Foreclosures in the fourth quarter of 2019 remained in the foreclosure process an average of 834 days, a 3% uptick compared to a year ago.

A home costs more than just the sale price. For example, closing costs—which make up about 2% to 5% of the home’s purchase price—are a major added expense. Michael Hyman, a research data specialist at the National Association of REALTORS®, shares the charges that make up closing costs in a post at the association’s Economists’ Outlook blog so that home buyers can be prepared.

Lenders provide a Closing Disclosure at least three business days prior to closing on a mortgage. But buyers will need to budget for these added costs ahead of time to avoid sticker shock days before closing.

Origination fees. This is the fee charged by lenders for processing the application and underwriting it. The fee typically ranges from about 0.5% to 1% of the borrower’s mortgage. Sometimes, it’s higher for smaller loans because “the fixed costs are a higher percentage of a smaller balance,” Hyman notes.

Service charges. These include items such as the appraisal, credit report, flood determination and certificate, tax status, pest inspection, title search and insurance, and survey fees. Appraisals and surveys can cost anywhere between $300 to $500 each. Title services can add up to about $2,000, so buyers may want to shop around for that.

Transfer taxes and recording fees. Transfer taxes vary by state but can run up to 2.7% in parts of New York. “It does not matter if the buyer or seller pays, as long as the transfer tax is paid to the government, so transfer taxes can be negotiated between the buyer and seller,” Hyman writes.

Escrow items. Homeowners insurance, property taxes, and primary mortgage insurance (if applicable) also are added fees. Buyers moving into a homeowners association may need to pay monthly dues for the upkeep of the community.

Hyman offers the following example for how these costs can add up: A buyer is purchasing a $275,100 home with a 5% down payment. The loan amount is $261,345. Closing costs are estimated at 2.5% of the loan value—so $6,533. The buyer made a $2,000 earnest money deposit, so they would need to bring $4,533 in cash at the time of closing. “Altogether, this means that the potential homeowner will need to have access to approximately $18,300 in cash to pay for the down payment and closing cost net of the earnest money deposit,” Hyman says.

Head to the Midwest or the East Coast for some of the biggest hotspots to cash in on a rental investment this year, according to a new analysis from TurboTenant, a property management tool. Overall, 31 cities from 20 states are featured in the report, which names the cities for the best rental investments in 2020. New York and Ohio tied for the most cities making the list, at three each.

“When identifying the top 31 cities, we looked for a positive ROI and high growth numbers across all data points,” says Sarnen Steinbarth, founder and CEO of TurboTenant. Researchers also factored in employment and population growth, increase in home values, and rental yield when identifying the top places for rental investments. Here are the top 10 metros to make the list:

Reading, Pa.

• Increase in home values: 11.1%
• Median sales price: $140,000
• Average rent (for a two-bedroom): $957

District Heights, Md.

• Increase in home values: 0.4%
• Median sales price: $252,000
• Average rent: $1,408

Allentown, Pa.

• Increase in home values: 19%
• Median sales price: $145,000
• Average rent: $1,063

East Orange, N.J.

• Increase in home values: 10%
• Median sales price: $273,000
• Average rent: $1,534

Nashua, N.H.

• Increase in home values: 4.5%
• Median sales price: $283,000
• Average rent: $1,524

Cincinnati

• Increase in home values: 3.1%
• Median sales price: $163,000
• Average rent: $1,048

Paterson, N.J.

• Increase in home values: 11.9%
• Median sales price: $268,000
• Average rent: $1,614

New Castle, Del.

• Increase in home values: 8%
• Median sales price: $188,000
• Average rent: $1,884

Rochester, N.Y.

• Increase in home values: 5.6%
• Median sales price: $136,000
• Average rent: $1,126

Hyattsville, Md.

• Increase in home values: 0.4%
• Median sales price: $279,000
• Average rent: $1,982

Homebuyer demand hit its highest level in 11 years, as January continues to shape up to be a hot month for the housing market. Weekly mortgage applications jumped 30% for the week ending Jan. 10, a sign that home buyers are emerging, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index shows.

“The mortgage market saw a strong start to 2020,” says Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting for the MBA. “Applications increased across the board. Lower rates provided a larger incentive for borrowers to act.”

Indeed, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased to its lowest level since September, averaging 3.87%, the MBA reports.

Applications for home purchases, a gauge of home buying activity, jumped 16% last week, reaching the highest level since 2009.

Refinancing applications saw the biggest jump last week among those applying for home loans, a 43% increase over last week. Refinance applications are 109% higher than a year ago. “Refinances increased for both conventional and government loans, as lower rates provided a larger incentive for borrowers to act,” Kan says.

A downsizing trend is occurring in new-home construction, with the declining number of bedrooms in newly built homes a solid sign of the change. The U.S. Census Bureau’s survey of construction data confirms that the number of bedrooms in the typical newly constructed single-family home is dropping.

The number of new single-family homes that were started with four bedrooms or more dropped from 44.8% in 2017 to 43.5% in 2018, continuing a trend that has been occurring since 2015, the National Association of Home Builders notes on its Eye on Housing blog.

The declining trend in the number of bedrooms has followed an overall trend of a decrease in new single-family home sizes, NAHB notes.

“These developments are linked to changes in preferences among home buyers,” the NAHB notes about the data on its blog. “With more millennials becoming prepared to buy their first home, the starter home share will rise, which means smaller homes and slightly fewer bedrooms.”

In 2018, the number of single-family homes that had been started with three bedrooms was the highest of all categories at 45%. Homes with four bedrooms followed at 34%, homes with two bedrooms comprised 11% of new builds, and homes with five bedrooms or more was at 9%.