Real Estate

A sign is posted in front of a home for sale in San Rafael, California, on Aug. 7, 2024. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images A steady decline in mortgage rates to two-year lows has current homeowners rushing to take advantage of potential savings. Applications to refinance a home loan surged 20% last week compared with

Courtesy: Wojciechowski Family Real estate is a key puzzle piece in achieving the U.S.’ climate goals, according to federal officials. Residential and commercial buildings account for 31% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, after accounting for “indirect” emissions like electricity use, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s more than other economic sectors like transportation

A Chinese flag in Pudong’s Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China, on Sept. 18, 2023. Raul Ariano | Bloomberg | Getty Images Chinese property stocks rallied on Tuesday after top financial regulators vowed a range of monetary easing measures to provide some relief for millions of families and boost a recovery in the real estate

The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by a half percentage point, or 50 basis points, on Wednesday, its first rate cut since March 2020. Even before the Fed rate cut, some homeowners had already taken advantage of recent declines in mortgage rates to refinance. Refinance activity increased to 46.7% of total applications during the week

Street scene in Old Bond Street, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom. Pawel Libera | The Image Bank | Getty Images LONDON — Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Dubai. They’re just a few of the destinations trying to lure away the U.K.’s uber wealthy ahead of proposed changes to the country’s divisive non-dom tax regime. Almost two-thirds (63%) of

Sales of previously owned homes fell 2.5% in August from July, to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.86 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is slightly lower than what analysts expected. Sales were 4.2% lower than August 2023. It marks three straight months of sales below the 4 million mark,

Moyo Studio | E+ | Getty Images The Federal Reserve announced a half percentage point, or 50 basis points, interest rate cut at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday. And, naturally, some Americans will want to make the most of the central bank’s first rate cut since the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Chris Wattie | Reuters The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it will lower its benchmark rate bya half percentage point, or 50 basis points, paving the way for relief from the high borrowing costs that have hit consumers particularly hard.  The federal funds rate, which is set by the U.S. central bank, is the interest rate

Andresr | E+ | Getty Images The Federal Reserve is poised to make its first interest rate cut in years on Wednesday. But homeowners shouldn’t bet on the move as an opportunity to immediately refinance their mortgage. That’s because “a lot of these rate cuts are already priced in,” Chen Zhao, the economic research lead

A home with a “Sold” sign from a real estate company in North Patchogue, New York. Steve Pfost | Newsday | Getty Images Mortgage rates came down again last week, and with the expectation that they could fall further, mortgage demand suddenly jumped, especially for refinancing.  The Federal Reserve is expected to make its first

Shu Matsuo Post, 38, built a $2 million real estate portfolio, according to documents seen by CNBC Make It. Courtesy of Shu Matsuo Post The idea of financial independence can mean different things to different people, but one common way to define it is having enough money that you no longer need to rely on

MISSOULA, Mont. — In a subdivision near the northern edge of town, a number of condos and duplexes have popped up in the past three years. It’s part of a larger effort, including new zoning laws, to help provide affordable housing to Montanans who have found themselves priced out of the market, said DJ Smith,

Recent signs of cooling inflation are paving the way for the Federal Reserve to cut rates when it meets next week, which is welcome news for Americans struggling to keep up with the elevated cost of living and sky-high interest charges. “Consumers should feel good about [an interest rate reduction] but it’s not going to

People walk along London Bridge past the City of London skyline. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images LONDON — The U.K. is leading a recovery in Europe’s long subdued office real estate market, with overall investment in the sector expected to pick up further in the second half of the year. Britain recorded 4.1

We started buying Home Depot shares last week as a play on housing and interest rates. Our initial 50-share buy was around $362. We bought 50 more shares Wednesday a few dollars higher. The Dow stock is having a mixed year — up about 7% compared to the S & P 500 ‘s more than

Thanks to the run up in housing prices, homeowners now have more than $32 trillion in home equity as of the first quarter of 2024, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve — an all-time high. “It’s one of the very few things we can say about today’s housing market that is, more or less, positive,” said

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai’s property scene is showing no sign of cooling off, as 2024 is on track to be another record year in terms of sales figures and property values, according to local real estate firms. Increasing demand for property, especially in the luxury space, is boosting prices not just of homes,

For months, economists have wrestled with the disconnect between how well the economy is doing and how badly people feel about their financial standing. Now, evidence suggests that the so-called “vibecession,” or that prolonged period of negative sentiment about the economy, appears to be ending, according to Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.  As inflation cools

China’s property market has still not found a bottom despite all the turmoil in the past year, according to Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters. Speaking to CNBC’s JP Ong, Winters described the investing environment in China as “difficult,” explaining that consumer confidence and international investor confidence was relatively low. “We know that the underlying source

A for sale sign is displayed outside of a home for sale on August 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. United States real estate industry rules governing agent commissions will change on August 17 as part of a legal settlement between the National Association of Realtors and home sellers. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon /