Markets With Highest Mortgage Fraud Risks Mortgage application fraud rose in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to CoreLogic’s Mortgage Fraud Brief, released Feb. 11. Lenders tracked several areas of risk, including occupancy fraud, employment and income fraud, and property fraud. The report analyzes the metro areas with the highest mortgage fraud risk on a quarterly …
Category: Real Estate Tips
Feb 16
‘Real Estate Agent’ Most Googled Job Search Term
‘Real Estate Agent’ Most Googled Job Search Term The pandemic-fueled trend of the “Great Resignation” has prompted a lot of people to leave their current jobs in search of new roles. For many people, that very well may be real estate, according to research findings from Google. Google revealed the search trends of the jobs attracting the most …
Feb 15
Debt to Income Ratio? What is it?
Calculating your Debt-To-Income ratio (DTI) is one of the simplest ways to get a handle on your financial health. With our help, we can explore homebuying options to help you meet your goals. With the help of myself and Katy Sychterz of RoundPoint Mortgage, (NMLS# 183951 – 484.534.5107) we can explore homebuying options to help …
Feb 15
Couples Buying Homes Before Marriage
Thirty-one percent of all Americans and 41% of 18-to-34-year-olds say they’ve purchased a primary residence with someone they aren’t married to, according to a survey by realtor.com®. Further, 55% of Americans and 68% of 18-to-34-year-olds say they would consider it. “With home prices skyrocketing in recent years, it’s become even more challenging to break into the …
Feb 11
Supply-Chain Continue Slowing Home Construction
Supply-Chain Woes Continue Slowing Home Construction Building material prices, production bottlenecks, and labor shortages will continue to dampen the pace of construction and affect home prices this year, economists told a crowd at the 2022 International Builders’ Show in Orlando. Building material costs have surged 21% compared to a year ago. Further, more than 300,000 job openings went …
Feb 11
Buyers Purchasing Older Homes
Buyers Purchasing Older Homes Homes in America are getting older. With new construction activity having declined for more than two decades, buyers are purchasing older homes. In 2021, the typical home purchased was built in 1993—28 years ago—according to new research from the National Association of REALTORS®. For comparison, in 2011, the typical home purchased …
Feb 11
Fewer Homeowners Are Selling
Fewer Homeowners Are Selling House hunters feeling that inventory continues to tighten are right, a new report shows. The number of homes for sale is down 28.4% compared to a year ago, according to realtor.com® data. Two years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of active listings was 60% higher than today. Winter months …
Feb 09
Buyers May See ‘Whirlwind Year’
Buyers May See ‘Whirlwind Year’ Home buyers hoping for a less competitive market before they make their move may be disappointed. The housing market remains unseasonably hot over the typically slow winter period. In the January just concluded, the typical U.S. home sold faster than in any other January on record, according to realtor.com®’s monthly …
Feb 09
IRS Backtracks on Selfie Requirement
IRS Backtracks on Selfie Requirement The Internal Revenue Service says it will no longer require facial recognition software to be used to verify the identities of taxpayers online. In January, the IRS announced that it was transitioning away from having accounts use just a username and password at IRS.gov for managing personal tax accounts online. …
Feb 08
Competition Remains Strong
Homes are selling even faster than they were at this time last year as buyers continue to compete in the housing market. Housing inventories are lower as well, down 28% from a year ago. In December 2021, the National Association of REALTORS® reported that existing homes for sale fell to an all-time low. With fewer …
Feb 08
Mortgage Rates Hold at 3.55%
Mortgage Rates Hold at 3.55% Borrowing costs held mostly steady this week, but how long will the reprieve last? Mortgage rates continue to follow the trend of the 10-year Treasury yield and have stayed flat over the last three weeks. As the economic recovery continues through the spring and summer, mortgage rates are expected to …
Feb 07
Consumers Believe We’re in a Housing Bubble
A new survey shows that real estate agents are more confident about the state of the market than many consumers. Seventy-seven percent of home buyers and sellers say they believe there’s a housing price bubble where they live, according to a Redfin consumer survey of 1,500 respondents who plan to buy or sell in the next …
