Rental costs across the country have surged, jumping 13 percent over the past five years for a two-bedroom place, according to Apartment List data.But in some locations, the typical renter is paying $10,000 or even $30,000 a month. Realtor.com®’s research team pinpointed the cities where residents are paying the highest amounts of rent in the country. They analyzed two-bedroom rentals listed on realtor.com® in March and calculated the me
Homeowners are sprucing up their homes more this year, tackling several home improvement projects. Eighty-eight percent of homeowners recently surveyed say they performed a major home repair in the last year, and more than half said they managed multiple major repairs or home improvement projects, according to a new analysis by Porch.com, a home improvement website.Homeowners spent an average of $4,958 on home repairs and improvements in the past
Several cities in recent years have been adopting ordinances to punish or arrest people for sleeping on the streets. But a recent court ruling may set a precedent nationwide to make such ordinances illegal.The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers nine states in the western U.S., including California and Washington—ruled that cities can’t criminalize people for camping or sleeping in public without any place to go. The lawsuit—
Homeowners are paying more for property taxes. Nationwide, the average property tax bill was $3,498 in 2018, up 3 percent compared to a year ago, ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm, reports in a new analysis. The effective tax rate was 1.16 percent in 2018 (which is the average annual property tax).New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, Vermont, and Connecticut had the highest effective tax rates in the country in 2018, the analysis showed.“Pr
After posting their biggest drop in a decade last week, mortgage rates remain at multi-month lows—and borrowers are rushing to take advantage. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.08 percent this week, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. Mortgage applications surged 18.6 percent last week as borrowers locked in lower financing costs, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports.“Purchase mortgage application demand saw
Businesses are reportedly receiving letters and faxes from an entity called “First National Bank” that is offering lines of credit and secured or long-term loans. But federal authorities are warning that First National Bank is “not a licensed or chartered bank.”The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency sent a notice to banks and other officials across the country Thursday warning that “First National Bank,” which cl
The U.S. median home list price surged in March to $300,000 for the first time ever, according to realtor.com®’s monthly housing trends report. That also marks a price increase of 7 percent year over year.“The typical U.S. home list price has set a new high right on the cusp of the spring homebuying season, and despite a slowing growth rate, home prices will likely continue to set new records later this year,” says Danielle Hale, real
The two largest sources of mortgage money in the United States want self-employed loan shoppers to know that their chances of getting a home loan approved have increased.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have rolled out automated underwriting technology for lenders that take a lot of the guesswork and risk out of the approval process for mortgage applications of the self-employed.One of the reasons lenders have been reluctant to approve l
High rents don’t just hurt Americans’ pocketbooks—they could be affecting people’s health too. A new study shows that more than half of renters say they delayed health care because they couldn’t afford it. Medical professionals surveyed said they’ve dealt with patients who have expressed concerns and anxiety about affordable housing, according to the survey of 1,000 U.S. renters commissioned by Enterprise Community Partners
Bank of America announced on Tuesday a new $5 billion affordable homeownership initiative that will include down payment or closing cost help for low- to moderate-income and multicultural home buyers. The program is aimed at helping more than 20,000 individuals and families over the next five years move toward homeownership, the bank said.Bank of America’s Neighborhood Solutions program includes a down payment and closing cost assistance o
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