot smaller’ than income tax

Some policy experts have questioned how much revenue the duties could bring in, compared to the federal income tax.

“The tariff tax base is a lot smaller than the income tax base,” Kimberly Clausing, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told CNBC.

In 2023, the U.S. imported $3.1 trillion of goods. By comparison, the government levied tax on more than $20 trillion in incomes, according to a report she co-authored last summer.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro in late March estimated tariffs could raise roughly $600 billion a year.

But that figure “is not even in the realm of possibility,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s, told CNBC earlier this month. “If you get to $100 billion to $200 billion, you’ll be pretty lucky.”

To compare, the IRS has collected $1.14 trillion in individual income taxes for fiscal year 2025 through March 31, according to Treasury data.

“Tariff rates would have to be implausibly high on such a small base of imports to replace the income tax,” Clausing co-wrote in the Peterson Institute for International Economics report.

Plus, at higher tariff rates, people will buy fewer imported goods, which reduces revenue, Clausing told CNBC: “That’s part of the point of the policy.”

The Trump administration did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Consumer behavior influences tariff income

As tariff rates increase, other factors can decrease how much revenue the U.S. ultimately collects, experts say.

“The administration seems to think that every time it raises the tariff rate that it can collect more revenue,” Tax Foundation’s Durante said. “And that’s not always the case.”

Direct tariff revenue is lowered by behavioral and other economic factors, Durante detailed in a report earlier this month.

Seeking safety amid market volatility: Strategies to keep your money safe

The Tax Foundation estimates that a 10% universal tariff would raise $2.2 trillion through 2034. However, the same tariff would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by 0.4%, which impacts revenue.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday reduced 2025 U.S. growth projections to 1.8% from 2.7% based on trade tensions.

Personal Finance

What student loan borrowers need to know about involuntary collections

Published

15 hours ago

April 22, 2025

Business Finance News

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon smiles during the signing event for an executive order to shut down the Department of Education next to U.S. President Donald Trump, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2025.

Carlos Barria | Reuters

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon explained the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to restart collections on federal student loans that are in default — and what comes next for Federal student loan borrowers who are behind on their bills.

“On May 5, we will begin the process of moving roughly 1.8 million borrowers into repayment plans and restart collections of loans in default,” McMahon wrote in the op-ed Monday.

“Borrowers who don’t make payments on time will see their credit scores go down, and in some cases their wages automatically garnished,” McMahon wrote.

Next steps for borrowers

Federal student loan borrowers in default will receive an e-mail over the next two weeks making them aware of this new policy, the Education Department said.

These borrowers should contact the government’s Default Resolution Group to make a monthly payment, enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, or sign up for loan rehabilitation.

The Education Department said it is extending the Federal Student Aid call-center operations with weekend hours as well updating a “loan simulator” to help borrowers calculate their repayment plans. There is also an artificial intelligence assistant, dubbed Aidan, to help with a financial strategy.

“We are committed to ensuring that borrowers are paying back their loans, that they are fully supported in doing so, and that colleges can’t create such a massive liability for students and their families, jeopardizing their ability to achieve the American dream,” McMahon wrote.

‘Be proactive’

Those borrowers who are behind in their required payments should avoid being placed in default by taking advantage of various options currently available to them to manage their education loans, advised Kalman Chany, a financial aid consultant and author of The Princeton Review’s “Paying for College.”

“Be proactive,” he said. “Best to take care of this as soon as possible, as the loan servicers’ and the U.S. Department of Education’s customer support will get busier the closer it gets to May 5.”

The Education Department has not collected on defaulted student loans since March 2020. After the Covid pandemic-era pause on federal student loan payments expired in September 2023, the Biden administration offered borrowers another year in which they would be shielded from the impacts of missed payments. That relief period officially ended on Sept. 30, 2024.

“President Biden never had the authority to forgive student loans across the board, as the Supreme Court held in 2023,” McMahon wrote. “But for political gain, he dangled the carrot of loan forgiveness in front of young voters, among other things by keeping in place a temporary Covid-era deferment program.”

McMahon said restarting collections of loans in default was not meant “to be unkind to student borrowers.” Rather, the new policy intended to protect taxpayers. “Debt doesn’t go away; it gets transferred to others,” she said. “If borrowers don’t pay their debts to the government, taxpayers do.”

Currently, around 42 million Americans hold federal student loans and roughly 5.3 million borrowers are in default.

“It really is time to start repaying again,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said in a statement. “While a short repayment pause was justifiable early in the pandemic, that was five years ago — and it makes no sense today.”

President Donald Trump in March signed an executive order aimed at dismantling of the Education Department after nominating McMahon for Education secretary. Trump suggested that she would help gut the agency. As part of this overhaul, federal student loan management was then shifted to the Small Business Administration.

Along with changes to the student loan system, the Trump administration revised some of the Department of Education’s income-driven repayment plans, which put at-risk borrowers in “economic limbo,” according to Mike Pierce, executive director at the Student Borrower Protection Center.

“For five million people in default, federal law gives borrowers a way out of default and the right to make loan payments they can afford,” Pierce said in a statement. “Since February, Donald Trump and Linda McMahon have blocked these borrowers’ path out of default and are now feeding them into the maw of the government debt collection machine.”

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