Low Mortgage Rates Spark Serial Refinancing. Mortgage rates have been hovering at record lows, causing more home owners to lock-in the Low Mortgage Rates by refinancing their mortgages again … and again. Nearly 2.2 million home owners have refinanced at least twice since 2009, according to research compiled for The Wall Street Journal. Besides the low-rate …
Category: Real Estate Tips
Aug 29
Home ownership drops to lowest rate in 50 years
Home ownership drops to lowest rate in 50 years. The U.S. Home ownership rate is at a 50-year low with another 3.8 million borrowers closer to losing their properties, a report from John Burns Real Estate said Monday. The real estate research firm claims the true Home ownership rate is 62.1%, with that number including all borrowers …
Aug 28
Housing Market Shows ‘Sustainable’ Improvement
Housing Market Shows ‘Sustainable’ Improvement. Housing Market and prices are ticking up, despite a sluggish economy. In fact, the rebound has economists predicting that housing will likely add to economic growth this year for the first time in seven years. Existing Housing Market sales increased 2.3 percent in July and are up more than 10 percent compared …
Aug 27
First time Home Buyers, Where are they?
First time Home Buyers, Where are they? Fewer first time home buyers are jumping into the housing market nowadays, accounting for 34 percent of all buyers in July. While that percentage has inched up slightly as of late, it still remains far from the 40 percent levels first-time home buyers generally account for in the …
Aug 24
Short Sales to Get Faster With Fannie, Freddie
Short Sales to Get Faster With Fannie, Freddie. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday that it is issuing new guidelines that set out to more quickly qualify borrowers and speed up the short sales process. Among the new guidelines, home owners with a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will be able to …
Aug 23
Real Estate Investors Top 8 College Towns
Real Estate Investors Top 8 College Towns. Real Estate Investors increasingly are eyeing college towns to snag properties at discounts and turn them into rental properties that could potentially offer steady cash flow with student tenants. But which college towns offer some of the best returns? Realtor.com recently released its second annual list of the …
Aug 22
Customer Satisfaction With Real Estate Companies Falling?
Customer Satisfaction With Real Estate Companies Falling? A new J.D. Power and Associates study suggests that customer satisfaction with real estate companies is falling among home buyers and sellers. In fact, the study—in its fifth year—suggests that home buyer satisfaction with real estate companies, in particular, is at its lowest level recorded. Seller satisfaction is …
Aug 21
REALTOS® vs. FSBOs
REALTOR ® vs. FSBOs Survey Reveals Success of REALTOR ® vs. FSBOs Home sellers are more than twice as likely to get their homes sold if they use a REALTOR ®, rather than trying to sell their home on their own, according to a new survey conducted by HomeGain of 400 home owners nationwide from …
Aug 20
Housing Permits at 4-Year High
Housing Permits at 4-Year High, Builders Still Cautious. Housing permits — a future gauge for home building — reached its highest level since August 2008, rising 6.8 percent in July over the previous month, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. What’s more, Housing permits are up nearly 30 percent over year ago levels. Still, companies are being …
Aug 10
HARP Refinancing Continues to Surge
HARP Refinancing Continues to Surge. About a third of all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans refinanced in June went through the recently revamped Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP). That’s up from a 20 percent share in April. Additionally, the number of HARP refinancing deals with high loan-to-value (LTV) ratios went up substantially. According to …
Aug 10
First-Time Home Buyers? The 5 Popular Markets.
First-Time Home Buyers? The 5 Popular Markets. Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration often are a lure to first-time home buyers with its low down payment requirements. In some areas, FHA-backed loans are more common than others, creating hot-spots for first-time home buyers. Inman News recently identified the top housing markets for first-time home …
Aug 10
Retiring? How Long Should You Work?
Retiring? How Long Should You Work? How much longer are you prepared to work in the real estate industry before retiring? A new study says that any employee should plan to work up until age 70 if they want to be comfortable in retirement. About 51 percent of working households are at-risk if they are …
