Mortgage rates fell slightly for the second consecutive week, taking a path that many economists haven't expected."For the last 46 years, the 30-year mortgage rate has been almost perfectly correlated with the yield on the 10-year Treasury, but not this year," says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "From Dec. 29, 2016, through today, the 30-year mortgage rate fell 17 basis points to this week's reading of 4.15 percent. In contrast, th
More than half of lenders last year gave loan estimates to home buyers that later had to be revised before closing, according to a new survey released by ClosingCorp, a provider of data on closing costs and technology related to residential real estate. Fifty-eight percent of recent home buyers say their initial loan estimates changed, citing closing costs, insurance costs, and taxes as the most common fees that needed to be adjusted.The survey,
Overall housing production declined in January after an unusually robust reading in the multifamily sector in December, but economists were unfazed. "As we move forward in 2017, we can expect the multifamily sector to continue to stabilize and single-family production to move forward at a gradual but consistent pace," says Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.Housing starts dropped 2.6 percent on a month-ove
A whopping 17.3 million single-family homes and condos, with a combined estimated market value of $4.9 trillion, fall in ZIP codes with high or very high risk of at least one of four environmental hazards. Those environmental hazards include superfunds, brownfields, polluters, or poor air quality (see box for definitions), according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ third annual Environmental Hazards House Risk Index.That represents 25 percent of the 68
Home affordability is more than the price a buyer agrees to pay a seller. In a new study, SmartAsset factored in closing costs, real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and mortgage rates for every county and city in the U.S. with a population of more than 5,000.SmartAsset pinpointed the most affordable cities and counties in its analysis by considering the total housing costs on an average house that accounted for the smallest proportion of t
Refinancing volume dipped to its lowest level since June 2009 and prompted overall mortgage application volume to drop 3.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Total mortgage application volume – which also includes applications for home purchases – is now nearly 31 percent lower than the same week a year ago.As mortgage rates have inched up, refinance applications have continued to fal
Technology and smart devices are radically transforming the home. As your clients take control over their houses' systems via voice activation, dash buttons, and other smart-home technology, Forbes.com asked its Technology Council to offer up some of their predictions on how homes will evolve in the near future.Less clutter. Information can be stored in smaller devices, which means fewer file cabinets and the like. Some owners may even opt for m
Having the spare capital to put 20 percent down on a home purchase is great, but it's certainly not the norm. Still, many people think it is and that belief may be holding some would-be home buyers back, particularly young adults.Indeed, 39 percent of non-owners say they believe they need more than 20 percent for a down payment on a home purchase. Twenty-six percent believe they need to put down 15 to 20 percent, and 22 percent say they need a do
The disconnect between homeowner estimates and appraiser opinions when it comes to home values grew for the second consecutive month, according to Quicken Loans’ National Home Price Perception Index. The average appraisal value was 1.47 percent below what owners expected in January.The shift comes after a six-month stretch where homeowner and appraisal value perceptions were moving closer to equilibrium.“Having a good understanding of the co
Selling a home surprisingly has a lot in common with online dating. After all, as realtor.com® makes the comparison, “there may be plenty of potential prospects out there, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect match.”The realtor.com® team pulls tips from dating services like OkCupid, Match.com, and Tinder and applies them to the homeselling process.Rule number 1: Hide the crazy.“Get rid of all the weird quirks or bizarre fascinat
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