Builders to get boost from dwindling foreclosures
Homebuilders should benefit from the drop in distressed properties in recent months, which might spur greater activity in new-home construction, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings.14 years ago
Back in style: High-end buyers reaching for ARMs
Once blamed as one of the culprits behind the flood of foreclosures in recent years, adjustable-rate mortgages are back and rising in popularity, particularly among luxury home buyers, The Wall Street Journal reports.14 years ago
Economists note appreciation, caution bumpy ride ahead
Sparked by rising home prices across much of the nation, the housing recovery is now under way, but fiscal uncertainties and other challenges could result in a bumpy ride in the coming months, according to economists participating in a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) webinar on the construction and economic outlook.14 years ago
Trick or Treat?! Seattle’s top five neighborhoods
A Zillow survey has just come out with a list of the best neighborhoods to trick or treat at in Seattle.14 years ago
Make room Mom: More kids, parents under one roof
More generations are sharing one roof, and households will likely only get bigger in the years ahead, surveys show.14 years ago
House flipping returns: Average gains nets $29,342
Buying up homes, rehabbing them, and reselling them for a profit was big during the housing boom. But when the housing market started to slump, these house flippers in search of quick profits nearly vanished.14 years ago
Mortgage boom leads to record profits for lenders
Wells Fargo & Co. and J.P. Morgan Chase are reporting record profits in the last three months, and they're attributing it to a rise in mortgage lending, Reuters reports.14 years ago
Check your home buying power – Seattle gets ‘C-minus’
Seattle received a "C-minus" grade in an affordability study of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to research released by Interest.com, a Bankrate company.14 years ago
Local home sellers asking 15 percent more than last year
The Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area is ranked No. 5 in the nation for the largest year-over-year increases in asking prices14 years ago
Barclays predicts next housing boom by 2015
The housing market has been showing several signs of recovery, including home prices and home sales on the rise, new construction up, foreclosures falling, and mortgage rates near record lows.14 years ago
Home builder confidence rises for sixth consecutive month
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes edged slightly higher for a sixth consecutive month in October, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).14 years ago
More local families taking advantage of VA financing
More Puget Sound-area military families and veterans are taking advantage of loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the latest statistics released by the department.14 years ago
Appraisals continue to hamper home sales – NAR
The real estate market is recovering but appraisals are one of the issues holding back home sales, according to survey findings by the National Association of Realtors.14 years ago
Distressed property shadow inventory continues to drop
Predictions that the nation's shadow inventory would rapidly rise have yet to materialize, as the shadow inventory continues to show signs of dropping, according to the latest report reflecting July data from CoreLogic.14 years ago
Wells Fargo accused of a decade of ‘reckless’ lending
The government has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Wells Fargo, alleging the nation's largest mortgage lender has engaged in a decade of regular "reckless origination and underwriting" of government-backed loans.14 years ago
Fraudsters posting foreclosures as fake rentals
Freddie Mac's fraud unit is teaming up with real estate professionals to sniff out bogus rental ads of foreclosed properties.14 years ago
Local residents hit by latest foreclosure relief scam
The Federal Trade Commission has filed three separate suits in federal court to halt the allegedly deceptive tactics of three operations that preyed on distressed homeowners by falsely claiming they could save their homes from foreclosure, and then charging them thousands of dollars up-front, while delivering little or no help and often driving them deeper into debt.14 years ago
Seattle rents up nearly 10 percent from last year
While asking prices on single-family homes posted their largest year-over-year increase since the housing slump began, rent gains continued to outpace home-price gains.14 years ago
Credit reports delivered to consumers, lenders differ
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a study comparing credit scores sold to creditors and those sold to consumers. The study found that about one out of five consumers would likely receive a meaningfully different score than would a lender.14 years ago
Apartments leading the uptick in commercial prices
Commercial real estate prices in September were up 6.2 percent from one year ago and are now very close to the peak prices achieved in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.14 years ago
Too low? Sellers say agents under price their homes
Many homeowners think their home is worth a lot more than it really is, according to HomeGain's third quarter 2012 National Home Values Survey Results of 300 real estate agents.14 years ago
More economists upbeat about housing recovery
The majority of economists surveyed by CNNMoney say the nation's housing market is finally showing solid signs of a turnaround.14 years ago
Despite gains, foreclosures remain eight times normal
While the national foreclosure inventory dropped in August to its lowest point since October 2010, it remained more than eight times the 1995-2005 pre-crisis period, according to Lender Processing Services.14 years ago
