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Home Owner News Archive
(MCT)—The race is on to finalize short sales and seal the deal on mortgage reductions as the Dec. 31 expiration of a massive tax break for struggling homeowners looms.
Since 2007, homeowners whose banks
The number of housing markets considered “improving” according to parameters established by the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) surged by 76 to a total of 201 metros in December, according to recently release IMI data. The index also shows that the number of states represented on the list by at least one metro increased from 38 in November to 44 (plus the District of Columbia) in December.
The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months.
October prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 6.3 percent in October 2012, the biggest increase since June 2006 and the eighth consecutive increase in home prices
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) released their latest statistics for existing home sales last week, and the numbers show both some positives and negatives regarding America's housing industry.
RealtyTrac® recently released its Q3 2012 U.S. Foreclosure & Short Sales Report™, which shows a total of 193,059 U.S. properties in some stage of foreclosure or bank-owned (REO) were sold during the third quarter,
Fannie Mae has announced recently that it will suspend evictions of foreclosed single family and 2-4 unit properties from December 19, 2012 through January 2, 2013. Legal and administrative proceedings
In order to help consumers gain familiarity with real estate auctions, ListedBy--an online real estate marketplace and social network with live bidding auction and ‘Best Offer’ functionality--has released a new tool
(MCT)—As Congress looks for new sources of revenue to deal with the looming “fiscal cliff,” a popular ingredient of the American dream could be on the chopping block.
It’s the mortgage interest tax break, which allows taxpayers to cut their taxable income by the amount of interest they pay on their home loans.
Long seen as an untouchable “third-rail” in Washington, D.C., the break is now on the table as the Obama administration and Republicans look for more tax revenue.
To give today’s buyers what they want in a home, you must first understand what they want in a location. Coldwell Banker’s new “Best Places to Live” campaign is pioneering a new lifestyle-based style of home searching, highlighting the idea that the way we view homeownership, and what we look for in a home, is changing.
“We are going back to the more traditional ways of judging the value of a home, and not solely looking at it through the financial lens,” says David Siroty, Coldwell Banker’s vice president of Communications. “Instead, the emotional and lifestyle value is critical.”
If you’re retired or nearing retirement, this may sound familiar: Your kids thrive on the hustle and bustle of city life but you have been there, done that. With family connections in mind, ERA Real Estate pinpointed five markets close enough to urban hotspots but far enough away to enjoy retired life.
“One day our children will leave the nest and naturally, as parents, we want them to soar,” says Charlie Young, ERA Real Estate’s president and CEO. “We also want to stay in touch and visit with them as much as possible without giving up our own lifestyle. Committed to delivering value to our customers, ERA Real Estate took a look at how retirees could enjoy this new phase of life without giving up too much family time.”
Sales of existing homes increased in October, even with some regional impact from Hurricane Sandy, while home prices continued to rise due to lower levels of inventory supply, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million in October from a downwardly revised 4.69 million in September, and are 10.9 percent above the 4.32 million-unit level in October 2011.
Nationwide housing production rose 3.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 894,000 units, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. This is the highest pace
The nation’s largest mortgage servicers have distributed $26.1 billion in direct relief to nearly 310,000 homeowners, or roughly $84,385 per homeowner as part of the National Mortgage Settlement,
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes posted a solid, five-point gain to 46 on the National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index (HMI) for November. This marks the seventh consecutive monthly gain in the confidence gauge and brings it to its highest point since May of 2006.
“Builders are reporting increasing demand for new homes as inventories of foreclosed and distressed properties begin to shrink in markets across the country,” says NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. “In view of the tightening supply and other improving conditions, many potential buyers who were on the fence are now motivated to move
The results of FHA’s annual audit sent a shock wave through the nation’s housing community as even agency officials could not confirm that the higher borrowing costs it will charge borrowers will be enough to cover losses.
The FHA reported on Friday that its annual audit shows that even if it stopped making any new loans immediately, the agency doesn’t have enough in reserve to cover expected losses on loans already in its portfolio. The result would lead to a $16.3 billion net worth deficit.
