Home Owner Insurance Deductibles on the Rise. Home owners beware: “Your home owner insurance now probably covers less while costing more,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Home owner insurance deductibles have been rising the last few years, as home owners who may have once seen $250 to $500 a claim soar to $1,000 to $2,500 a …
Category: Real Estate Tips
Jul 16
Mortgages Continue Record-Breaking
Mortgages Continue Record-Breaking. Record-reaching rates have practically become a weekly mainstay the last few weeks for 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. For the past 16 weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage alone has averaged below 4 percent, increasing affordability by cheapening the costs of borrowing. In its weekly mortgage market survey, Freddie Mac reports that average …
Jul 16
Home Owners Gain Equity
Home Owners Gain Equity. Rebounding home prices are lowering the number of home owners who are considered “underwater” on their mortgage, according to a new report by CoreLogic. More than 700,000 home owners are no longer considered “underwater,” owing more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth. At the end of March, 23.7 …
Jul 13
Housing Crisis Over?
Housing Crisis Over? It’s official: The Housing Crisis market has reached bottom, at least according to 44 forecasters surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Only three economists surveyed said they didn’t think the market had reached bottom yet. The recent momentum in housing has plenty of economists and forecasters convinced that the worst is behind. According …
Jul 12
Hidden ‘Second’ Foreclosure Crisis?
Hidden ‘Second’ Foreclosure Crisis? An unpaid tax bill of just $400 could cost you your entire home in some states. A new report is calling such growing cases a second “foreclosure crisis.” Local governments are stepping up their efforts to collect unpaid taxes from home owners, facing shortfalls in their budgets to pay for services …
Jul 11
Americans See More Opportunity in Housing
Americans See More Opportunity in Housing. While Americans are more pessimistic about the direction of the economy, their optimism regarding the housing market continues to grow, according to Fannie Mae’s June 2012 National Housing Survey. Low prices and record-low interest rates are helping to lift Americans’ views on housing, according to the survey. “While Americans remain …
Jul 10
FHA Loans Post Higher Delinquencies, Foreclosures
FHA Loans Post Higher Delinquencies, Foreclosure. At a time when the mortgage market is seeing steady signs of improvement, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) continue to see an increase in the number of borrowers seriously delinquent on their mortgage and falling into foreclosure, according to a new quarterly report issued by the …
Jul 10
Retail Real Estate Inches Toward Recovery
Retail Real Estate Inches Toward Recovery. The rows of vacant shopping centers plaguing many U.S. cities may slowly be vanishing. For the second quarter in a row, vacancy rates improved while rents continued to inch up in the retail real estate market, signaling a recovery for the hardest-hit commercial sector, according to Reis, a commercial real …
Jul 06
American Renters Getting Squeezed
American Renters Getting Squeezed. Rents continue to inch upwards and many renters say they know it would be cheaper to buy a home than rent, but they can’t qualify for a mortgage, Reuters News reports. With rising demand for rentals, landlords are increasing their rents and some cities are even posting double-digit percentage rental increases …
Jul 06
How Agents Are Investing in Their Business
How Agents Are Investing in Their Business. Real estate professionals are investing in a number of tools to expand their reach to customers. According to a new survey by ActiveRain of 2,000 real estate agents, 63 percent of respondents say they have their own Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Web site, which features home listing feeds …
Jul 03
For Those Selling Farms, Big Money Follows
For Those Selling Farms, Big Money Follows. Sellers are cashing in on a farmland boom taking hold across rural America. “We’ve never been here before. It’s a windfall at the moment,” says Chuck Wingert of Wingert Realty & Land Services, a farm auction company in Mankato, Minn. Farmland values have soared in recent years. Earlier …
Jul 03
5 ‘Must-Do’s Project for July
5 ‘Must-Do’s Project for July. by Bob Vila July ushers in the start of summer, which translates into outdoor living, grilling and staying cool. But this month, like any other, there are things you can do to improve your summer living; things that will bring you more opportunity for leisure-time pursuits, while still keeping your …
