Dec 24
Top 10 Housing Bets for Investors Investments in single-family homes for rental properties will remain an attractive venture in many markets in the new year, says Ingo Winzer, president of Local Market Monitor. Winzer notes that Texas and Oklahoma offer some of the best bets “with their low unemployment rates and ability to profit for …
Dec 20
10 States Facing the Highest Foreclosure Rates Foreclosures are falling, but they still remain a problem in some pockets across the country. Foreclosure activity in November was found to be the highest in the following states, according to RealtyTrac: Florida: 1 in every 392 housing units received a foreclosure filing in November (down …
Dec 19
Home Owners Stand to Recapture More Equity in 2014 The number of underwater homes continues to slip, with 791,000 properties regaining equity during the third quarter, CoreLogic reports. Currently, about 13 percent of all homes with a mortgage — or 6.4 million — remain in negative equity compared to 14.7 percent — or 7.2 million …
Dec 19
Home Builders End the Year More Upbeat Home builders are getting more optimistic over the single-family home market, specifically over current sales conditions, sales expectations, and prospective buyer traffic, according to the December reading of the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. “Following a two-month pause in the index, this uptick is …
Dec 18
Multigenerational Households a Lasting Trend? The recession set off a new wave of multigenerational households, which began to increase in late 2007. Fewer new households were created as more people doubled up to ride through economic hard times. College grads moved back home, and aging parents moved in with family. But as the economy …
Dec 17
Where Energy Bills are Highest In some states, homeowners are paying nearly twice as much as the national average for electricity. That’s according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the government agency responsible for the collection and dissemination of energy information, which released its most recent “Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price” report last month. …
Dec 16
Mortgage Rates Dip Slightly This Week Fixed-rate mortgages changed little this week, but remain near its highs in recent months. Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Dec. 12: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.42 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 4.46 average. Last year …
Dec 13
U.S. Sees Record Low Natural-Disaster Activity in 2013 This year saw a record low number of natural-disaster events in the U.S., despite a few highly publicized storms — such as the twisters that ravaged Central Illinois — according to CoreLogic’s annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis. The report covers hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wildfires, and …
Dec 12
Lenders Urged to Improve Foreclosure Efforts The Obama administration urged banks to improve their service of the government’s anti-foreclosure efforts through the Making Home Affordable Program and to use federal funds more effectively in helping to save struggling home owners from foreclosure. The U.S. Treasury singled out CitiMortgage Inc., telling the bank it needed to …
Dec 11
5 Tech Upgrades for Your Marketing With more consumers seeking out listing photos or virtual tours, there are several technologies that could help real estate agents jazz up their marketing now — and in the future. Matterport’s $4,500 camera allows agents to take photos of a room and transform them into a 3-D rendering that …
Dec 10
The Closer to Campus, the Higher the Rent Multifamily properties near college campuses often can equate to higher returns, and investors haven’t overlooked this sector for steady profits. But how close do you have to be to the college campus to see the highest returns? CoStar evaluated multifamily data of 10 college campuses to …
Dec 09
A Look Back: Trending Real Estate Stories From 2013 Real estate had a big year in 2013 as the housing recovery strengthened, and the public showed an increasing appetite for real estate-related news. Realtor.com® created a “2013 Real Estate Review” Web page that highlights some of the site’s top trends, data, and stories of the …
