Builder confidence rose for the second consecutive month in February with a seven-point increase that brought it to its highest level since last September, the National Association of Home Builders said. 

The 30-year fixed rate fell for the fifth week in a row, giving a lift to lending activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. 

Multigenerational homes are defined by NAR as homes where families live under the same roof with grandparents, adult children or other extended family members.

Average home values in Skykomish have more than doubled from five years ago.

Homebuyers can now afford $400,000 homes with $2,500 monthly budgets for the first time in four months, according to a new report from Redfin.

The median sales price of a new home was down on a monthly basis but up on an annual one. 

House prices, however, continued to rise, marking the 130th consecutive month for price gains, the longest streak on record, the National Association of REALTORS® said.   

The increase in builder confidence breaks a string of 12 straight monthly declines in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. 

Seattle was rated one of the most affordable cities for singles in a recent analysis that examined average salaries and median rents.

Geographically, the largest home-price increases took place in the Southeast, led by Florida (18%), South Carolina (13.9%) and Georgia (13.6%), CoreLogic reported, citing its November Home Price Insights report.    

Seattle was named a top 25 U.S. metro area on the Financial Health Index, released this month by TheCreditReview. The index examined major U.S. metro areas for municipal, business and resident financial health, calculating municipal revenue to debt ratio, new business

Regionally, the pending-sales index fell 7.9% month over month in the Northeast, 6.6% in the Midwest, 2.3% in the South and 0.9% in the West. 

At the same time, the median sales price of a new house slid to $471,200 from $484,700 in October and $430,300 a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported. 

The month-over-month decline in sales came as prices rose for the 129th consecutive month, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

New-home permits fell 11.2% month over month, while housing completions jumped 10.8% in what one observer said could have “worrisome” long-term consequences for the nation’s housing supply. 

Current real estate market conditions have not discouraged buyers from their plans of homeownership, according to a new survey from RE/MAX.