A lot of baby Boomers are retiring and looking to buy their retirement homes. According to the National Association of Home Builders, builder confidence has reached 76 for the 55 and older market. With the recent decline in mortgage rates, this has been particularly favorable for the demand on 55 and older housing. There could be slight challenges with the new demand of retirement homes being built for Baby Boomers. Rising construction costs and a lack of skilled labor, will present problems for builders, which could rev up cost.

For the last several weeks Mortgage Applications have been on the decline but that’s all changing. Within this past week, applications are on the rise and purchase season is picking back up. According to the Mortgage Bankers Associations, there has been a 2.7% increase compared with the previous week. Majority of new applications were from purchases. The average loan size for purchases has elevated slightly from $332,000 to $335.600.

Don’t forget before purchasing a home to take all cost into consideration, especially property tax. While property taxes range in price, they are calculated on the area you live in. According to ATTOM data solutions, property taxes have gone up on average. One of many reasons why property taxes are rising, is due to changes in the cost of government and the level funded by State taxes. Another factor in the rise of property taxes is that State and local governments are receiving less from the federal government and need to pay for all services provided by residents.

Down payments can feel like a looming cost and be the greatest financial barrier to home ownership according to research. However, there is a common misconception about the amount of money new homeowners need to put down. According to The Mortgage Report, new homeowners do not have to put much down at all. Most buyers put down only 10% in comparison to the 20% that many people think they need.