According to a new survey from NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit community development corporation, 70 percent of Americans don’t know down-payment assistance programs are available for middle-income home buyers. Marietta Rodriguez, vice president of Homeownership Programs at NeighborWorks America, said down-payment assistance programs make home purchasing more accessible for first-time buyers and, because many of these programs require home-buyer education, these buyers tend to be more successful when it comes to maintaining a budget and staying on top of their monthly mortgage payment. In fact, the hundreds of millions of dollars available for down-payment assistance can be especially helpful for young buyers that are worried about affordability due to student loan debt. In recent years, the percentage of younger Americans active in the real estate market has lagged. One of the chief obstacles for first-time buyers is coming up with a down payment. More here.

A new survey conducted by HGTV found nearly half of all consumers believe it’s important that their home is equipped with smart home technology. Products providing automated climate control, energy management, remote home monitoring, and lighting control systems are popular not only with buyers but also with sellers who feel it would make their home more desirable to home buyers. Charlie Young, CEO of the real estate company who sponsored the survey, said smart home enhancements have the potential to increase savings, safety, and re-sale value. And they’re especially popular with younger homeowners and buyers. In fact, more than half of Millennials said they’d consider installing smart home technology and 70 percent said it was important to them that the technology integrates with their smart phone. Young believes a smart home is one that is well-positioned for the future and aligns with a growing reliance on mobile technology. Also among the results, participants of all ages said they’d upgrade their thermostats before automating their lighting or security systems. More here.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances fell to its lowest level since May 2013 last week. The average rate for home loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages also declined, though rates on jumbo loans saw a slight increase. Falling interest rates didn’t lead to boosted demand, however. In fact, the Market Composite Index – which measures total loan application demand – was down 7.3 percent, due to a 13 percent drop in refinance activity. Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist, said the holiday week likely delayed homeowners from acting on the drop in rates. But though some of that slowdown can be linked to Thanksgiving, the week’s results do include an adjustment for the holiday. Demand for home purchase loans, on the other hand, increased, rising 3 percent from the week before. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. More here.

Local real estate markets across the country continue to show improvement, with nearly half of all states and metros showing positive momentum according to Freddie Mac’s most recent Multi-Indicator Market Index. The index – which measures the stability of individual markets based on things like payment-to-income ratios, home prices, mortgage rates, and employment – found that residential real estate continues to rebound from a slow summer. Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist, said far fewer homeowners are delinquent on their homes, the employment situation continues to improve, and even home purchase applications are beginning to turn around. In September, the most recent month included in the report, 21 of the 50 states and 21 of the 50 metros tracked by the index showed an improving three-month trend. This upward trend is expected to carry autumn’s positive momentum into next year, despite the fact that the overall housing market continues to be somewhat fragile and volatile from month-to-month. More here.

According to the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index, the number of contracts to buy houses signed during the month of October was 1.1 percent below September’s level. However, pending sales remained above average for the sixth-consecutive month and above year-before levels for the second-straight month. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said despite the slight decline, contract signings remain at a healthy pace. “In addition to low interest rates, buyers entering the market this autumn are being lured by the increase in homes for sale and less competition from investors paying cash,” he said. The index – which is measured on a scale where 100 is considered an average level of activity – was at 104.1 in October. Regionally, pending home sales were above year-before levels in the Northeast, South, and West, while the Midwest fell 3 percent below last year’s reading. Also, the median existing-home price for all housing types was $208,300, 5.5 percent above October 2013. More here.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New Residential Sales Report for October shows sales of newly built single-family homes rose 0.7 percent from the month before. It was the third consecutive month of improvement. Strong gains were seen in the Midwest and Northeast, with new home sales spiking nearly 16 percent in the Midwest. The South and the West, on the other hand, saw slight declines. In addition to increasing sales, the number of new homes available on the market has also been rising. In fact, inventory hit a four-year high in October. Also in the report, the median sales price of new homes sold in October was $305,000; the average sales price was $401,100. At the current sales pace, there was a 5.6-month supply of new homes available for sale at the end of the month. Typically, a six-month supply is considered a balanced market. More here.