Tag: News

Interest Rates Can Price Some Buyers In, Out

Interest Rates Can Price Some Buyers In, Out Low mortgage rates can be a cost-savings boon to home buyers. But even the slightest difference in rates can price some out. The National Association of Home Builders, on its Eye on Housing blog, offers various scenarios of the price differences in affordability with interest rates. For …

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Is it time you had a mortgage checkup?

Is it time you had a mortgage checkup? Find out if your mortgage is contributing to your financial health. See Below for more info on if it’s time for you to have a check-up or not. Is it time you had a mortgage checkup? Find out if your mortgage is contributing to your financial health …

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Land Sales Rise

Land Sales Rise Land sales and prices both rose across property types last year, and an uptick is likely to continue into 2020, if at a somewhat slower pace, according to the 2019 Land Market Survey, a joint survey from the REALTORS® Land Institute and the National Association of REALTORS®. The study acknowledges headwinds, with …

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Homeownership Rate Climbs

Homeownership Rate Climbs Americans are facing challenges to homeownership, particularly with shrinking inventories of homes for sale, yet somehow more are still finding their way to becoming homeowners. The homeownership rate rose to its highest level in six years during the fourth quarter of 2019, a newly released report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows. …

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Ways to Revive a Lingering Listing

Ways to Revive a Lingering Listing You have a home that just won’t sell. Is the listing starting to look stale? Real estate pros recently shared with Forbes.com what they do when they get a listing that has started to overstay its time on the MLS. How do you revive it to renew buyers’ interest? …

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Winter House Showings

Winter House Showings   Selling a home in the winter can pose some challenges. Lawns aren’t as green and tidy, and the chilly weather can make it more of a trek for buyers to view homes for sale. HomeLight, a real estate referral company, surveyed 500 real estate professionals in the fourth quarter of 2019 …

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Buy now or wait a year?

Buy now or wait a year? Are you a millennial watching your friends and family thrive on the real estate market, and wondering if now is the right time for you to do the same? Today’s rates are historically low, bit real estate market researchers expect rates to increase by this time next year. See …

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Affordability in Multifamily Homes

Affordability in Multifamily Homes In expensive housing markets where inventories are tight, some buyers are finding it more affordable to invest in a multifamily property rather than purchase a single-family home, The Washington Post reports. The buyers can live in one of the units in the building while renting out the others to defray some …

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FICO Scoring Could Impact Buyers

FICO Scoring Could Impact Buyers The way FICO scores are calculated is changing this summer, and the move could make it tougher for some Americans to get approved for a mortgage, The Wall Street Journal reports. Fair Isaac Corporation, more commonly known as FICO, will soon start more harshly penalizing the scores of consumers who …

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Home Seller Profits Climb

Home Seller Profits Climb   Home sellers nationwide felt richer at resale in 2019. The average seller saw a home price gain of $65,500 on a typical sale, which is up from $58,100 the year prior, ATTOM Data Solutions reports in a new study. This marks the highest level since 2006. That also represents a …

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Counties Where Foreclosures Are Increasing

Counties Where Foreclosures Are Increasing The foreclosure crisis feels like a relic of the Great Recession. After all, foreclosure filings have fallen 83% in 2019 compared to 2010, the lowest level since tracking began in 2005, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm. Foreclosure starts also reached a new record low, led …

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What is debt-to-income ratio?

What is debt-to-income ratio? Calculating your debt-to-income ratio (DTI)  is one of the simplest ways to get a handle on your current financial health. DTI is the percentage of your monthly income that goes towards debt payments.  Lenders look at your DTI when they are considering your ability to pay back new debt.  Your debt-to-income …

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