Mar 03
Owners Upbeat About Their Home Values Home sales may be off to a sluggish start this year, but home owners are still upbeat when it comes to the value of their homes. They’re willing to spend to preserve that value too. Home-improving giants Lowe’s Co. and Home Depot Inc. reported “blowout fourth quarter profits,” which …
Mar 02
Spring Housing Market Low inventories of homes for-sale threatens to dampen the spring selling season this year. Nearly 9 percent fewer homes were for sale in January of this year than a year ago, according to realtor.com® housing data. The tight inventories may mean buyers will face sticker shock with home prices. “January’s inventory data …
Feb 27
Loan Delinquencies Back to Pre-Crisis Levels More home owners are keeping up with their mortgage payments. The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties fell to a rate of 5.68 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the newly released Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency …
Feb 26
Home buying to Rebound Soon After several recent drops, mortgage applications reversed course last week, with those for home purchases jumping 5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest report. The rise, which reflects data from the week ending Feb. 20, also came despite higher mortgage interest rates, …
Feb 25
10 Metros Attracting Gen Xers Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1976, has had the sharpest drop in home ownership since the recession, according to U.S. Census data. Home ownership among the age group has plunged 9 percent since 1994, with researchers pointing to unemployment mostly to blame. But while there’s much talk about …
Feb 24
Builders Target Single, Female Baby Boomers Single, female Baby Boomers are emerging as a powerful demographic and homebuilders are taking notice. “They have diverse needs, and it is incumbent on us to develop communities that offer an overall experience that reflects all that they want out of life,” says Ryan Marshall, executive vice president of …
Feb 20
After Baby Boomers, What’s Next for Housing? As baby boomers age, the decline of this mammoth generation will have a “dampening effect on household growth,” according to a new report by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. However, this decline in growth will occur over several decades and may be offset by the millennial …
Feb 19
Home Owners, Appraisers Align on Price Appraisers’ opinions of home values are mostly falling in line with home owners’ estimates, according to the latest reading of Quicken Loans’ Home Price Perception Index. Indeed, appraisers’ opinions of home values were only 0.18 percent higher than home owners – the closest the two opinions have been since …
Feb 18
Millennials Delay Weddings for Home Ownership Home ownership may be worth putting off love, at least for millennials. Thirty-eight percent of American millennials (those aged 18-34) say they would – or have – delayed a wedding or honeymoon so they could afford to buy a home, according to a survey of more than 2,000 …
Feb 16
7 Ways Your Closing Gifts Backfire Showing thanks to your clients with a closing gift is a traditional way many real estate professionals seal up a transaction. A closing gift not only serves as a special treat to your home buyers and sellers, but it can also help make you more memorable long after a …
Feb 13
Successful Cities Invest in Technology, Energy Smart investments in energy and innovation earn San Francisco, CA and Austin, TX the distinction of being named the Best-Performing Cities in America by the Milken Institute. The Milken Institute ranked 379 metro areas to help businesses, investors, government officials, and public-policy groups track and evaluate the performance of …
Feb 12
Income Increases Boosting Housing Optimism The number of households saying their income is significantly higher than it was a year ago is on the rise, as is the number expecting their financial situation to continue to move significantly higher over the next year — both reaching all-time survey highs in Fannie Mae’s January 2015 National …
