Many Americans are ending the year feeling gloomy about their finances, and you don’t need to be a psychiatrist to figure out why. Runaway inflation gnawed through household budgets as prices soared o...
Tag: Construction/Real Estate
Homebuyers are turning to all-cash offers to get around high mortgage rates
Frustrated by mortgage rates above 6%, a growing share of first-time homebuyers are opting to pay for their homes in cash to avoid high borrowing costs. In October this year, 32% of homes sold in the ...
Moving into a retirement community, how to know when you have enough saved, the best RMD strategies and more retirement news
From MarketWatch Retirement: How much should you have saved for retirement? Aim for these age-related benchmarks as you save for retirement. These are the top 10 mistakes people make when planning fo...
Vanguard sees a recession in 2023 — and one ‘silver lining’ for investors
The last 12 months was a year of fast-rising inflation, fast-rising interest rates and fast-rising questions about a future recession. Prices went up while stock markets and savings account balances w...
I sold my late mother’s home for $250,000. I make $80,000 and have $220,000 in student debt. I want to buy a house. Should I use all my inheritance for a down payment?
My mom passed away, and left me her house, which I just sold and will net $250,000. I’m 41 years old with no real retirement savings. I make $80,000 a year, and I am maxing out contributions to my emp...
Buy Zillow stock now to profit from ‘brighter environment’ next year, UBS says
Investors should buy Zillow Group Inc. now, UBS says, even if they have to wait a year before the U.S. housing market starts improving. Analyst Lloyd Walmsley initiated research coverage of the online...
What’s next for lumber as it looks to be 2022’s worst-performing commodity
Lumber has the dubious honor of being among the biggest commodity price decliners this year, and the outlook for the market doesn’t look to improve anytime soon. Random-length lumber for January deliv...
‘Wealth effect on steroids’: Here’s the potential fallout from $22 trillion lost by investors this year, according to BofA
Bank of America says a “wealth effect on steroids” may impact the U.S. economy as a result of the fall in the value of stocks and bonds and other assets worth trillions of dollars in 2022. “The $22 tr...
‘Most economists are predicting a recession in 2023’: I own a rental property. Is it a good time to take out a bank loan and renovate — or should I wait?
Dear MarketWatch, Along with a sibling, I own a rental property of more than 40 rooms in the Caribbean, where we do weekly rentals. It’s near downtown but in need of repairs and renovation. Is this ...
Trump Organization CFO Weisselberg chokes up on witness stand, claims his ‘personal greed’ drove $1.7 million tax-avoidance scheme
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s longtime finance chief choked up on the witness stand Thursday, saying he betrayed the Trump family’s trust by scheming to dodge taxes on $1.7 million in company-paid pe...
Dear Tax Guy: ‘What happens if I sell my existing house to pay off the loan on my new home? How much tax will I owe?’
Greeting, readers. I’m Andrew Keshner and I’m the tax reporter for MarketWatch. I write about the controversies, open questions and best strategies about taxes. For the purposes of this new column, th...
‘It’s a touchy subject’: My in-laws live in our basement. They gave us our 20% down payment. Should we charge them for renovations?
Last year, my husband and I approached my in-laws to see if they wanted to live with us. We had learned that my father-in-law had terminal cancer but could still live five to seven years in remission,...
‘Only time will tell if September was the nadir:’ Zillow reports sharp home-value declines in these cities, amid grim outlook for U.S. housing market
Winter is coming, and the real-estate market is slowly coming to a standstill. According to a new report by Zillow Z, -1.63%, the typical home in the U.S. saw its value barely inch up between Septembe...
If I sell my rental I can pay off my primary mortgage and be debt-free. Is that a good idea in this housing market?
Dear MarketWatch, I have a rental property that’s worth $175,000, and I owe $53,000. My primary home is worth $265,000 and has $108,000 left on the mortgage. My question is this: Should I sell my ren...
‘This has gone on too long’: The bank paid itself $18,000 in fees. My late father’s trust has not been distributed. What recourse do I have?
My father’s father set up a trust at a major bank with my father and the bank’s trust department as co-trustees. My father died at the end of last year; upon his death, the trust was supposed to be di...
‘Am I being ripped off?’ I moved into my husband’s home. I pay for groceries. The rental income from my apartment goes into our joint savings.
I read one of your previous columns regarding the boyfriend who wants the letter writer to move in. My case is similar, but we have already made a decision on how to structure our finances as they rel...
Here’s exactly where ‘whiplash-inducing’ mortgage rates are headed this year, according to 6 economists and real estate pros
Where are mortgage rates headed? Getty Images Rates are trending upwards, pros say. Indeed, many pros say estimate that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in November and December. And for ...
‘When we dated for 5 years, he implied he was financially secure’: My husband was always hesitant about his finances. Now I know why.
Dear Quentin, My husband and I make about the same salary, and live modestly. Six months after we married, I found out my husband’s net worth is virtually zero. He owes more money than he has assets (...
Millions of working Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck — and running out of cash as another recession looms
Inflation is taking its toll on people’s emergency funds. The share of workers who say they are living paycheck-to-paycheck has surged among middle- to high-income earners — 63% and 49%, respectively ...
My boyfriend has a nicer house, and says I should live with him. My mortgage is paid off. He believes I should pay half of his monthly costs. Is that fair?
Dear Quentin, My boyfriend owns a house with a 30-year mortgage balance of $150,000 on a 4% interest rate. He has $275,000 in cash and retirement accounts. He is retired. My house is paid off. I have ...
Mortgage bankers expect rates to drop to 5.4% in 2023. What will home prices do?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — High mortgage rates and recession fears are hurting home prices, so expect growth to be flat this year, one expert says. “Our forecast is for home-price growth moderation to continu...
Why the housing market should brace for double-digit mortgage rates in 2023
Even if Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his cohorts stopped hiking policy rates soon, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate still would climb to 10%, according to Christopher Whalen, chairman of ...
‘We’re seeing buyers backing out’: This dramatic chart reveals U-turn in the housing market as sellers slash home prices
Here’s a chart that speaks a thousand words about the state of the real-estate market right now. The chart above, part of a new report by real-estate brokerage Redfin RDFN, -7.03% on the property mark...
Opinion: Florida’s insurance rates have almost doubled over five years, yet insurance companies are still losing money — and the reason is more insidious than hurricanes
Hurricane risk might seem like the obvious problem, but there is a more insidious driver in this financial train wreck. Finance professor Shahid Hamid, who directs the Laboratory for Insurance at Flor...
Democrats release six years of Trump’s tax returns, and CPAs have questions: ‘The personal tax return is just the tip of the iceberg.’
The nonpartisan committee’s findings also raised several red flags related to the filings, namely Trump’s carryover losses, loans to his children that may or may not also be considered taxable gifts, ...