The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that it is extending HARP, a popular government refinancing program, through Dec. 31, 2018. The Home Affordable Refinance Program was to expire on Sept. 30. While the FHFA has once again extended the deadline by another 15 months, this time it plans to introduce a new loan program to eventually take HARP's place.HARP, which was introduced during the housing crisis, helps homeowners refinance their mor
Value range pricing, also known as variable range pricing, is when a listing indicates sellers are looking for offers between two suggested prices, such as "$450,000 to $500,000," rather than just one price, such as $475,000. This tactic is still relatively rare, but it’s becoming more popular because it offers advantages to both buyers and sellers, according to realtor.com®.“Once buyers and sellers understand the rhyme and reason of the co
Mortgage guarantor's use of AVMs will be boon to buyers, gut-punch to appraisersWhen real estate broker Hank Miller explains the mortgage process to buyers, he gives it to them straight.“It’s going to be the biggest pain in the ass that you’ve been through,” he says.Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, government-owned entities that buy a large share of U.S. mortgages from lenders, are taking a big step toward alleviating this pain by eliminating
Mortgage rates can affect affordability more than home price appreciation, according to Andrew LePage, CoreLogic’s professional in research analysis.Low interest rates have helped mitigate some of the impact from household incomes that have failed to keep pace with rising home prices in recent months, LePage says. However, if mortgage rates trend higher—as they are largely predicted to—what will happen to affordability? LePage uses a CoreLo
Home prices aren’t on the rise everywhere. In some cities, buyers have actually seen prices drop in recent months. Though the national median price for an existing single-family home reached a record high in the second quarter, a handful of metros saw the local median price decrease from a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The 10 metros to post the largest year-over-year declines in median home prices are:1. Sprin
Lending firm 360 Mortgage Group has announced a new platform it claims will allow customers to receive approval for a loan in just 15 minutes and cuts down the closing process to as few as eight days. The company’s NOLO platform—which stands for No Originating Loan Officer—lets customers complete the mortgage lending process entirely online without ever having to speak to a loan officer. Because the program has advanced data mining capabili
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac has announced a new program allowing some home buyers to skip a traditional appraisal, which could lower the fees the buyers pay and speed up the closing process. Freddie’s Automated Collateral Evaluation (or ACE) will determine a property’s collateral risk by culling data from multiple listing services, public records, and historical home values, and then assess whether a buyer needs a traditional appraisal or an a
The boom in prices will impact middle-class families whose income can't keep paceSince 2014, the U.S. has gained 346 new $1 million neighborhoods, which can be a good thing — or a not-so-good thing, depending on how you look at it.According to Zillow, nearly one in 20 residential ZIP codes fall into this category because 10 percent of the homes in the area are worth $1 million or more.On one hand, the upshot of highly valued homes is due to t
Developers are turning to wood framing as a more affordable building material, but officials are warning of some dangers after reports of several wood-frame buildings catching fire across the country.Wood framing is increasingly being used in apartment construction and is largely considered safe once construction is completed. But wood framing can be vulnerable to fires before the interior wallboard and other safety features—like sprinklers and
Although more homeowners are gaining equity across the country, owners in certain areas are remaining underwater in large numbers. More than 5.4 million U.S. properties remained seriously underwater at the end of the second quarter, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q2 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater report. A property is considered seriously underwater when the combined loan amount secured on the property is at least 25 percent higher
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