Aramco Report

The Blog
2020 brings a surge in buyers searching for investment properties

Many investors in the U.S. are capitalizing on the unique circumstances in home-life and travel that 2020 has brought. More Americans are seeking second homes that can be rented out to generate a supplemental income. As a result, demand for both rental properties and vacation homes with rental poten...

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Renters finding homeownership more achievable

Record low mortgage rates have made the transition from renting to homeownership easier than before. By locking in a low rate on a home loan, renters can achieve a similar monthly mortgage payment to what they were paying in rent. The struggle for many renters, however, remains coming up with a down...

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First-time home buyers face biggest challenges in Calif.

In an analysis by NerdWallet, five of the most challenging places in the U.S. to buy a home are in the Golden State. By following a long-standing gauge of home affordability which states that buyers should be able to purchase a home that is listed at up to three times their annual income, NerdWallet...

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Housing supply and demand is painfully out of balance

Low housing inventory has plagued the market for years and has only grown worse in 2020 as demand from buyers continues to rise. Pandemic-era home buying has Americans looking for more space and better communities and they have only been further motivated by near record-low mortgage rates. As a resu...

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Texas is biggest draw for ex-Californians

There was a whopping 653,551 Californians who left the state last year in search of greener pastures. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Golden State lost more residents to other states than any other. Texas was the biggest recipient of California’s expatriates with 82,235 moves. Th...

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Home prices climbing at fastest rate since 2014

With strong demand from buyers, home price gains are continuing to climb towards record highs. According to data from CoreLogic’s Home Price Index, prices for homes in the U.S. soared 7.3 percent in the 12 months ended October This is the fastest rate of price appreciation since April 2014. A chron...

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Homes in forbearance see uptick as pandemic worsens

Compared to the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the volume of home loans in forbearance have seen a tremendous recovery but as many regions see renewed lockdowns as COVID-19 cases rise across the U.S., there have been some slight upticks recently. Black Knight reports that there were 27,000...

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Pending homes cool off as prices continue climb

For the second consecutive month, pending home sales in the U.S. have seen a slight decrease. According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales in October fell 1.1 percent as affordability issues make their impact on the market. Rapid price increases are strain...

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Refinance volume expected to break 17-year record

With mortgage rates remaining near all-time lows, so many people are refinancing their homes that the housing market is expected to see over $2 trillion in refinances this year, second only to the all-time high set in 2003. This latest information comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Black...

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Higher loan limits coming in 2020

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced last week that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase their lending limits next year as a result of nationwide home price gains. Currently, the maximum conforming loan limit for single-family homes is $510,400. This will increase to $548...

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