Jan 11
4 Strategies for Selling in 2013 AOL Real Estate recently asked industry insiders to offer up their best way to get a home sold in the new year. Here are some of the tips they offered up: Don’t hide, flaunt: If the home has, say, an oddly large-sized garage compared to the house, don’t …
Jan 09
Zillow vs Appraiser 2013 Article by: January 7, 2013 by MCoyle & Phillyappraisalblog.com “Zillow told me that my home is worth…” Appraisers across the USA hear those words at least once a week from well-meaning homeowners. What many homeowners don’t realize is that Zillow, while a very useful tool, is …
Dec 31
Home Sales Jump to Fastest Pace in Years. New single-family home sales soared to its fastest pace in 2 1/2 years, jumping 4.4 percent over last month, as median prices also rose, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The sales pace in November for new home sales was the highest since April 2010, the same time …
Dec 31
Force Behind the Rise in Home Prices? One of the main culprits driving the rise in home prices: The Federal Reserve, says Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel Inc., a real estate appraisal and consulting firm. At a time when unemployment is high, lending standards are tight, and the overall economy is still …
Dec 27
Survey: More Home Buyers Feel the Urgency Home buyers are feeling more confident that the housing market is in recovery mode and they’re realizing they better act soon if they want to take advantage of low mortgage rates and home prices before they rise more. Seventy percent of home buyers in 18 markets believe home prices …
Dec 27
Time Is Ticking on Tax Break Expiration The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 is days from expiring if Congress doesn’t act to extend it. If the act expires, home owners will be responsible for paying income taxes with no Tax Break to the IRS on a certain portion of their mortgage that is forgiven …
Dec 21
Are Young Adults Missing Out on Big Housing Opportunities? With low mortgage rates and fallen home values, some housing analysts are questioning why more first-time buyers—particularly Young Adults—aren’t flooding to the market. As a recent Reuters article questions: Could they be missing out on the “sweet spot” of the housing market by delaying their home …
Dec 21
FHA to Tighten Up Mortgage Standards in 2013 In an effort to make up for a large budget shortfall, the Federal Housing Administration announced it will publish new mortgage standards for certain home owners and replace a popular reverse-mortgage program on Jan. 31, 2013. As among the changes, borrowers with credit scores between 580 and …
Dec 21
Housing Permits Soar to 4 1/2 Year High Housing permits — a gauge for future construction — soared 3.6 percent in November over December, reaching its highest level in more than four years, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The increase is a sign that growth in new-home construction will continue through 2013, according to the …
Dec 18
Household Formation to Outpace Apartment Boom A big growth in new household formation is expected to drive up housing starts in the new year that will outpace the apartment boom, according to forecasts by Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. Nothaft is forecasting a net growth of 1.2 to 1.25 million new Household Formation in …
Dec 18
Incentives Still Help Seal Deals, Builders Say While home buying has picked up, some builders say reluctant buyers may need an extra push to get moving. Some developers are offering up incentives or discounts paid by the developer at closing to help speed up deals, finish out housing projects, and sell hard-to-unload homes. “[Incentives] …
Dec 14
Fed Plans to Keep Interest Rates Low The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it plans to keep interest rates low as long as the unemployment rate is above 6.5 percent. This was the first time that the Fed has ever identified an exact unemployment rate to be reached before it plans to raise interest rates. …
