Foreclosures are surging in some locales, and some housing experts view that as a good thing for the housing market this spring. Foreclosures tend to be priced lower, and many markets are starved for inventory in the lower end of the market.Bank repossessions across the U.S. may have plunged to an 11-year low in 2017, but that hasn’t been the case in every market. New Jersey saw the opposite, with bank repossession hitting an 11-year high in 20
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering changing its mission statement to remove what it calls antidiscrimination language. HUD Secretary Ben Carson has been leading the charge and seeking to add in “self-sufficiency,” a major focus of his since taking the helm of HUD.A draft being circulated of the new mission statement reads:HUD’s mission is to ensure Americans have access to fair, affordable housing and opportunit
As home prices rise, more buyers are finding they need to earn more to break into some housing markets. SmartAsset, a personal finance resource, recently analyzed the salary residents need to buy a median-priced home in 15 of the nation’s largest cities.In some cities, buyers may need to bring more than just savings from a paycheck. For example, in three big cities—San Francisco, San Jose, Calif., and New York—buyers need to make more than
Commercial real estate executives say this year’s increase in interest rates is what has them the most worried about the impact to commercial real estate markets in 2018, according to a new sentiment survey released by Seyfarth Shaw, a law firm. Commercial executives are bracing for multiple rate increases throughout the year, too.Low unemployment and a strong economy should be giving a boost to the executives’ outlook, but instead they said
New-home sales may have started 2018 by softening, but that hasn’t made Freddie Mac economists lose their optimism that the sector will be key to driving the housing market in 2018. New-home sales plunged 7.8 percent in January month over month, but economists remain hopeful.“While existing home sales may struggle to top their best-in-over-a-decade 2017 performance, new home sales should provide enough growth to push total home sales in the U
Residents from other countries are increasingly eyeing U.S. real estate as a good investment, and they’re making up a significant portion of buyers in some markets. But who is coming is changing.Chinese buyers have been the biggest portion, spending the most of any foreign group on U.S. real estate. They spent $31.7 billion on residential real estate in the U.S. between April 2016 and March 2017, according to the National Association of REALTOR
Home buyers are stretching their searches beyond inventory-starved suburbs of major metros to under-the-radar secondary markets, according to a new report released this week by realtor.com®.“Buyers have traditionally sought refuge in the suburbs during times of high home prices,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com®. “But with today’s record highs, even the suburbs have gotten pricey, which has demand floo
For the eighth consecutive week, borrowing costs were on the rise.“Optimistic testimony on Capitol Hill from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sent Treasury yields higher as Powell stated his outlook for the economy has strengthened since December,” says Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist. “Following Treasurys, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped 3 basis points to reach 4.43 percent in this week’s survey. The 30-ye
Tight inventories mixed with high demand are pressing prices higher in many markets. As such, a growing number of real estate pros say that their home sellers are seeing their properties sell beyond the asking price.Thirty-four percent of properties that closed in January sold at or above the list price, according to the January 2018 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey, a survey of real estate professionals about their latest transactions. That i
Spring may have already sprung in the housing market. List prices have begun their traditional spring climb, reaching the median high from last summer of $275,000, realtor.com® reports.“Rapid mortgage rate jumps, and confirmation of a brighter economic outlook have inflated the pool of home buyers early in the year, putting an extra squeeze on the mid- and entry-level market,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com®
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