Jul 08
What 6.5 Million Borrowers May Be Missing About 6.5 million borrowers could likely qualify for and benefit from a traditional refinancing or the HARP program, according to a new report released from the Black Knight Financial Services Inc. About 3 million borrowers alone could save at least $200 a month via traditional refinances. About 500,000 …
Jul 07
Fewer Home Buyers Pay All-Cash The share of home buyers using all-cash to pay for their real estate transactions dropped to the lowest level since November 2009, according to a new report by RealtyTrac. Nearly 25 percent of all single-family home and condo sales in May were all-cash purchases, down from 30 percent a year …
Jul 02
Amenities That Jack Up Sales Prices Americans will dig deeper in their pockets and shell out more cash to live near top-notch schools and in safer neighborhoods with access to retail and “artificial amenities,” according to a new study published in the Journal of Urban Economics. In analyzing 2,000 neighborhoods across the country, researchers found …
Jul 01
5 Issues That Will Impact Real Estate Demographic shifts from retiring baby boomers and the increase of millennials buying homes will have the most profound impact on the real estate industry in the coming years, according to a new survey of real estate professionals from the Counselors of Real Estate. CRE’s survey identifies the issues …
Jun 30
Study Questions Home Efficiency Upgrades A new study makes a controversial finding: Home efficiency upgrades don’t equate to much energy savings over the long run. The University of Chicago study analyzed a random sample of 30,000 low-income Michigan households that were eligible for an Energy Department home weatherization program. The study found that projected …
Jun 29
More Renters May Be Stuck Millions of Americans may be unwillingly stuck in rental housing. The nation’s home ownership rate has plunged for eight years, currently down to 63.7 percent in the first quarter of this year from a peak of over 69 percent in 2004. As the home ownership rate has fallen, the amount …
Jun 26
Housing Outlook Remains Healthy Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Chicago were singled out as the major housing markets with the healthiest outlooks in the nation, according to the latest reading of the Leading Index of Healthy Housing Markets (LIHHM), a report released by Nationwide that evaluates the healthy housing outlook of the U.S. and 400 metro areas. …
Jun 25
New-Home Sales Climb to 7-Year High New-home sales surged to the highest rate since February 2008, as the new-construction market continues to gain ground this year. Sales of newly built single-family homes increased 2.2 percent, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 units in May, according to a report from the Commerce Department. “Our builders …
Jun 24
Metros with Fastest-Growing Economies Florida is emerging as the new leader for economic growth, fueled by baby boomers and retirement communities. Oil towns had dominated in recent years but as the energy boom fades, growth has been tapering off. Instead, Naples, Fla., emerged as the leader on a list of metro areas that …
Jun 23
First-Time Buyers Fuel Latest Sales Boost Existing-home sales rose in May to their highest pace in nearly six years, largely attributed to a big rise in the number of first-time home buyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest housing report, released Monday. All major regions saw sales increases in May, with the …
Jun 22
Apartment Occupancies Soar to Record High Apartments are filling up nationwide. The national occupancy rate in May reached 95.3 percent, the highest ever, reports Axiometrics, a real estate analytics firm. “The May rate historically is the start of each year’s occupancy peak, meaning occupancy should remain at the current level or higher,” says Stephanie …
Jun 19
Lenders Feel More Upbeat About Housing Mortgage lenders are growing increasingly optimistic that demand for mortgages for home purchases will remain strong over the next three months. Fannie Mae’s second quarter 2015 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey showed more lenders are reporting credit loosening and there’s a strong demand from borrowers for home purchase loans. The …
