Owning Makes More Financial Sense As home prices and rental costs rise, more consumers are scrutinizing their best financial move: to buy or rent? Realtor.com®’s research team analyzed annual median rental costs versus annual median costs of homeownership (including mortgage payments, taxes, and homeowners insurance) to find whether buying or renting made more financial sense …
Category: News
Feb 05
Equifax Extends Free Credit Freezes to June
Equifax Extends Free Credit Freezes to June Following the largest data breach in the nation’s history, Equifax announced that it is extending its free credit freezes to consumers through June. The data breach this past fall exposed the personal information of about 143 million Americans, and has even prompted warnings from housing analysts that the …
Feb 02
Buyers Don’t Grasp Mortgage Basics
Buyers Don’t Grasp Mortgage Basics Many Americans begin looking for a home to buy without understanding the fundamentals of applying for a mortgage or what it takes to qualify for one, according to a new survey by Ally Home, a direct-to-consumer mortgage business. Ninety-two percent of the more than 2,000 U.S. adults who responded to …
Feb 01
Housing Market Starts 2018 on Positive Note
Housing Market Starts 2018 on Positive Note Contract signings on home sales rose slightly in December, reaching their highest level since last March, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, moved 0.5 percent higher to a reading of 110.1 last month, 0.5 percent …
Jan 30
Will Super Bowl Boost Housing in Host City?
Will Super Bowl Boost Housing in Host City? The Super Bowl attracts hundreds of millions of dollars in local tourism and retail business for the city that hosts football’s annual mega-event, but does it have a long-term impact on home sales? Realtor.com® researchers discovered that in host cities, there tends to be at least a …
Jan 26
REALTORS® Eye Chance to Grow Global Brand
REALTORS® Eye Chance to Grow Global Brand REALTORS® plan to further expand their brand to a global audience at the 2018 MIPIM conference, the world’s largest event focused on international real estate, being held March 13-16 in Cannes, France. At the tradeshow, REALTORS® from around the U.S. will have the chance to showcase their markets’ …
Jan 25
Home Buyers in a Rush to Beat Higher Rates
Home Buyers in a Rush to Beat Higher Rates Mortgage rates are moving higher, and that has some home shoppers rushing to locking in rates before they edge up even more. Mortgage applications for refinancing and home purchases increased 4.5 percent last week compared to the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage …
Jan 23
Ways Your Buyers Can Prevent Wire Fraud
Ways Your Buyers Can Prevent Wire Fraud With scammers increasingly targeting real estate transactions, the National Association of REALTORS® is teaming up with the FBI and brokerage Realty Executives International to educate the industry on how to identify and help clients avoid wire fraud schemes. A particular cause for concern is hackers who send fake …
Jan 22
Why Your Clients Hate Automated Messages
Why Your Clients Hate Automated Messages f you’ve set up automated replies to prospect inquiries online, you may be saving time—but turning off potential customers. Only 14 percent of consumers say they will respond to a message they perceive to be automated, while the rest say they’ll ignore it and move on to another service …
Jan 19
Fannie Offers ‘Healthy Housing’ Incentive
Fannie Offers ‘Healthy Housing’ Incentive Mortgage financing giant Fannie Mae launched a healthy housing reward initiative that offers financial awards to multifamily borrowers who provide services that improve the health and well-being of tenants living in affordable housing. These services could range from day care and food access to youth and education programming and job training. …
