Finance - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Average Homeowners Gained $6,400 in Equity in First Quarter

U.S. homeowners who have a mortgage saw their equity increase by 5.6% over the past year, according to the Home Equity Report, released Thursday by CoreLogic. The average homeowner gained $6,400 in home equity between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of this year. (U.S. homeowners with mortgages account for about 63% of all properties nationwide.)Some states saw larger gains than others. For example, Nevada homeowners gained an ave

Read More

75 Years of VA Home Loans - ‘We can Enjoy the American Dream’

It’s the 75th anniversary of the GI Bill, which created the VA home loan program—an avenue bringing military business your way. This week marks the 75th anniversary of the GI Bill, which provides financial resources to veterans who aspire to become homeowners—and serves as an avenue bringing military business your way. The milestone comes at a symbolic time, as June is National Homeownership Month. On Wednesday, the

Read More

What’s so Hot about ‘Cold’ Investments Lately?

More consumers are buying their groceries online, which has sparked a higher demand for cold storage warehouses and distribution centers. E-commerce food delivery services like AmazonFresh, Peapod by Giant, and Blue Apron are sparking an entirely new area of growth for investors, CNBC reports.“About 2% or 3% of all goods on groceries are bought online, and we expect the space could explode to 13% over the next 5 years because of the penetr

Read More

A Surprise Tops the List of Great Markets for Buyers

The top housing market for home buyers in the country is … drum roll … Albany, N.Y., according to a newly released realtor.com® study.The combination of low sales price growth and more homes for sale is making Albany a hot choice for home buyers, according to the study. The median list price was about $295,000 in April—about 5% below the national median of $310,000.“It’s a very middle-class, homey city,” Anthony Gucciardo, a local br

Read More

The Secret 5.9M Homeowners may be Missing Out On

A recent sharp drop in mortgage rates hasn’t unlocked savings just for those looking to purchase a home—homeowners may also benefit. About 5.9 million borrowers could see their rates drop by at least 75 basis points by refinancing their mortgages, according to Black Knight, a mortgage software and analytics firm. That is up by 2 million in the past month alone.That’s the largest population of eligible borrower candidates in nearly three yea

Read More

55-Plus Consumers get Special Housing Attention

Homebuilders and many housing analysts have been thinking about the evolving housing needs of the 55-plus age group. The size of the group commands special attention alone: Baby boomers (born between 1946 to 1964) stand at 76 million and are on the brink of a housing change in the coming years. The housing industry wants to be ready.For the first time in U.S. history, older Americans will outnumber children by 2035, according to U.S. Ce

Read More

Builders Launch Initiatives to Capitalize on Rental Demand

Builders who typically serve the homebuying market are beginning to allocate some of their real estate stock to the rental market, hoping to capitalize on strong rental demand. Toll Brothers is leading the charge, putting $60 million into a build-to-rent venture. The company initially will target Boise, Idaho; Dallas; Denver; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Las Vegas; and Phoenix. “We are investing in the single-family build-to-rent sector,” Tol

Read More

Financial Risks a Mortgage Co-Signer must Accept

Young adults with low incomes or poor credit histories may ask their parents to co-sign on their mortgage—and it’s a growing trend. The share of co-signed mortgages rose nationwide from 13.7% in 2015 to 17.4% in 2018, according to ATTOM Data Solutions.But there are risks to being a co-signer. “Whoever is co-signing has to bring substantial income because they have to be able to afford the new payments on top of all of their other debt,” E

Read More

Fewer Homes Selling above List Price

The number of homes selling at or above list price is on the decline, returning to historical norms, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index. That could be a relief to home shoppers whose budgets have been squeezed in recent years as home prices have soared.The share of homes that sold at or above list price dropped to 31.1% in March—about the same level as in 2000 and 2001. That also represents a big change from a year ago. In the second q

Read More

What Millennials are willing to give up to Own a Home

Young adults are all about making sacrifices and lifestyle trade-offs to get them on the path to homeownership, according to a new survey of 1,000 millennials, ages 22 to 38, by Chase Home Lending. Seventy percent of young adults say they’re willing to cut back on weekend activities, such as shopping, going to the movies, and splurging at the spa, at least once a month if it meant they could purchase a home in the next 12 months, the survey sho

Read More

This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.