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Rents increasing while home prices continue to decline

A report released today by Zillow shows that median rents rose 3 percent from January 2011 to January 2012 while, during the same period, home prices fell 4.6 percent.  According to the report, over two-thirds (69.2 percent) of the metro areas covered saw year-over-year gains in rents but only 7.3 percent of the metros saw

Continue reading… “The flourishing rental market is the silver lining to the nation’s housing downturn

Home buyers more motivated by updated kitchens than media rooms

A survey conducted by Coldwell Banker of it’s real estate agents across North America revealed that home buyers are motivated by lifestyle needs and are more willing to buy homes with updated kitchens and open floor plans than homes with “trendy” media rooms.

Highlights from the survey:

Of the real estate professionals surveyed:

94 percent say their

Continue reading… Home buyers more motivated by updated kitchens than media rooms

Report shows optimism for real estate market; home prices up in one of every 4 markets

Today, CoreLogic, a leading provider of real estate market information, released its March CoreLogic MarketPulse report which had a fairly optimistic outlook on the market including the fact that today 25 percent of all markets are experiencing increases in home prices which is in stark contrast to the height of the housing bust when 96 percent of all markets saw home prices fall.

Home prices decline in January; sixth consecutive month of decline

A report released this morning by CoreLogic, one of the nations leading providers of property information shows that home prices in the U.S. fell in January 3.1 percent from the year before and declined by 1.0 percent from the month before marking the sixth consecutive monthly decline in home prices.

Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined

Continue reading… Home prices decline in January; sixth consecutive month of decline

The 15 Best and 15 Worst Performing Real Estate Markets

Clear Capital just released it’s monthly Home Data Index™ (HDI) for March, which includes a list of the 15 best performing real estate markets in the U.S. as well as the 15 worst performing markets in the U.S.

At the top of the list for best performing markets is the metro area of Providence, RI –

Continue reading… The 15 Best and 15 Worst Performing Real Estate Markets

Michael Jordan's Illinois Residence Hit's Market for Cool $29 Million

Photo Courtesy of Baird & Warner

Last week, the longtime personal residence of NBA legend Michael Jordan in Highland Park, Illinois, was presented for sale by Katherine Chez-Malkin of Baird & Warner Real Estate and will be marketed globally by Luxury Portfolio International. With an asking price of $29 million, the secluded compound offers

Continue reading… Michael Jordan’s Illinois Residence Hit’s Market for Cool $29 Million

Homeowners with negative equity increases in fourth quarter

A report released today by CoreLogic shows that nationally 11.1 million, or 22. 8 percent , of homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011. This was an increase from 22.1 percent for the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being

Continue reading… Homeowners with negative equity increases in fourth quarter

Top Ten Cities to Buy REO's and Pre-Foreclosures

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for fourth quarter 2011 which showed that pre-foreclosure and REO home sales accounted for nearly one of every 4 home sales (24 percent) during the quarter which is an increase from 20 percent in the prior quarter, however down from 26 percent in the fourth quarter

Continue reading… Top Ten Cities to Buy REO’s and Pre-Foreclosures

Case-Shiller Home Price Index Falls to New Low in December; Maybe sign of new period of decline

This morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for December was released showing all three of the home price composites ended the year at new index lows. The national composite fell by 3.8 percent during the fourth quarter of 2011 and was down 4.0 percent from the year before. Both the 10-city and 20-city composites

Continue reading… Case-Shiller Home Price Index Falls to New Low in December; Maybe sign of new period of decline

Pending home sales index hits highest level since April 2010

The National Association of REALTORS released it’s Pending Home Sales Index for January today showing an increase of 2.0 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and an 8.0 percent increase from a year ago. This marks the highest level the pending home sales index has been at since April 2010 when

Continue reading… Pending home sales index hits highest level since April 2010

New home sales decline slightly in January; Inventory of new homes to lowest level in over a year

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for January 2012 showing a decrease of 0.9 percent from the month before, and an increase of 3.5 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for January was 321,000 homes, down from an

Continue reading… New home sales decline slightly in January; Inventory of new homes to lowest level in over a year

Commercial Real Estate Vacancy Rates Improving, Rents Firming

According to the National Association of Realtors® quarterly commercial real estate forecast, all of the major commercial real estate sectors are seeing improved fundamentals, but multifamily housing is becoming a landlord’s market commanding bigger rent increases. These trends also are confirmed in NAR’s recent quarterly Commercial Real Estate Market Survey.

Existing home sales and prices increase in January

Today’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales in January were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.57 million units which is an increase of 4.3 percent from the month before and an increase of 0.7 percent from a year ago. The actual number of homes sold

Continue reading… Existing home sales and prices increase in January

Babies and jobs key to real estate market recovery

Two things are driving home buyers into the real estate market; babies and jobs, according to a survey just released by Coldwell Banker.  According to the survey, 70% of real estate professionals surveyed say the “most common” reason buyers are searching for a new home today is a result of a new baby or growing

Continue reading… Babies and jobs key to real estate market recovery

Foreclosure activity increases in January; down from a year ago though

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for January 2012 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 210,941 properties in the U.S. during the month, a three percent increase from the previous month and a decrease of 19 percent from the year before. During

Continue reading… Foreclosure activity increases in January; down from a year ago though

New home construction activity picking up

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for January 2012 showing an increase in single-family home building permits from the month before of 0.9 percent and a 1.0 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before.

Foreclosures in 2011 down 24 percent from 2010

1.4 Million Homes in the Foreclosure Inventory at the End of 2011

According to a report just released by CoreLogic, there were 830,000 foreclosures completed during the year in 2011, a 24 percent decrease from 2010 when there were 1.1 million. For the month of December, there were 55,000 foreclosures, down 3.5 percent from November when

Continue reading… Foreclosures in 2011 down 24 percent from 2010

Real estate markets to watch in 2012

Where will the “Hot” real estate markets be in 2012? 
What would be the best cities to buy real estate in?

Boy, wouldn’t we all love to know the answers to those questions!  Considering this is, by far, the worst, and longest lasting, downturn in the real estate market I have seen in my 33 years in

Continue reading… Real estate markets to watch in 2012

Mortgage Interest Rates Fall Again to Yet Another New Record Low

Today Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, showing average mortgage rates have dropped to new all-time record lows!

Mortgage Interest Rates Reported:

What are the hot spots in the U.S. attracting home buyers?

Well, I guess my wife and kids aren’t the only people that want to move to Florida!  According to a report released by Trulia, house hunters from all over the country are searching for homes in Florida.  In fact, of the top 10 metro areas where demand among online house hunters is strongest, seven are

Continue reading… What are the hot spots in the U.S. attracting home buyers?

Home prices in U.S. fall in November - Back to mid-2003 levels

This morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for November was released showing US home prices decreased from the month before as well as the year before. The 10-city and 20-city composites fell by 1.3 percent each and the home price indexes were down 3.6 percent and 3.7 percent respectively from the year before. For a

Continue reading… Home prices in U.S. fall in November – Back to mid-2003 levels

Mortgage Rate Update; Should you Rent or Buy a Home?

Until recently, home ownership was no bargain compared to renting, according to Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics.

Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau and published statistics from Thomson Datastream indicate that rising rents and falling mortgages are tipping the scales towards home ownership. The median monthly mortgage payment has fallen to about

Continue reading… Mortgage Rate Update; Should you Rent or Buy a Home?

New homes sales fall in December and make 2011 worst year on record

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for December 2011 showing a decrease of 2.2 percent from the month before, and a decrease of 7.3 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for December was 307,000 homes, down from an

Continue reading… New homes sales fall in December and make 2011 worst year on record

One in five home sales is a foreclosure and only two-thirds the cost of a non-foreclosure home

Foreclosure Price 34 Percent Below Average Price of Non-Foreclosures

RealtyTrac, today released its third-quarter 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 20 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2011, down from 22 percent of all

Continue reading… One in five home sales is a foreclosure and only two-thirds the cost of a non-foreclosure home

Ten cities that receive the most online home searches

Realtor.com, which claims to have more traffic on it’s website than any other real estate website in the world, released their report for December showing how 146 metro areas in the U.S. stack up in terms of popularity for home searches.  Chicago was number 1 on the list again this month, followed by Detroit, MI,

Continue reading… Ten cities that receive the most online home searches

Home sales and prices increase in December; Inventory down to near-normal level

Today’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales in December were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.61 million units which is an increase of 5.0 percent from the month before and an increase of 3.6 percent from a year ago. The actual number of homes

Continue reading… Home sales and prices increase in December; Inventory down to near-normal level

New Home Starts in 2011 Set All-Time Record Low

The last couple of months I have said that, “unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Unfortunately, nothing dramatic happened, and 2011 has ended with only 428,600 new home starts setting a new record low and significantly below the prior all-time low of 445,200 starts in 2009.

What income is required for a mortgage?

What income is required to qualify for a mortgage? That largely depends on your monthly debt payments and the current interest rate. This calculator collects these important variables and determines your required income to qualify for your desired mortgage amount.(click here)

 

Mortgage interest rates have fallen this year to historical lows

Continue reading… What income is required for a mortgage?

Mortgage Delinquences Increase in December but are Down over 25 percent from a year ago

Mortgage delinquencies in December increased to 2.24 percent of all mortgages, a slight increase from the month before when delinquencies were at 2.22 percent but a decrease of over 25 percent from a year ago when the rate was 3.01 percent. The mortgage delinquency rate is something I pay close attention to because it is

Continue reading… Mortgage Delinquences Increase in December but are Down over 25 percent from a year ago

Foreclosure actions in 2011 hit lowest level since 2007!

This morning, RealtyTrac released their 2011 year-end U.S. Foreclosure Market Report which shows that 2,698,967 foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 1,887,777 properties in the U.S. during the year, a decrease of 34 percent from the year before and marking the lowest level since 2007!