Jun 27
More Americans Squeezed by Housing Costs Housing costs remain near record highs, with more than 35 percent of Americans spending 30 percent or more of their incomes on rent or mortgage payments, according to a new study by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. What’s more, 50 percent of renters are considered “cost-burdened,” …
Jun 26
Homes With Deepest Discounts For home buyers who want to score the biggest discounts on a distressed property, they better be prepared to start the bidding. Distressed properties with the biggest price discounts are those scheduled for public foreclosure auction, and they are typically homes built between 1950 and 1990 that are now vacant, according …
Jun 25
Solar-Panel Leases Turning Off Buyers The leasing of solar panels for a home’s rooftop is growing in popularity because home owners can start saving on their utility bills without paying any upfront money for the system, which typically can cost thousands of dollars to install. But the fine print of these leasing contracts may …
Jun 24
First-Timers: Take a Class, Save on Your Loan The Federal Housing Administration will be ending its public comment period in mid-August on a proposed program that would allow first-time home buyers to get a discounted mortgage if they enroll in housing counseling classes. The program, called Homeowners Armed with Knowledge (HAWK), was announced last …
Jun 23
Tech Features Coveted by Baby Boomer Buyers Access to high-speed Internet, nearby grocery stores, and hospital/medical centers were the top three community features desired by Baby Boomers in a recent survey. Philips and the Global Social Enterprise Initiative (GSEI) at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business asked 1,000 consumers age 50-80 about the use of …
Jun 20
10.6M Homes at ‘Very High Risk’ of Natural Disasters About 10.6 million homes, or 8 percent of the 131 million homes in the U.S., have a “very high risk” of being struck by natural disasters, according to RealtyTrac’s Natural Disaster Housing Risk Report for 2014. The report assigns a natural disaster risk score to …
Jun 19
Builders Turn to Agents in Finding Qualified Buyers Builders are increasingly reaching out to real estate professionals, hoping to build stronger ties so that agents will bring them more qualified buyers for their new-home inventories, RISMedia reports. Some builders are even stepping up their bonus programs and commissions for real estate professionals. About two-thirds …
Jun 18
10 Safest States in the U.S. Massachusetts was recently named the safest state in the U.S. by WalletHub, a personal finance social media network. In honor of National Safety Month, WalletHub set out to find the safest states by taking into account 26 key metrics, including workplace safety, climate disasters, crime, traffic accidents, employer …
Jun 16
Luxury Comes at Different Costs Local markets equate luxury housing differently. For example, in Los Angeles, the luxury market may come at about $4 million and up – that is double the amount Nick Segal of Partners Trust says that he would have put it at eight years ago. But in Houston, luxury housing could …
Jun 13
Amazon and Google as Mortgage Brokers? Apparently, many people would prefer to get a mortgage through Google or Amazon. A new study by consulting firm Accenture reveals that a large number of Americans would be willing to do their banking with non-financial technology institutions if the companies offered such services. If given the opportunity, about …
Jun 12
6 Ways to Turn Off Buyers at Open Houses Open houses can be a great way to show off a property to many potential buyers all at once, but you want to be careful to leave a good impression. USA Today describes common open-house mistakes that could be a turn-off to would-be buyers. Among some …
Jun 11
Buyers, Sellers Show Reluctance to Act Now Despite favorable attitudes toward the housing market in recent months, Americans are showing reluctance to buy or sell, which has restrained activity below typical seasonal trends, according to Fannie Mae’s May 2014 National Housing Survey. “Consumers’ lukewarm income expectations and reticence about the economy seem to be …
