Aramco Report

The Blog
Mortgage rates near historic lows

Over the last year, mortgage interest rates have fallen more than a full percentage point. This is a retreat from the seven-year high reached in November 2018. The result of such a steep decline in rates has been the tremendous savings experienced by both current homeowners and buyers. Today, conf...

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Pending home sales retreat after 2 months of gains

After a two-month streak, pending home sales fell in October according to new data. The retreat is being blamed on a shortage of properties on the market. The National Association of Realtors reported last week that signed contracts fell 1.7 percent in October compared to the prior month. Experts ha...

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New home sizes trending lower

The size of newly built homes during the third quarter of 2019 shrunk slightly. According to data analyzed by the National Association of Home Builders, the average sqaure footage for a newly constructed single-family home declined to 2,464 square feet – down from the previous average of 2,521. Hom...

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Martha Stewart gets into the real estate game

We’ve watched her shows, tried her recipes and dream on her designer bed sheets. But soon, rather than bringing Martha Stewart’s brand into our home, we may be able to move into her brand. Marquee Brands, which owns the Martha Stewart empire, announced last week that it was beginning preliminary res...

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Health of housing market improving

After months of stagnation and decline, the housing market appears to be turning around. According to the Commerce Department, housing starts climbed approximately 9 percent in October after falling almost 7 percent from their January peak. This follows the positive news that new home sales rose 5.4...

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California’s new record-breaking property

A new price record may be reached in Marin County if a new listing sells for the full asking price. The sprawling northern California estate hit the market last week with a price tag of $85 million according to Realtor.com. This makes it one of the most expensive homes on the market in the state and...

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Oprah’s impressive real estate portfolio

In addition to having built a media empire that includes television networks, magazines, radio stations and book clubs, billionaire mogul Oprah Winfrey is also an apparent real estate tycoon. The formerly dubbed ‘Queen of Daytime’ is believed to own dozens of properties in several states worth over...

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Turkey frying delicious but dangerous

It may not be what the pilgrims did at their Thanksgiving, but the hottest trend these days is to deep fry your turkey. But frying a turkey can be dangerous if not done properly. In fact, a report from the National Fire Protection Association claims that each year there is more than $15 million in p...

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Renewed congressional action on affordable housing

Presidential candidate and California Senator Kamala Harris joined with Rep. Maxine Waters to introduce a bill in Congress last week to invest more than $100 billion in affordable housing. Entitled the Housing is Infrastructure Act, the legislation aims to tackle issues like affordable rentals and a...

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Housing inventory slims down again

Nationwide, the supply of homes for sale on the market is continuing to shrink, dropping to a 3.9-month supply as of October. This is well below levels experts consider to be healthy and the continuation of a long-term trend that has led to soaring home prices. The National Association of Realtors r...

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