Warmer weather means opening up your curtains and windows, and letting in the light and fresh air. But, with all that welcome air and sunshine sometimes comes unwelcome bugs and less privacy. Let’s welcome back a classic that can surprisingly solve both issues: lace!
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Interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage have climbed from 3.95% in the first week of January up to 4.61% last week, which marks a 7-year high according to Freddie Mac. The current pace of acceleration has been fueled by many factors.
Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, had this to say:
“Healthy consumer spending and higher commodity prices spooked bond markets and led to higher mortgage rates over the past week.
Not only are buyers facing higher borrowing costs, gas prices are currently at four-year highs just as we enter the important peak home sales season.”
Investopedia explains the relationship like this:
“The price of oil and inflation are often seen as being connected in a cause-and-effect relationship. As oil prices move up or down, inflation follows in the same direction.”
You may have noticed that filling your gas tank has become substantially more expensive in recent months. The average national gas price has climbed nearly $0.50 from the beginning of the year, leading to the highest price for Memorial Day weekend since 2014.
As rates go up, your purchasing power goes down, but don’t worry; rates are still well below the averages we’ve seen over the last four decades.
“Freddie Mac said this year’s higher rates have not yet caused much of a ripple in the strong demand levels for buying a home seen in most markets, but inflationary pressures and the prospect of rates approaching 5 percent could begin to hit the psyche of some prospective buyers.”
Buying sooner rather than later will help lock in a lower rate than waiting, as the experts believe rates will continue to climb. Even a small increase in interest rates can have a big impact on your monthly housing cost.
If you are planning on buying a home this year, keep an eye on gas prices the next time you’re at the pump. If you start to feel a big jump in price, know that rates are probably on their way up too.
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Landscape lovers rejoice: There’s a new trend sweeping Instagram and it’s all about stylish outdoor decor. Lately, every time we check the ‘gram we’re inundated with some seriously savvy outdoor setups, giving us an endless amount of decorating inspo.
So to help jumpstart your afternoon daydreams, we rounded up a few of our favorite outdoor design ideas. From glowing lanterns to cozy reading nooks, read on for seven of the best outdoor decor trends to steal from Instagram.
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Though Michelle Obama spent eight years in one of the biggest houses in the country, she didn’t always live such a spacious lifestyle. In promoting her new book, Becoming (out November 13), Michelle shared a sweet photo of her with her parents on Instagram, reminiscing about her “cramped apartment on the South Side of Chicago.” Celebrating both her parents and her roots, she teases a glimpse at what this tiny space looked like:
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Name: Marianne and Balthazar de Ley and pup Coco
Location: Logan Square — Chicago, Illinois
Size: 1,100 square feet
Years lived in: 5 years, renting
Marianne is the shop owner of The Savoy Flea, A Modern Antiquary Studio, in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, a store specializing in an eclectic, maximalist mix of Parisian Chic, Hollywood Regency, and Art Deco styles. Over the course of shopping for her store, Marianne has collected rare and unique pieces for the home she shares with her husband Balthazar.
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Memorial Day is around the corner, so we’re officially allowed to start planning our summers, wearing white jeans… and updating our TBR lists. One of our favorite bookworm communities, Goodreads, used their 75 million members to compile the most anticipated books of summer. They took a look at lists created by users, how many times a book was added to “Want to Read” shelves, and restricted their picks to books with a four-star rating or above (Goodreads members get early access to upcoming titles!)
The list has so many exciting picks—you’ll be able to find a new read for wherever your summer adventures take you. A few of our favorites below, and to see all of the books, visit their Summer Reading page.
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🏠Gorgeous 4 Bedroom Colonial Home Located in the Spring Garden section of Nutley NJ
🚉 Easy Commute to NYC
👨👩👧👦 In-Law Suite For Extended Family
This home has everything a home owner could want, granite counters, large open floor plan, a master suite with Jacuzzi tub that would be fabulous
According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are currently at 4.61%, which is still near record lows in comparison to recent history!
The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power.
Purchasing power, simply put, is the amount of home you can afford to buy for the budget you have available to spend. As rates increase, the price of the house you can afford to buy will decrease if you plan to stay within a certain monthly housing budget.
The chart below shows the impact that rising interest rates would have if you planned to purchase a home within the national median price range while keeping your principal and interest payments between $1,850-$1,900 a month.
With each quarter of a percent increase in interest rate, the value of the home you can afford decreases by 2.5% (in this example, $10,000). Experts predict that mortgage rates will be closer to 5% by this time next year.
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After over a year on the market, actor-director-producer Kirsten Dunst has just sold her charmingly boho penthouse loft in Hudson Square—at the intersection of New York’s coveted Soho and Tribeca neighborhoods—for $4.4 million.
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