September Foreclosure Activity at Lowest Level Since December 2005
A new report from AATOM Data Solutions shows home foreclosure activity in September 2016 was down 13 percent from the prior month and down 24 percent from one year ago,… more The post September...
View ArticleSingle-Family Rental Returns Down, But Investor Activity is Up
ATTOM Data Solutions’ just-released Q3 2016 Single Family Rental Market Report found that average single-family rental returns dropped to a nine-year low for homes purchased so far in 2016 among… more...
View ArticleFlorida Supreme Court Gives Banks a “Do-Over” on Dismissed Foreclosures
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court decided to unleash a potential tidal wave of “new” foreclosures in the state, but the foreclosures in question are not really all that new.… more The post Florida...
View ArticlePlywood Out; Clear Boarding In
Effective this week, Fannie Mae is requiring “clear boarding” of its vacant properties in all states. The expanded requirement—outlawing the practice of boarding up pre- and post-foreclosure or REO...
View ArticleOctober Foreclosure Activity Up 27 Percent
The number of nationwide foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions —in October was up 27 percent from a 129-month low in September but still down… more The post...
View ArticleGood Times for Sellers … Won’t Last Forever
It’s an amazing time for sellers, but the momentum is expected to shift to buyers by 2018 or 2019, according to a Zillow survey of housing experts. In October, the… more The post Good Times for Sellers...
View ArticleScammers Get the Slammer
As more and more homebuyers look to parents and other sources for the lump sums required to make a down payment on a new home, the idea of down-payment assistance… more The post Scammers Get the...
View ArticleNew Single-Family Home Sales Down
Sales of new single-family homes—which had been trending up since 2015—dipped 1.9 percent in October, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB’s report was based on data… more...
View ArticleFewer Purchase Loans, More Refi in Q3
Home loan originations were down about 2 percent in the third quarter compared to the second, though up 1 percent compared to a year earlier. The value of the loans… more The post Fewer Purchase Loans,...
View ArticleLittle Movement in Pending Home Sales
Pending home sales — deals involving existing homes where the contract has been signed, but the transaction hasn’t closed—were up slightly in October, according to the National Association of...
View ArticleJust Who Is Treasury Pick Steven Mnuchin?
How much do you know about President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed Cabinet nominee Steven Mnuchin? Senate confirmation will put former Wall Street insider Mnuchin at the helm of the Treasury...
View ArticleExperts Doubt Airbnb-Style Services Hurt Housing Inventory
Do short-term-rental services like Airbnb and HomeAway make it harder for average renters to find affordable housing? Zillow decided to ask housing experts. According to the new Zillow Home Price… more...
View ArticleStarter Home Inventory Continues to Dry Up
The supply of U.S. starter home inventory has dropped off 12.1 percent since a year prior. The steepest year-to-year decline in three years, according to the latest Trulia Inventory and… more The post...
View ArticleRising Home Values Mean Fewer Underwater Mortgages
About 11 percent of U.S. homeowners were underwater on their mortgage during the third quarter, down from 13.4 percent a year prior, Zillow reports. That’s great news if you consider… more The post...
View ArticleA Look Ahead to Existing Home Sales for 2017
Existing home sales probably won’t increase much in 2017, according to a new forecast from the National Association of Realtors and its fourth-quarter Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME)...
View ArticlePCBs: The New ‘Asbestos’?
BEWARE! If you own an apartment building or other commercial structure that was constructed in the 1950s, ’60s, or ’70s, you need to be aware of potential PCB contamination and… more The post PCBs: The...
View ArticleIs Villainous ARM Making a Second Grab?
With mortgage rates rising, more and more homebuyers are considering something that most probably thought out of the question: taking on an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) in order to make a… more The...
View ArticleA New (Female) Buying Power in Real Estate
Women are, once again, changing the face of the housing market, and they’re not waiting for spouses, partners, or anyone else to do so. The buying force represented by single… more The post A New...
View ArticleWill Fed Rate Hike Crash the Market Again?
The Federal Reserve finally raised rates for the first time this year at its December meeting and suggested there could be three more rate hikes next year. There are varied… more The post Will Fed Rate...
View ArticleGoogle lawsuit has implications for real estate investors
A challenge to strict Google personnel policy bears watching by real estate investors and others who also often find themselves subject to non-compete, non-disclosure rules. However the court fight...
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