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(MCT)—Many consumers applying for a mortgage are going to start sharing more personal information with lenders next year, like it or not.
FICO scores, the industry standard for determining credit risk in mortgages backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration, largely have been based on a person’s credit history. But in an attempt to develop a more well-rounded picture of a person’s finances beyond credit, tools are being developed to help the lending industry dig deeper.
Structural engineers get paid big bucks to design buildings strong enough to withstand the damaging impact brought on by Mother Nature's fury. They use computer simulations to help them identify and mitigate stress-fatigue factors, which might contribute to the collapse of the building.
If you’re on the verge of losing your home, or you know someone who is, then you also know about the long, bureaucratic process involved in applying for a loan modification from a lender. The most common approach is to apply under the new Home Affordability Mortgage Program (HAMP),
U.S. News Media Group has unveiled The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012. The list can be found at
http://usnews.com/retire.
Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor of one of the world's largest residential real estate sales organizations, has announced the release of the CENTURY 21® App on Facebook. According to the company, the app provides CENTURY 21® System brokers with an innovative tool to help optimize their offices' Facebook ...
The September 2011 RE/MAX National Housing Report, a survey of housing data from 53 metropolitan areas, shows that the number of home sales were 7.6% higher than September 2010. This follows a trend from August and July, when sales were up 18.0% and 13.1% respectively. With higher sales, the inventory ...
There’s no question that as a society we are more mobile than we have ever been. With over 300 million mobile users in this country, a 96% penetration rate, it’s safe to say this isn’t going to change anytime soon, instead only increase.
Eliminating or curtailing the mortgage interest deduction would have a disproportionate impact on younger, middle-class families, who would see their ability to become home owners significantly diminished, with sober implications for their longer term financial prospects, the National Association of Home Builders
Property Panorama®, an industry leader in virtual tours, has announced its 2011 board of directors, officers, and directive.
Newly elected President and CEO, Mike Barnett is a fourth-generation REALTOR®, technologist and pioneer in the real estate industry, the company stated.
This week’s headlines from the National Association of REALTORS® include: customizable NAR brochures, have your laptop do PR work for you, and flood insurance stopgap extension passes. For more information visit
www.REALTOR.org.
Pending home sales slipped in August with a mixed regional performance but are higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 1.2 percent to 88.6 in August from 89.7 in July but is 7.7 percent above August 2010 when it stood at 82.3. The data reflects contracts but not closings.
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT—August brought both high temperatures and strong transactions in New England. Total transactions increased 2.3% vs. July 2011 for the second straight month, and year-over-year transactions also increased 8.9%. Vermont and Massachusetts were the only states in the region to experience a decrease in transactions; median prices were down ...
Statistics released by the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate (
www.usc.edu/lusk) show an increase in job opportunities for young real estate professionals and reflect an improving job market for the industry.
According to the USC Real Estate Employment Report, the Lusk Center received 150 industry job openings in 2011 (through August), a 25 percent increase over the same period last year. In addition, most students in the class of 2011 received more than one job offer with better pay. This year’s average total compensation package was approximately $120,000, a 15 percent increase over 2010.
Editor’s Note: Blueprint for 100 Deals or More Than $1 Million Per Year in Income: The Exact Systems and Technology to Sell 100+ Homes, Every Year—No Matter the Market, is a new book by leading real estate industry executives Alan Shafran and Rick Bengson that outlines how to build your business as well as make more money, please more customers and improve your overall quality of life, whether you are a novice or climbing the ladder in the real estate business. For the next 10 weeks, RISMedia will be running portions of each chapter every Wednesday, highlighting the in-depth information and invaluable resources the authors have compiled in this exciting, new publication. Alan Shafran sat down with RISMedia for a Q&A about the book to launch the series.
This week’s headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include: Access to 6 business building webinars for only $14.99, a message from Liberty Mutual, and promotional materials now available for REALTOR® Designation Awareness month.
