Borrowing costs dropped to their second-lowest levels in three years, offering home shoppers an opportunity to lock in lower monthly mortgage payments.The lower rates are “supporting homebuyer demand and leading to higher refinancing activity,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Borrowers who take advantage of these low rates can improve their cash flow by lowering their monthly mortgage payments, giving them more money to s
Land sales and prices both rose across property types last year, and an uptick is likely to continue into 2020, if at a somewhat slower pace, according to the 2019 Land Market Survey, a joint survey from the REALTORS® Land Institute and the National Association of REALTORS®. The study acknowledges headwinds, with zoning regulations and obtaining financing as the top issues affecting land transactions. The survey is based on responses from
Scientists have released the first pictures from a new telescope in Hawaii, one of three missions expected to redefine our understanding of our home star in the 2020s Why is the sun’s outer atmosphere so much hotter than its surface? What drives its 11-year cycle of magnetic activity? And how does its solar wind propagate out into the solar system? Scientists hope to answer all these questions and more in the coming decade, thanks to an armada
You have a home that just won’t sell. Is the listing starting to look stale? Real estate pros recently shared with Forbes.com what they do when they get a listing that has started to overstay its time on the MLS. How do you revive it to renew buyers' interest?Lowering the price tag is one obvious way. But the property could just use a refresh. “Revive a listing, in my opinion, always includes staging, painting, new photos, and new angles,”
Selling a home in the winter can pose some challenges. Lawns aren’t as green and tidy, and the chilly weather can make it more of a trek for buyers to view homes for sale.HomeLight, a real estate referral company, surveyed 500 real estate professionals in the fourth quarter of 2019 to find out their top advice when prepping a home to show during the winter months.Nearly 30% of agents advised always making sure driveways and sidewalks were clear
One-third of first-time buyers turned to family and friends for financial help in purchasing a home last year, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®. Indeed, 27% received a gift from family or friends, the data shows.“Using family as a source of down payment help is most common among younger millennial buyers (ages 20 to 28) compared to other generations, and is more common among unmarried couples,” writes Jessica Laut
Pending home sales dipped at the end of 2019, with each of the four major regions reporting a drop in sales contract activity. The South saw the biggest plunge in contract signings, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings—decreased 4.9% in December 2019 compared to the previous month. Still, contract signings were up 4.6% over last year.H
Property owners have struggled with how to enforce no-pet policies on their properties with the growing number of renter requests for assistance animals. That’s why the housing market is welcoming the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s newly released guidance and clarity on how to comply with the Fair Housing Act when receiving a request for an assistance animal.News reports in recent years have grown accusing some renters of
Young adults may be eager to buy, but 75% of first-time home buyers say they’re overwhelmed about the purchase process, according to TD Bank’s First-Time Homebuyer Pulse of more than 850 millennial buyers between the ages of 23 to 38.Many have not taken the first step to talk with a lender before they start actively looking. Only 30% of respondents say they have spoken to a mortgage lender before starting their house hunt. “To put the cart
Home sellers nationwide last year saw a $65,500 home price gain on an average sale, the highest level since 2006, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2019 Year-End U.S. Home Sales Report. That represents a 34% return on investment compared to the original purchase price.The Western states continue to see some of the highest returns. For example, in San Jose, Calif., owners saw an 82.8% average gain, followed by owners in San Francisco at 72.8% a
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