Despite escalating home prices, Americans in many cities still can find it more affordable to own a home with a mortgage than to rent nationwide, according to the Urban Institute.The think tank’s research shows that a median-income family spends 28 percent of its household income to pay the median rent for a three-bedroom house. On the other hand, they’ll spend 25 percent of their income for a monthly mortgage payment (principal, interest, t
More households are feeling the strain in their personal financial situations and losing confidence in the housing market, even as the country sees solid job growth and record gains in the stock market, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ fourth-quarter Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) survey, based on more than 2,700 respondents.Tight inventory and weaker affordability conditions are prompting consumers to do
As housing prices rise, more households are tapping into home equity lines of credit. Residential property owners secured 393,602 HELOCs in the third quarter of this year, up 19 percent from the previous quarter and 12 percent from a year ago, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2017 U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report.Among the 120 metro areas ATTOM Data Solutions analyzed for the report, the following had the largest year-ove
Puerto Rico is bracing for a “housing meltdown” and foreclosure crisis after Hurricane Maria nearly destroyed the entire island in September, The New York Times reports. About one-third of Puerto Rico’s 425,000 homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments, and about 90,000 of those delinquencies are due to Maria, according to real estate data firm Black Knight Inc.Puerto Rico’s foreclosure and delinquency rate now stands at 35 perc
Mortgage rates were in a holding pattern this week, even after the Federal Reserve voted Wednesday to hike its benchmark interest rate.“As widely expected, the Fed increased the federal funds target rate this week for the third time in 2017,” says Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist. “The market had already priced in the rate hike, so long-term interest rates—including mortgage rates—hardly moved. Mortgage rates held rel
The rental market's decade-long boom may soon reach its finale, as fewer new renter households are forming, rental vacancies are rising, and rent increases are slowing, according to the 2017 America’s Rental Housing report, released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Still, rents remain high and continue to take a significant chunk out of households’ monthly incomes—more than what most experts consider “affo
Home buyers are putting more money down on a home, as the median down payment for a single-family home or condo in the third quarter was $20,000—a new record high, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2017 U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report. The average down payment equaled 7.6 percent of the median home sales price of $263,000, according to the report.“Buying a home has become a full-contact sport in many markets across the
The California Department of Business Oversight issued a warning to consumers to beware of email scams purporting to be from representatives of Impac Mortgage Co.The emails originate from a fake email address, impacmortgagecorp@gmail.com, and appear legit, using Impac Mortgage’s logo and invoking the name of CEO Joseph Tomkinson. The scammers are sending unsolicited emails to recipients, offering them loans and requesting that the recipient pa
A majority of recently surveyed homeowners say that changing homeownership tax incentives would restrict their mobility and cause them financial strain, according to new data from the National Association of REALTORS®’ fourth-quarter Housing Opportunities and Market Experience survey.Proposed tax bills currently in the House and Senate could “undercut the incentive of owning a home and would have a detrimental effect on many homeowners’ fi
Republican lawmakers in conference committee Wednesday announced a tentative agreement on melding the House and Senate versions of tax reform into a final bill. A formal vote is expected soon. The National Association of REALTORS® is seeking changes to make the final bill less harmful to homeownership. Here’s a Q&A on what to look for over the next week or so based on a Facebook Live event NAR hosted yesterday. Participating in the live di
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