REAL ESTATE

Soaring lumber prices are holding back the already red-hot U.S. housing market.

So close, and yet so far.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dipped by nearly ten basis points to 3.04% for the week ending April 15, compared to 3.13% the prior week and 3.31% a year ago.

The figures underscore the severity of the housing deficit, which is a major factor fueling the current red-hot housing market.

Most homes don’t feature vaults large enough to keep a person inside.

As protests broke out across the country in the name of Black Lives Matter, the group’s co-founder went on a real estate-buying binge, snagging four high-end homes for $3.2 million in the US alone, according to property records.

This is the house where Oreo was built.

The housing market has been a pillar of economic strength during the pandemic, but many would-be homeowners, particularly first-timer buyers, have met with frustration because of a low number of homes for sale and consistently rising prices.