As the market for vacation homes continues to forge ahead at an almost unprecedented pace, the two major suppliers of financing funds have put a lid on the number of mortgages for such properties they will buy from primary lenders.
Nothing is more important in the sale of a house than an examination of the structure by an independent home inspector. But in today’s overheated selling frenzy, many buyers facing competition are crossing out the inspection clauses in their contracts.
According to a recent study, single women pay 2 percent more than single men for the very same house. And when the time comes to move, they sell for 2 percent less. Why?
In today’s high-pressure market, where being first with an offer isn’t necessarily the key to getting it accepted, the entire process can sap the energy out of even the most prepared wannabes.
Thanks to the unusually large jump in housing prices over the last 12 months, plus a major shortfall in state and county revenue from other sources, your property taxes may well increase by 2023.
Looking for waterfront property but finding it way out of your league? Consider a houseboat. And they’re back now – bigger and better than ever.
First came Crystal Lagoons – human-created bodies of water that can transform landlocked real estate into waterfront housing developments. Now comes Wavegarden: a water park that turns inland housing developments into surfing destinations.
Chris Ann Cleland is a self-described “stickler for details.” That’s why the associate broker for Long & Foster Real Estate, almost blew a gasket the other day when she toured a house for sale.
The reason? Climate change: The heating and cooling of buildings accounts for roughly 10 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
In an unusual, if not unprecedented, move for a major trade organization, the National Association of Realtors has taken full ownership for any and all discriminatory actions taken over the years by the 1.4 million agents and brokers for which it speaks.
Depending on the outcome of three major lawsuits challenging commission structures in the real estate field, the way agents get paid could change – for the better, according to one seasoned observer.
In a little-known civil action, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating the real estate affiliate of Quicken Loans for allegedly illegal kickbacks.
More than two-thirds of those surveyed have gotten to know their neighbors better during the pandemic. Almost that many have made an effort to be more friendly than usual.
When the conversation turns to the nation’s affordable housing crisis, the talk is usually about ever-higher house prices and the cost of regulations.
People shopping for new, more spacious single-family houses in this heated market may be overlooking places that meet most, if not all, of their needs: townhouses and condominiums.
When it comes to credit scores, low-income folks have far less knowledge, according to the results of a recent quiz developed by the Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore. But even high-income respondents didn’t have all the answers.
According to the latest figures from the USDA’s Rural Development agency, the number of loans under its single-family guaranteed loan program at the midyear mark is up 38 percent from the same point a year ago.
Despite lifelines thrown their way by Congress, the Urban Institute counts roughly 400,000 homeowners who are delinquent on their mortgages, but who have failed to take advantage of any payment forbearance programs.
Two relatively small housing submarkets are starting to show signs of strengthening. One of those markets: renters looking for more space, both inside and out. The other: people looking to get away from it all, if only for a few weeks.
Housing prices are rising so fast around the country – “too fast,” as the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors said recently – that they are all but obliterating any gains buyers are seeing from record-low interest rates.
