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Which American cities have the most pent-up demand for homebuyers?
The housing market has been challenging for prospective buyers, but hopes are high that things will get a bit better this year. Here are the cities that have the most pent-up demand.
US stocks finished mixed on Friday following higher-than-expected wholesale prices and another batch of earnings
• Wholesale inflation for January rose 0.3% from the month prior, the largest increase since August. Excluding the more volatile prices of food and energy, core inflation rose 0.5%, more than expected. The data added to concerns over stickier inflation, which could delay the Federal Reserveās decision to lower interest rates, and helped send the U.S. 10-year yield back above 4.3%.
• In earnings, Media-streaming company Roku beat expectations, but its stock plummeted 23.8% after a conservative outlook citing an uneven ad-market recovery. Yelp also beat expectations but saw its shares sink 14.4% on weak first-quarter guidance. Shares of cloud storage platform Dropbox tumbled 22.9% on disappointing revenue guidance. DoorDash reported a profit outlook below expectations due to rising labor costs, sending its stock down 8.1%. Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase surged 8.8% after posting its first quarterly profit in two years.
• Digital ads platform The Trade Desk also saw its stock soar 17.5% after posting strong fourth-quarter revenue, approving additional share buybacks, and earnings above expectations.
• Nike shares fell 2.4% after announcing it would lay off 2% of its workforce, roughly 1,500 workers.
• Building permits declined more than expected in January, while housing starts fell to their lowest level since August, and consumer sentiment measured by the University of Michigan increased slightly in February, reaching its highest level since July 2021.
• Following the long week due to Presidentsā Day, this will be a shortened four-day trading week for the U.S. stock market.
What to be on the lookout for today
• In earnings, Home Depot and Walmart will report.
Are you ready to buy a house?
It can be tough being a homebuyer these days ā especially if itās your first time.
Buying a home will likely be the biggest purchase youāre ever going to make, so budget is everything. First, determine how much you can afford. That includes accounting for expenses like a down payment, potential closing costs, monthly mortgage payments, insurance and property taxes. Also consider other costs like moving, higher utility costs or furnishing the house.
First-time buyer checklist
Your credit score is ready: Lenders use your credit score to determine your creditworthiness. A higher score may allow you to qualify you for a better interest rate.
Youāre ready to put down roots: There are a lot of upfront costs to buying a home, so generally it only makes sense if you plan to stay put for a little while.
Your debt is under control: For most, buying a home means taking on debt. The 28/36 guideline suggests that no more than 28% of your pre-tax monthly income goes to housing costs and no more than 36% on all your debt combined.
Todayās top stories
This week is all about AI NVIDIA is in many ways the poster child of the artificial intelligence market frenzy because it makes the server chips behind the AI innovation. The company is reporting earnings next week, but it could tell us much more about the industry as a whole. Hereās whatās ahead on Wall Street. Read more >> No degree, no problem? It might not be quite so simple Companies have rolled back college degree requirements as they look to fill open positions amid an ongoing labor shortage. But it hasnāt done much to change who theyāre hiring. Read more >> The costs of homeownership Itās not just down payments and mortgage costs you should think about if you want to buy a place. Hereās what else to keep in mind. Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
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The U.S. patent office rejected OpenAIās request to trademark āGPTā on the grounds the acronym, which stands for generative pre-trained transformer, is āmerely descriptive.ā
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Paramount Global and Comcast have discussed potentially merging Paramount+ and Peacock, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Both companiesā shares closed lower on Friday.
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Google Labs is testing a feature called āTalk to a Live Representativeā for non-Pixel owners that will call businesses on your behalf and notify you once a human is on the line.
Financial planner tip of the day
āWhether you rent or own, housing is the largest expense the average U.S. consumer must deal with every month. And if you can reduce your payment, youāll likely have a bit more flexibility in choosing where to allocate your money ā whether thatās spending it, paying down debt, or saving for a future goal. Along with reducing small indulgences, cutting your rent can be an effective way to free up more cash in your budget.ā
Brian Walsh, CFPĀ® at SoFi