Top news articles for financial advisors and personal finance
Week of 7/18
This week's recap focuses on trends being observed in the housing market, and the effects of inflation and high interest rates.
As Raging Inflation Strains Relationships, Here’s How Advisors Can Coach Worried Clients (Charlie Wells, Financial Planning)
With a third of Americans reporting that inflation had a negative impact on their relationships,there is an opportunity for advisors to be able to help their clients. Read more for tips advisors can give their clients to help them talk about the struggles of inflation with their friends and family.
U.S. Existing-Home Sales Drop A Fifth Month To A Two-Year Low (Reade Pickert, Financial Advisor Magazine)
Compared to May, June saw a 5.4% decline in contract closings. Not only have sales of previously owned U.S. homes seen a two year low, but permits for new homes have also seen a two year low. Likely due to high mortgage rates, cash sales represented 25% of all transactions, up from 23% the same time last year. Read more about the trends being observed in the current housing market.
US Mortgage Applications Drop to Lowest Level Since Early 2000 (Molly Smith, Bloomberg)
Last week, the number of mortgage applications to buy or refinance fell for a third week in a row, leading to the lowest number of applications in two years. These new lows suggest that the housing market may be cooling off due to high mortgage rates. Read more to see what else the data shows.
U.S. Home Prices Hit New Record of $416,000 in June as Sales Continued to Slide (Nicole Friedman and David Harrison, The Wall Street Journal)
In June, the median home price rose to $416,000, a 13.4% rise from June of last year. While high home prices and high interest rates resulted in decline of home sales, homes continued to sell quickly with the average home selling in 14 days. Read more about the other trends being observed in regards to the housing market.Americans Who Can't Afford Homes Are Moving To Europe Instead (Alice Kantor, Financial Advisor Magazine)
As living costs rise and political tensions increase in the U.S., many Americans are moving to Europe with the help of the strong U.S. dollar and remote work. Sotheby’s reported that requests from Americans looking for properties in Greece rose 40% compared to last year. Read more about the incentives different countries are offering and the Americans who are taking advantage of them.