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Home Buying 101 Archive
RISMEDIA, June 1, 2009-Speaking to the National Association of Home Builders Spring Board of Directors Meeting, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will allow
RISMEDIA, May 20, 2009-Nationwide housing affordability jumped 10 percentage points during the first quarter of 2009 to its highest level since the series began 18 years ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). The HOI showed that 72.5% of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2009 were affordable to families earning the national median income
RISMEDIA, May 19, 2009-Unemployment is the highest it has been in 25 years. The DOW dropped to a record low in March. Everything is getting more expensive. These days we are faced with a lot of negative statistics and consumer confidence is suffering. When it comes to moving, one might ...
RISMEDIA, May 23, 2009-HomeGain, one of the first websites to provide free instant home values, announced the results of an extensive nationwide survey on home prices based on the responses of over 1,150 Realtors. ...
RISMEDIA, May 18, 2009-Historically high housing affordability and low mortgage interest rates, combined with buyer opportunities in the distressed sales market, have increased home sales in many areas of the country. "There has never been a better time to buy," said National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, who presented NAR's economic outlook at the Economic Issues and Residential Real Estate Business Trends Forum
RISMEDIA, May 18, 2009-Whether now is the precise time to purchase your dream home or not, there are certainly more than just a few good reasons to purchase-especially for first time buyers, according to John B. Bearden, president & CEO of GMAC Real Estate. ...
RISMEDIA, May 16, 2009-Staging your home before listing it on the market is a crucial step that many homeowners often overlook. While the competition continues to be fierce in today's market, homeowners must take the necessary steps in order to make their home stand out from the others. The International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSPR) offers 5 home staging tips to help you compete in today's market:
RISMEDIA, May 5, 2009-Pending home sales rose with many first-time buyers taking advantage of historically good housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, increased 3.2% to 84.6 from a level of 82.0 in February, and is 1.1% higher than March 2008 when it was 83.7. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said it should take a few months for the market to gain momentum.
RISMEDIA, April 25, 2009-The $790 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in February gives first-time home buyers an exciting incentive to enter the housing market-an $8,000 tax credit. Now the trick is getting them to take advantage of it. In 2008, the home buyer tax credit of $7,500 required repayment over a 15-year period. Under the new provisions, there is no repayment requirement as long as the buyer remains in the home for three years.
RISMEDIA, April 22, 2009-Many consumers are turning to portable moving containers as an alternative to full service moving providers, but is it the best option? Usually a container is dropped off in the driveway and you have a period of time to pack and load your own belongings. When the ...
RISMEDIA, April 15, 2009-The first major survey into Generation Y's perception of the U.S. housing crisis reveals a surprisingly strong sense of optimism about the future, despite cautious near-term sentiment. While the housing industry is readying for this wave of future homeowners (approximately 80 million strong), there is little data on what this influential buying group actually wants in their next home or how the current downturn has affected their future plans.
RISMEDIA, April 10, 2009-(MCT)-Slightly more than half of Americans think the U.S. economy has stabilized, and almost three in every four think it will take longer than six months for a massive economic stimulus program to be felt, an Ipsos-McClatchy tracking poll showed. A separate survey released by Ipsos, done for the Royal Bank of Canada, showed the first significant boost in consumer confidence since September 2008, when the global financial crisis erupted.
RISMEDIA, May 9, 2009-"There are five distinct strategies that can help home owners, buyers, and sellers successfully navigate today's turbulent mortgage and housing markets," said Gibran Nicholas, chairman of the CMPS Institute, an organization that certifies mortgage bankers and brokers. ...
RISMEDIA, March 25, 2009-Traditionally, real estate and mortgage professionals have encouraged homeowners to stretch - to shop for homes at the upper end of their affordability range. We wanted them to maximize their investment, and we were seeing property values and incomes rise, especially for homeowners who were first starting out. It all made for a very sound investment in housing. Recently, I have begun to question what an "affordable house payment" really means. Even some of the major players in the mortgage lending industry have different ideas of what "affordable" means:
RISMEDIA, March 25, 2009-In a recent interview on the Real Estate Now Radio Show with Ric Giumenta of EXIT Realty First Choice, Tami Bonnell, president of the U.S. Organization of EXIT Realty Corp. International was optimistic about the real estate forecast: ...
