MarketWatch: Weekly Real Estate Update for Riverdale, Bronx – 4/20/2026 – 4/27/2026

Did You Know?

* Many people relocate in retirement purely for lower taxes but in reality, multiple aspects should be considered. Here are the TOP 10:
1. Location: Do you want to live in an urban, suburban, or rural area? What region of the country? What country? What’s the economic trajectory of the region, the city, even the neighborhood, because all of those things matter in your well-being. What about the weather….12 months of the year?
2. Climate change and disaster risk: This impacts budgets. Running AC at full blast in summer. Or heat for 6 months? Insurance costs in high-risk areas? Vulnerability measure for 18 natural hazards, including wildfires, heat, hurricanes, flooding, landslides, and earthquakes. 
3. Cost of living: Even in a larger home, energy bills may be reduced considerably if you move from a place with cold winters and hot summers to somewhere more moderate year-round. 
4. Crime rate: Safety and security matter lots. Ease of mind too.
5. Healthcare accessibility – is an emergency room 10 minutes or 2 hours away? – and quality.
6. Medicare premiums vary considerably by market. 
7. Taxes: While some areas pose no state income tax, Social Security, inheritance, estate tax, or retirement income like pensions, IRAs, or 401(k)s, they often have significant sales taxes and property taxes.
8. Recreation. There may be nothing worse than dying of boredom.
Are there places to hike, bike, swim, ride horses — whatever moves you to, well, keep moving? How walkable and bikeable is a place? What matters to YOU?
9. Transportation: access to a good airport with direct flights? Mass transit? Traffic? How long are basic commutes?
10. Friends and family: socialisation is critically important. Being close to friends and family may matter more than anything.

* Housing contract activity in the greater Austin area soared by double digits last month compared to a year earlier. Even homebuilders, who for years have had trouble selling newly constructed homes in the area and have resorted to hefty buyer incentives, are reporting stabilizing trends. 

* The average amount a borrower with negative equity carries on a vehicle has jumped more than 40% since 2021 when car buyers rushed to buy cars at super-low interest rates, and prices surged. (WSJ)

Mortgage Rate Updates:

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell by 7bps from the previous week to 6.23% as of April 23rd, a third consecutive decrease since reaching the seven-month high of 6.46%, according to data compiled by the Freddie Mac. The drop loosely tracked the pullback in long-dated Treasury yields as energy prices eased from their peaks in the last week of March. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined again this week to 6.23%,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Rates currently stand at their lowest level in the last three spring homebuying seasons. This improvement, coupled with a pickup in purchase applications and refinance activity, as well as an increase in monthly pending home sales, underscores signs of improving momentum in the market.”.

Source: Freddie Mac