An improving economy is turning up the heat on the summer housing market. The unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May as more cities and states reopened and many furloughed employees were called back to work, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday. While unemployment is still high, it's less than April's rate of 14.7% and well under the predictions of many economists. “There are signs that the better-than-expected jobs situation is already having a positive effect on the...

The LGBTQ movement has come a long way. This month rainbow pride flags are hanging in windows, flying on town street posts, and appearing in social media feeds of individuals and businesses. But as the nation continues to grapple with discrimination of all kinds, with "Black Lives Matter" demonstrations held throughout the country, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done—and housing equality is no exception. Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community are...

Anyone who's planning to buy a home, or thinking about refinancing the loan on their current abode, has probably been giving mortgage interest rates a lot of attention—and getting frustrated as they fluctuate up and down. The average interest rate for the most common type of loan hit a new all-time low of 2.94% on Thursday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That's for a fixed-rate 30-year loan. While that's great news for borrowers, who can potentially save hundreds of dollars a month as a...

An official recession, a deadly pandemic, and a national reckoning on racism aren't blunting the housing market's rebound. As the summer home-buying season gets underway, median home prices are surging. They shot up 4.3% year over year as the number of homes for sale continued to dry up in the week ending June 6, according to a recent realtor.com® report. That's correct: Prices are going up despite this week's announcement that the U.S. officially entered a recession in February. While that's...

Daniel Shiplacoff and his partner didn't know that their Spanish-style home at the foot of Hollywood Hills had a dark secret until after they had purchased the four-bedroom house in late 2000. The mixed-race couple were shocked to receive a copy of the original deed to the Los Angeles property, which dated to the 1920s. The document clearly stated that no one of African or Asiatic descent could remain on the property after 6 p.m., unless that individual was a caregiver to someone living in...