Most homebuyers spend about as much time researching their next television purchase as they do their mortgage lender, compounding mortgage lenders’ struggles standing out from their competitors.
The last time the average rate was above 7 percent was April 2002, a time when the U.S. was still reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
A number of agents in recent months have become adamant that we should all stop our buyers from writing “love letters” to sellers because these letters often violate fair housing laws. They also advised listing agents to avoid presenting any of these letters to their sellers if they receive any from buyers. I disagree with both positions.
Having a run-in with the law is one of the quickest ways to disqualify yourself from homeownership, and other bites of housing news for your holiday week.
In today’s high-pressure market, where being first with an offer isn’t necessarily the key to getting it accepted, the entire process can sap the energy out of even the most prepared wannabes.
Usually, sales and new home starts move almost in lockstep. But these are not normal times. In its latest poll, marketing and research firm Zonda found that 30 percent of builders reported taking “weeks longer” to start work. And 6 percent said they were “months” behind.
The share of Americans who would be hesitant to move to an area where most people have political views different from their own has increased by 31 percent since June.
Buying sight-unseen doesn’t mean you have to go into the transaction blindfolded. There are several ways you can protect yourself against the possibility the house you’re after isn’t what you thought it was.
Purchase mortgage applications declined last week after nine weeks of growth, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest survey.
For all the personal and financial damage the coronavirus pandemic has caused, it has also given new impetus to what had been a slow-moving trend toward healthier homes. And it’s easy to see why.
New and existing houses aren’t selling like they were prior to the pandemic. But people are still transacting.
In another indication the coronavirus is softening the housing market, applications for purchase mortgages fell by 11 percent nationwide last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
A company founded by a pair of housing nonprofits has launched what they say is the country’s first independent app dedicated to helping first-time and first-generation homebuyers navigate through the entire homeownership journey.
Homebuyers sometimes pour every dollar they have into the transaction. But it’s important to maintain a reserve, should something unexpected strike. A new study found that buyers with post-closing liquidity of three months or more were five times less likely to default on their mortgages.
A new study from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies has found the large number of Millennials entering prime first-time homebuying age in recent years has not compensated for the decline in first-time homebuying caused by the smaller Generation X from 1997 to 2013.
Wall Street’s anxiety over the Trump administration’s trade war with China could herald lower mortgage rates for homebuyers.
New data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that nearly 20 percent of households in the Northeast think they will move to a new home in the next 12 months.
Do you want to buy a house but worry that your credit profile will disqualify you for a mortgage? Take another look: A new study suggests that you might find lenders a little friendlier and more flexible than you thought.
A new report from the New York Federal Reserve sheds a little light on a question that’s been hanging over the American real estate market: Has the massive tax overhaul adopted by Congress in late 2017 had any effect on whether consumers want to buy or sell homes?
Sales of new U.S. homes slumped 6.9 percent in January, a possible sign that buyers paused during the government shutdown.
