Ron Phipps, president of the 1.1 million-member National Association of Realtors, told a Congressional subcommittee yesterday that raising the down payment on FHA mortgages would put homeownership out of reach for many families. NAR estimates that it would take the average American family, living frugally and saving at the current national rate, nearly seven years […]
Your home sale has finally closed and it’s time to move. How do you choose a home mover and what is that company’s liability? More than 40 million Americans move each year for personal reasons and career opportunities. It’s a significant event in anyone’s life. Your money, your memories are at stake. It can also […]
A new study by credit bureau TransUnion revealed that consumers who only defaulted on their mortgage during the economic recession were far better risks than those consumers who went delinquent on multiple credit accounts, such as credit cards and auto loans. “This new market segment that the recession created is an important one for lenders […]
The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors Commercial Real Estate Index, a key attitudinal survey of more than 360 local market experts, shows a firming up of commercial real estate market fundamentals. The improving economy and job creation point to a growing demand for commercial real estate. The SIOR index, measuring the impact of 10 […]
An estimated 7,000 open houses have been scheduled throughout the state for the weekend of June 4-5 as part of Realtors’ Nationwide Open House weekend, according to the Washington Association of Realtors Approximately 75 cities in Washington will be involved in the two-day event. The idea started in 2007 with a county-wide open house in […]
Brett Butler from Windermere in Bellevue and Becky Barrick from Keller Williams Puyallup Realty were honored as members of Realtor Magazine’s 2011 “30 Under 30” class, an annual program recognizing 30 of the nation’s top real estate professionals under the age of 30. “I am amazed at the outstanding qualities and work ethic this year’s […]
Home inspections don’t always turn up everything wrong with a home, but unknowing buyers can quickly turn unsatisfied when they move into their new home if they find a bunch of problems. “The purpose of a home inspection is to look for material defects of a property: things that are unsafe, not working, or that […]
Law enforcement agencies throughout the nation reported a decrease of 2.8 percent in property crime last year compared to 2009, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Arson is also a property crime, but data for arson are not included in property crime totals. Figures for […]
Zillow Mortgage Marketplace’s most recent survey indicates that there are many aspects of the home buying process that continue to elude prospective homebuyers. Here are some of the more surprising results of the findings, along with five things homebuyers don’t know, but should: Mortgage rates vary daily A whopping 55 percent of prospective homebuyers don’t […]
With the summer rental season right around the corner, second-home owners hoping to rent out their getaways to travelers and vacationers are looking for creative ways to fill remaining vacancies in their rental calendars. Vacation owners, investors and others seeking to become full-time vacation owners and managers gathered recently to discuss creative marketing, finance and […]
Echo boomers – children of baby boomers – grew to the largest segment of home buyers in the most recent Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers conducted by the National Association of Realtors. More than one-third (36 percent) of recent buyers were ages 25 to 34 years old. This segment of home buyers is at […]
Existing-home sales slipped 0.8 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million from a downwardly revised 5.09 million in March, according to the National Association of Realtors. Those numbers are 12.9 percent below a 5.80 million pace in April 2010. “Given the great affordability conditions, job creation and pent-up demand, home […]
The U.S. continues to remain a top destination for foreign buyers as international purchases surged by $16 billion this year one of the highest increases in recent years, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity. Total residential international sales in the U.S. for the past year ending March […]
More than half (54 percent) of U.S. adults believe recovery in the housing market will not happen until 2014 or later, according to a recent survey released by Trulia and RealtyTrac.
Nearly one quarter (23 percent, or 11 million) of all borrowers owe more than their home is worth, according to the latest U.S. Housing and Mortgage Trends Report from CoreLogic, a provider of consumer, financial and property analytics. Current shadow inventory has declined slightly over the past year, but it will remain elevated for an […]
The housing market has been tough for many Realtors, with the median income declining 4.5 percent to $34,100 last year, which followed a 3 percent decline in 2009, according to the 2011 National Association of Realtors Member Profile. Members licensed as brokers earned a median of $48,700 in 2010, while sales agents earned $24,900. Members […]
April foreclosure filings were down in Washington, Arizona, California, and Nevada, with Oregon being the sole West Coast exception where filings were up, according to ForeclosureRadar.com.
Every few years, some committee floats the idea of eliminating the mortgage interest deduction on primary residences. It came up in again in Washington, D. C. recently, along with the possibility of delaying Social Security payments for many of the bouncing baby boom generation. The presumed goal is that by eliminating tax incentives for some […]
Competition from distressed properties kept homebuilder confidence in the new single-family home market at a low level in May, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released today. The index has now remained at level 16 for six out of the past seven months. Derived from a monthly survey that […]
Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, told attendees gathered for the National Association of Realtors annual midyear meetings in Washington, D. C. that he expects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to trend up to 5.25 percent by the end of the year and for home sales to rise 5 percent. “National home price indices are […]
Governor Chris Gregoire has signed into law SB 5083, clarifying the Business and Occupation Tax (B&O) on commissions paid to real estate brokers. The Washington Department of Revenue (WDOR) issued a new interpretation of a real estate statute that called for double B&O taxation any time a commission is paid to more than two real […]
The adult composition of home buying households has changed dramatically since 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors' Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 219,258 U.S. properties in April, a 9 percent decrease from March and a 34 percent decrease from April 2010, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace that follows bank repossessions, default notices and scheduled auctions.
