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Home Builders Applaud Congress for Restoring Higher FHA Loan Limits

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently applauded Congress for reinstating for another two years the higher conforming loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), noting that this is an important step to help mend the struggling housing market.


Taking Action to Improve Economic Stability: HUD Announces Sustainable Communities Awards

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan recently announced the recipients of the 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants, totaling nearly $96 million. Twenty-seven communities and organizations will receive Community Challenge grants


Market Bright Spot: October Existing-Home Sales Rise, Unsold Inventory Continues to Decline

Existing-home sales improved in October while the number of homes on the market continued to decline, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.


NAR Home Buyer and Seller Survey Reflects Tight Credit Conditions

Recent home buyers are staying well within their means with notably higher incomes and modestly higher down payments than buyers in the previous year, due to the restrictive mortgage credit environment, despite historically favorable housing affordability conditions, according to a study released at the 2011 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. The 2011 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers is the latest in a long-running series of large national NAR surveys evaluating demographics, preferences, marketing and experiences of recent home buyers and sellers.


Delinquency Rate Hits 3-year Low as Boom Loans Improve

The national delinquency rate for residential home loans fell to 7.99 percent in the third quarter—the lowest reading since the fourth quarter of 2008. This represents a decline of 45 basis points from the second quarter of this year, and a drop of 114 basis points from the third quarter of last year. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported recently that the 30-day delinquency rate reached its lowest level since the second quarter of 2007 at 3.19 percent. Cumulative default rates among U.S. residential mortgage loans continued to level off in third-quarter 2011, furthering improvements that began at the start of the year.


America’s Future Homeowners: How Immigrants Will Integrate by 2030

The Center for American Progress recently released a first-of-its-kind study that projects today’s immigrants’ integration patterns through the year 2030. The report, “Assimilation Tomorrow: How America’s Immigrants Will Integrate by 2030,” is authored by Dowell Myers, professor in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California, and John Pitkin, senior research associate in the USC Population Dynamics Research Group. Myers's report finds that at astonishingly high levels, immigrants are projected to learn English, buy homes, acquire citizenship, and attain solid economic footing in the United States.


Breaking News: U.S. Will Remain a Nation of Homeowners

The U.S. will not become a nation of renters; there are just too many benefits, both financial and otherwise, to own versus rent. That’s according to the combined findings of several recent studies presented during the “Buyer or Renter Nation?” session held during the 2011 REALTORS® Conference & Expo last week. An analysis over a 31-year period across 23 metropolitan areas compared the ownership benefits in terms of appreciation and interest deductibility and the costs homeowners incur with down payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance.


The Best of Rand on Real Estate: Doesn’t There Have to Be a Recovery to Have a ‘Double Dip’?

In response to the clamor in the media about a double dip in housing, Greg Rand (@gsrand), CEO of OwnAmerica encouraged his audience to build up a resistance to the negativity, or you might miss a great opportunity.


More Young Adults are Living in Their Parents’ Home, Census Bureau Reports

Between 2005 and 2011, the proportion of young adults living in their parents' home increased, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The percentage of men age 25 to 34 living in the home of their parents rose from 14 percent in 2005 to 19 percent in 2011 and from 8 percent to 10 percent over the period for women.


Be the Intel Inside of Real Estate

I’m not talking about a computer chip. “Intel” in this case means market intelligence; a higher degree of product knowledge, competence and resourcefulness when servicing the asset class of American housing.


Third Quarter Results: Refinancing Homeowners Maintain or Reduce Debt

Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) released the results of its third quarter refinance analysis showing homeowners who refinance continue to strengthen their fiscal house by maintaining or reducing their mortgage debt. In the third quarter of 2011, 82 percent of homeowners who refinanced their first-lien home mortgage either maintained about the same loan amount or lowered their principal balance by paying-in additional money at the closing table. Of these borrowers, 44 percent maintained about the same loan amount, and 37 percent of refinancing homeowners reduced their principal balance.


NAR, Policy Leaders Propose Five-Point Housing Solutions Plan to Fed, Congress, Obama

NAR recently worked with two well-respected policy think tanks – the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) and the Economic Policies for the 21st Century (e21) – that organized and conducted a policy meeting on October 4. New Solutions for America’s Housing Crisis brought together policy leaders, industry representatives, Members of Congress, thought leaders and the media to present ideas and make actionable recommendations intended to stimulate the growth necessary for a sustained recovery in housing and extend an ensuing positive effect on job creation and the broader economy.


Trend Alert: Homeowners Opt for 15-year Fixed-Rate Loans

Consumer money resource Bills.com recently released its 2011 Third Quarter Mortgage Report. Driven by an increased demand for refinance loans, consumer traffic to the company's mortgage tools and calculators more than doubled from the second quarter. The majority of homeowners preferred 15-year fixed-rate loans as a way to combine lower interest rates with the stability of a fixed-rate product. Consumers in this quarter were also more accurate in estimating both their credit score and the value of their homes.


Jumbo Mortgages: How to Bag the Big Opportunity Today

Effective October 1, 2011, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lowered their conforming loan limits back to 2008 levels. And that means many home buyers suddenly need a jumbo loan to qualify for the homes they want. Real estate professionals who have worked with jumbo loans in the past know that the process and underwriting guidelines are far different than they are for conforming mortgages. So it’s important to choose a lender well experienced with jumbo loans.


House Budget Cuts Eliminated Nearly 400,000 American Jobs

Recently, a new report released by the Center for American Progress documents that budget cuts insisted on last spring by the U.S. House of Representatives cost the American economy nearly 400,000 jobs. The analysis tracks the impact those reductions had on employment in three specific areas targeted by the House for particularly deep cuts. Titled, "Creating Unemployment: How Congressional Budget Decisions are Putting Americans out of Work and Increasing the Risk of a Second Recession," the report examines the job-elimination efforts by the current Congress and the growing damage this is causing around the country.


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