Take the stress out of shopping with these easy, affordable, crowd-pleasing gifts. Better Homes & Gardens / Marcus Millán Shopping for gifts is a stressful experience if you don’t know where to start. Amazon is a convenient place to shop thanks to Prime’s fast and free shipping, but the thousands of options can be overwhelming. Whether you’re shopping for family, friends, neighbors, or...

These underrated trees offer a ton of beauty, adaptability, and wildlife value. Lynn Karlin  The recent decimation of our native ash trees because of a tiny insect proves that everyone planting the same type of tree, yard after yard, is not a smart idea. Not only that, but when you play “follow the leader,” you miss out on the chance to plant something unique. A diverse plant selection adds...

Find out when and how to deadhead mums so they continue blooming as long as possible. Carson Downing Knowing when and how to deadhead mums can help prolong blooming and keep your plants looking their best all season long. Removing faded flowers (called deadheading) interrupts the plant's goal of making seeds. If the plant succeeds in setting seeds, it tapers off on blooming, and you’ll be back...

This all-natural cleaning hack has been our go-to for more than 70 years. Getty Images / Rattankun Thongbun The Better Homes and Gardens editors have been sharing cleaning advice for more than a century, but not all of our scrubbing methods have stood the test of time. As cleaning products and tools have evolved, we’ve updated our best practices—but there are a few vintage cleaning tips that...

According to the latest Commercial Delinquency Report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), U.S. commercial mortgage delinquencies rose in the second quarter of 2024. The MBA's quarterly analysis examines delinquency rates for five major investor groups: commercial banks and thrifts, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), life insurance companies, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Collectively,...

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Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, has set ambitious goals to increase market share by 2027 using its multichannel reach, its origination and servicing flywheel, and its advanced technology platform. Rocket aims to double its current market share in purchase mortgages from 4% to 8% and expand its refinance share from 12% to 20%, executives said during the company’s first Investor Day...

In a traditional sense, the term “silver tsunami” refers to pent-up housing stock that older homeowners will eventually choose to sell, which would have the effect of flooding the market with new inventory. But if prior suppositions about this trend being overblown failed to convince people, new data might make things clearer. More than half (54%) of baby boomers have no intention of ever selling...

In the August rate update, I explained why over 99% of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) are variable interest rate loans and the advantages of this over the fixed-rate counterpart. Some of those advantages improve over time, like the organic line-of-credit growth. So, would it make sense to apply right away, even though rates may decline in the future? According to conventional wisdom,...

In a little more than a week, Federal Reserve policymakers are poised to lower benchmark interest rates for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of that decision, mortgage rates continued to decline, although a surge of borrowers has yet to appear. At HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center on Tuesday, the average 30-year conforming loan rate was 6.47%, down 13 basis points (bps)...