Finance - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Equity-Rich Properties Surge Nationwide

Homeowners should be feeling richer. The share of equity-rich properties rose to a new high—26 percent of homeowners with a mortgage in the third quarter, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report.In the third quarter, there were more than 14 million U.S. properties considered equity rich, which is when the combined loan amount secured by the property is 50 percent or less of the estimated market val

Read More

Home Sales Are Rising Despite Supply Woes

Existing-home sales in October rose to the strongest pace since earlier this summer, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Tuesday.Total existing-home sales—which comprise completed transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—rose 2 percent month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million. Sales are now at the strongest pace since June’s 5.51 million.However, sales remain 0.9 percent bel

Read More

Homeowners, Appraisers Getting On Same Page

Homeowners and appraisers are gradually seeing more eye to eye when it comes to home values. The latest Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index shows that appraised home values in October were an average of 0.99 percent lower than homeowners’ expectations.That’s much better than it has been in the last two years, as rapid run-ups in home prices across the country have caused homeowner and appraiser perceptions to become misaligned. Over the

Read More

Puerto Rican Refugees Further Strain Housing

Florida is bracing for a potential housing boom as tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans flee to the state, leaving behind the island nation that is still reeling from Hurricane Maria’s devastation. But there are few answers for how to accommodate these refugees’ needs and what impact the population influx will have on Florida’s housing, school districts, and government agencies, real estate experts say.Puerto Rico—home to about 3.4 million

Read More

5 Trends the Housing Market Will Regret

Home buyers say tight inventory and rising home prices are causing several negative trends in the housing market. According to ValueInsured’s latest Modern Homebuyer Survey, a quarterly report based on more than 1,000 responses, buyers say the following trends will leave the housing market in a weaker position: The “no inspection” trend: 58 percent  The “offer sight unseen” trend: 57 percent  The “co-buying with strangers” 

Read More

Mortgage Rates Rise to 4-Month High

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached its highest average since July this week.“The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up 6 basis points, while the 30-year mortgage rate jumped 5 basis points to 3.95 percent,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Today’s survey rate is the highest rate in nearly four months.”Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Nov. 16: 30-year fixed-r

Read More

10 Years After the Crash, the Boom Times Are Back in Real Estate—but Way Different

As anniversaries go, it's a nerve-racking but inescapable one: It's been 10 long years since the widespread real estate crash that precipitated the Great Recession, and all the misery that followed in its wake. So it seems like the perfect time to take a giant step back, peruse and analyze all of the data, and assess what has really happened to the American housing market in the decade since.So where are we, really?Ever-steeper home prices:

Read More

REALTORS® Square Up After House Passes Tax Bill

The House on Thursday passed a tax reform package that the National Association of REALTORS® calls a tax hike on many middle-class homeowners and says would lower property values for all homeowners. “It’s disappointing to see this legislation move forward, but the real work to shape this debate is just getting started,” NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall said in a statement.The bill, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs act, was passed by a vote o

Read More

Would-Be Sellers Fear Becoming Priced-Out Buyers

With a seller’s market in many places across the country, why are so many homeowners reluctant to sell? Nearly 80 percent of more than 1,000 homeowners recently surveyed say they believe now is a good time to sell a home, but many don’t plan to list their homes anytime soon.Numerous would-be sellers say they’re holding off because of the high price they’d have to pay for their next home, according to ValueInsured’s latest quarterly Mo

Read More

Where You Can Find the Cheapest Mansions

For home shoppers looking to live in a mansion, they’ll find their money stretches the most in Arkansas. Home shoppers pay a median of $63 per square foot in the state, and the median cost of an 8,000-square-foot mansion is $504,000.Consumers who like big homes will find that mansions—homes of at least 8,000 square feet—are significantly more affordable in some parts of the country than others.GOBankingRates crunched realtor.com® data to

Read More

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