Apr 08
Cities in Search of More Storm-Proof Trees Following a winter filled with snow and ice storms, more city officials in the Midwest and Northeast are taking a closer look at the stability of their trees and whether some tough choices need to be made to possibly cut damage costs of future storms. Ice layers …
Apr 07
Mortgage Rates on the Rise Again This Week Mortgage rates ticked up slightly this week, as the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.41 percent – more than a full percentage point higher than it was a year ago at this time, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Freddie Mac reported the following …
Apr 04
More People Are Moving South The population is shifting to the South. Between 2010 and 2013, 51 percent of the population increase in 52 major metro nationwide was in the South, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In comparison, the West accounted for 30 percent of the increase, followed by the Northeast at 11 …
Apr 03
Survey Reveals 15 Happiest Cities Are you in a happy place? Healthways and Gallup wanted to find out the well-being of cities across the country. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index measures Americans’ perceptions of physical and emotional health, healthy behaviors, work environment, social and community factors, financial security, and access to necessities such as food, shelter, …
Apr 03
Home Prices Likely to Moderate Soon Home owners have been enjoying big home price rises across the country, but those increases – often by double-digit percentages – will likely level off soon, according to CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index, which reflects February data. The index, which also includes distressed sales, was up 12.2 percent in …
Mar 28
Property Taxes at a 20-Year High Property taxes continue to increase, as the amount collected by state and local governments in 2013 reached the highest level in about two decades, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. About $488 billion in property taxes were collected last year, a 3 percent increase from 2012 and a …
Mar 27
Weather Chills New Home Sales to 5-Month Low Sales of new single-family homes dropped 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 in February, the lowest level since last September, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau report. “There is no doubt that the persistently bad weather took …
Mar 26
Chinese Buyers See Big Opportunity in U.S. More Chinese home buyers are shifting their focus, which traditionally has been on real estate in Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, and Australia, to snatching up property in the U.S., Yahoo! Finance reports. Chinese buyers were second to Canadians for the largest number of U.S. homes purchased last …
Mar 25
Use Specialized Scents to Entice Buyers Some condo developers are trying to lure buyers by creating customized scents that are aimed at creating positive impressions of a building. Borrowing from the hotel industry, real estate developers are creating memorable signature scents to sprinkle throughout their buildings, from the reception areas to the fitness center to …
Mar 24
Mortgage Rates Fall, But Rises Likely Next Week Freddie Mac says that the drop in mortgage rates this week may be temporary, due to the Fed’s recent announcement that it would begin winding down its bond-purchasing stimulus program sooner than originally thought. The Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday that interest rates could start to rise …
Mar 21
Investors Slowing Down on Buying Spree Big institutional investors are getting away from buying single-family rental homes in bulk and are narrowing their focus to only a few markets for future purchases, CoStar Group reports. The Blackstone Group, the largest institutional investor in the single-family rental market, announced that its acquisition pace has decreased …
Mar 20
More Homes Hit the Market in Time for Spring Inventories of homes for sale have increased 10 percent year-over-year, signaling growing seller optimism and a strong, early start to the spring home-buying season, according to realtor.com®’s latest National Housing Trend Report, which tracks 146 markets. The median list price edged up 76 percent higher …
