If you’re buying a house – rather than having one built to your specifications – you’re going to have to compromise. You’re probably not going to find everything on your wish list in one house, and certainly not in a home that also just happens to be perfectly in your price range. Which is to say, the home buying process will force you to make decisions about what matters most to you and what you would like but can live without. How you make these decisions will be based, in part, on your particular needs and goals but, according to one recent survey, it may also be based on gender. That’s because, when asked which home features mattered most to them, men and women had slightly different opinions. For example, the number of bedrooms in a home is nearly 7 percent more important to women than men. So is being close to good schools, which was 6.6 percent more important to women. On the other hand, the inclusion of exterior maintenance was 5.1 percent more important to men than women. Whatever the case, spending some time thinking about what home features matter most to you before heading out house hunting will make you a better prepared, and more decisive, buyer. More here.

Though there is usually a lot of focus on first-time and younger home buyers, they aren’t the only Americans looking to make a move. In fact, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ 55+ Housing Market Index, older Americans are increasingly interested in buying a home and it’s led to a strengthening in the market. Robert Dietz, NAHB’s chief economist, says growing demand among older buyers is consistent with what’s happening in the market overall. “The strong performance of the 55+ HMI at the end of 2017 is consistent with recent increases in boarder measures of the housing market,” Dietz said. “We expect continued growth in the market for new 55+ housing in 2018 due to favorable demographics, rising home owner wealth, and the current tight supply of existing homes on the market.” In other words, older homeowners have seen an increase in the value of their homes and are now looking to use those gains to find a new home or condo. This has pushed the NAHB’s index to record heights and indicates there will be a high level of interest in home buying among older Americans this year. More here.

Naturally, as home prices have increased, so too has the amount of profit homeowners see when they sell their home. Now, according to new numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions, homeowner profits have reached their highest point in more than 10 years. In fact, according to their Q4 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report, the average home seller profit has reached 29.7 percent return on investment compared to the original purchase point. Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM, says now is the most profitable time to sell in years but homeowners aren’t moving as often as they used to. “It’s the most profitable time to sell a home in more than 10 years yet homeowners are staying put longer than we’ve ever seen,” Blomquist said. “While home sellers on the West Coast are realizing the biggest profits, rapid home price appreciation in red state markets is rivaling that of the high-flying coastal markets and producing sizable profits for home sellers in those middle-American markets as well.” More here.

If you look at just about any reading of the current housing market, you’ll find that there are a lot of Americans interested in buying a home right now. Whether it’s because of pent-up demand that built up in the years following the housing crash or a drive to buy now while mortgage rates are still well below their historical norm, the fact is buyer demand is high. The most recent National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index provides more evidence of this. That’s because the index – which measures the number of signed contracts to buy homes – ended the year with its third consecutive monthly increase. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the housing market has started the year with a little bit of momentum. “Another month of modest increases in contract activity is evidence that the housing market has a small trace of momentum at the start of 2018,” Yun said. “Jobs are plentiful, wages are finally climbing and the prospect of higher mortgage rates are perhaps encouraging more aspiring buyers to begin their search now. More here.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates moved higher for the second consecutive week last week. Rates were up across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year loans. Joel Kan, an MBA economist, told CNBC that rates are being driven higher by economic conditions. “Rates moved higher last week driven by concerns over a weaker U.S. dollar, signs of more robust growth and rising rates abroad, and moderately strong fourth-quarter domestic growth,” Kan said. With rates rising, there was a decline in mortgage application demand. The number of homeowners looking to refinance and potential buyers requesting applications for loans to buy homes both saw a drop, with total demand falling 2.6 percent from the week before. However, mortgage rates still remain low by historical standards – though there is a belief that, with a strengthening economy, interest rates could rise further this year. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. More here.