Homeowners with a mortgage have seen their equity rise by 4.8% year over year. The average homeowner has gained $4,900 in home equity between the second quarter of 2018 and the second quarter of this year, according to CoreLogic’s Home Equity Report.“Borrower equity rose to an all-time high in the first half of 2019 and has more than doubled since the housing recovery started,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Combined
Mortgage rates jumped dramatically this week but stand to dip some in the near future after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates Wednesday. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to a 3.73% average—its largest week-over-week increase since October 2018. However, despite the uptick, rates remain historically low, Freddie Mac reports. So tell your buyers not to panic in the face of this latest hike.“Despite the rise in mortgage ra
Austin, Texas, is the top city for investing in real estate heading into 2020, ranking first out of 80 cities for its real estate prospects, according to the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCooper’s newly released “Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2020” report. Rounding out the top five are:Raleigh-Durham, N.C.Nashville, Tenn.Charlotte, N.C.BostonThe highest-ranked markets for investment and development prospects are those that have p
Existing-home sales rose in August, marking two consecutive months of gains, even as a limited number of homes for sale remains a pressing issue on the market, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday. Three of the four major regions of the U.S. saw an uptick last month, the West being the only region not to see an increase in sales.“As expected, buyers are finding it hard to resist the current [mortgage] rates,” says Lawrence
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by another quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday to a range of 1.75% to 2%, citing concerns over a global economic slowdown. Mortgage rates aren’t directly tied to the Fed’s interest rate, but they do tend to be influenced by them.Following its meeting, the Fed signaled that another rate cut is likely before the end of the year. It cited “uncertainties” about the economic o
Fewer homes were flipped by investors in the second quarter compared with the same quarter one year ago as profits grew smaller, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2019 U.S. Home Flipping Report. Homes flipped in the second quarter were down 5.2% from a year ago. Overall, home flips in the second quarter comprised 5.9% of all home sales during the quarter.Investors are seeing fewer profits from their flips. Homes flipped in the second
Credit scores are rising, which bodes well for mortgage seekers desiring the lowest rates. The average FICO credit score, which is a widely used measure of a person’s creditworthiness, stands at 706, a record high, according to newly released FICO data.For comparison, in 2009 at the end of the Great Recession, the average FICO score was 686. Scores averaged 690 in 2006 during the housing bubble.A FICO score in the range of 670 to 739 is conside
Homeowners are underestimating the cost of expensive remodeling projects, often by thousands of dollars. For example, homeowners’ estimate for the price of a kitchen remodel is off by more than $9,500, a difference of 48%, according to a new study from Discover based on a survey of 969 consumers. The kitchen renovation, one of several common remodeling jobs that researchers evaluated, was the most underestimated home project.“P
Many markets have seen significant price recoveries since hitting their bottom values in the housing crisis, but a quarter of markets still have not fully recovered, according to HSH.com’s latest Home Price Recovery Index. The index examines the home values of the top 100 metro areas from 1991 through the second quarter of 2019.“Despite years of economic expansion and improving real estate markets, a quarter of the nation’s most populated m
Increased demand and slow-moving construction are making national rents higher, according to new data from the RentCafe and Yardi Matrix. The national average rent in August rose 3.3% year over year to $1,472.However, rents are rising at a slower pace. The August data marks the slowest rise since February, the report notes. Ninety-seven percent of the cities analyzed saw a seasonal slowdown in August with rents either dropping or only r
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