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 …
Tag: News
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 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
How Buyers Can Snag Mortgage Rates in 3% Range
How Buyers Can Snag Mortgage Rates in 3% Range. Mortgage rates are at record lows, with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages—the most popular choice among home buyers—averaging in the 3 percent range for the last several weeks. So how can home buyers snag such low financing for their home purchase? Banks have tightened their lending standards in …
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 …
Jul 02
Investing In Real Estate Doesn’t Have To Be A Local Endeavor
Investing In Real Estate Doesn’t Have To Be A Local Endeavor If you are looking at investing in real estate, please take this word of advice – real estate investing doesn’t have to be local. Many real estate investors make this mistake, and as a result miss out on a world of opportunity. Sure, there …
Jul 02
Turn Your Garage Into a Fun Fitness Recreation Area
Turn Your Garage Into a Fun Fitness Recreation Area. When I was a little kid, I spent countless hours every week in my friend’s garage playing basketball. The ceiling was only 9 feet high, but I was so tiny the garage felt like a basketball gymnasium. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my …
