Previously owned home sales fell by 4.3% in March 2024 compared to the previous month and were 3.7% lower than March 2023. Experts attributed the decline to higher mortgage rates. Mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased from the mid-6% range in January to around 7.5% which increases monthly mortgage payments for the same price home.
Tag: demand
Half of U.S. Tenants Can’t Afford to Pay Their Rent. Here’s What’s Ahead (Micro News for February 3, 2024 – February 9, 2024)
Rental prices surged over the past several years and are 22% higher than they were at this time in 2019. The higher rents resulted in about half of U.S. renters indicating they were paying more than they could really afford to pay. A monthly report released by Realtors.com shows that the median asking price for monthly rent in December 2023 was $1,713. However, that price is actually $63 lower than the July 2022 record price.
U.S. Home Prices Hit Another Record High in October, Rising for the Ninth Straight Month (Micro News for December 30, 2023 – January 5, 2024)
The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index showed that home prices continued their upward trend, climbing for the past consecutive nine months to set a new record high. Home prices increased by 0.6% in October despite mortgage rates that exceeded 7%. Experts believe the strong demand was driven by people who could "absorb higher mortgage rates" and those that paid cash. Other experts believe it was also due to a flurry of buyers who believed they should buy now before mortgage rates moved even higher.
Italy’s Prized White Truffles Sell for Big Money in Fancy Restaurants. But There’s a Deadly Cost (Micro News for November 25, 2023 – December 1, 2023)
Italian white truffles are big business. Italian truffles have a current market value of $2,200 per pound but some truffles can go much higher. For example, a half-pound truffle sold at auction in Alba Italy during 2022 for $200,000. During the truffle season, which runs from September to November, a truffle hunter with a trained truffle-sniffing dog can earn thousands of dollars per day digging up the tasty morsels.
Pearson Economic News 