Heading into 2026, it is clear that inflation is above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal and the labor market is showing continued signs of weakening...
In announcing his candidacy, Rand stated, “I am a local mayor, where the job is solving problems and getting things done, not playing politics.
In terms of anticipated rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, Yun expects the Fed to cut rates later today (Dec. 10) and will initiate two further rate cuts in 2026.
In the first quarter, the Northeast performed best in both sales and price gains by percentage.
The average mortgage rate was 6.65% in March, down from a 6.96% average in January and down from a 6.84% average in February.
Total housing inventory registered at the end of March was 1.33 million units, up 8.1% from February and 19.8% from one year ago (1.11 million).
Median sales prices of single-family homes throughout the Bronx and lower Hudson Valley all saw gains, with Sullivan County at an 18.3% hike from last year’s $299,998 to $335,000.
Westchester County consistently leads the market with the highest median sale prices, peaking at $1,031,500 in June 2024 before settling at $860,000 in March 2025.
Looking ahead, the second quarter of 2025 is expected to bring a modest increase in listing activity as would-be sellers grow more comfortable with the new normal of interest rates and recalibrated expectations.
The top remodeling projects that Realtors recommend sellers complete before listing their homes include painting the entire home (50%), painting a single interior room (41%) and installing new roofing (37%).
The report revealed that 24% of recent home buyers were purchasing for the first time, a significant drop from 32% last year.
NAR forecasts mortgage rates will average 6.4% in 2025 and 6.1% in 2026.
Buyers paid 14.4% as a share of purchase price and $29,900 on average in 2024, up from 14.2% and $27,200 in 2023.
“Home buyers are slowly entering the market,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
Reviewing February’s closed sales of single-family homes, only Rockland County and The Bronx saw gains of 7.1% and 4.2%, respectively.
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