A shortage of homes for sale and tough competition from other prospects may be prompting more buyers to suffer from remorse post-purchase, according to the latest ValueInsured Modern Homebuyer Survey.Sixty-two percent of Americans believe people who buy a home now will have remorse about the purchase within a year due to the cost, according to the survey.“Home payments in some areas are swallowing up 45 percent of local median income,” Val
Mortgage rates were back down across the board again this week, offering some temporary relief to home buyers. Rates posted a rapid increase throughout most of the spring but have recently reversed course, declining in five of the past six weeks. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now at its lowest average since April.“The run-up in mortgage rates earlier this year represented not just a rise in risk-free borrowing costs, but for investors, the
A sharp drop in mortgage interest rates last week wasn’t enough to get overall mortgage applications moving. Total mortgage application volume—for refinancing and home purchases—eased 0.5 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted annual basis compared to the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. Loan volume is now 13.5 percent lower than a year ago.Broken out, refinance applications were down 2 percent for the week and
Californian cities no longer dominate realtor.com®’s top-performing housing markets list as they have for the past six years. Instead, higher home prices may be prompting more home buyers to look elsewhere.Overall, home prices nationwide continued to escalate in June, with the median listing price nationwide at $299,000, a 9 percent year-over-year increase, according to realtor.com®. The higher home prices are prompting more buyers to face af
More vacation and investment property owners intend to rent out their homes as short-term rentals this year, according to research from the National Association of REALTORS®.Twenty-five percent of those with vacation properties and 24 percent with investment properties rented their home as a short-term rental in 2017—30 and 32 percent, respectively, plan to do so in 2018, according to NAR.Forty-five percent of investment buyers say they purcha
Rents in America’s largest markets are rising fast, and urban dwellers may be finding it more difficult to afford their rent.“Because of high home prices and rising rents, people are getting creative and looking [for rental apartments] in areas that they might not have looked at before,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com®. “When you’re looking for affordability, you’ve got to make trade-offs. … There might not be
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development released new income guidelines for who can qualify for its low-income housing assistance, and one city’s “low income” level is turning heads. In San Francisco, HUD has deemed those earning $117,400 a year as having low income. The income is based on a family of four.Each year, HUD sets income limits that determine who can qualify for housing assistance, such as Section 8 vouchers, public housing, and
Commercial and multifamily properties across the country are seeing, in some cases, very steep rises in property taxes as assessors reset values at higher levels, the National Real Estate Investor reports. Rising property taxes are proving to be a big concern for landlords and tenants alike.Property tax appraisals can take time to catch up to the current market conditions. Some areas assess commercial property values every year while others do i
Mortgage rates declined this week, marking the fourth drop in the past five weeks, Freddie Mac reports.“The decrease in borrowing costs is a nice slice of relief for prospective buyers looking to get into the market this summer,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Some are undoubtedly feeling the affordability hit from swift price appreciation and mortgage rates that are still 67 basis points higher than this week a year ago
Consumers who buy a condo or refinance an existing condo mortgage may be eligible to bypass an in-person appraisal and have a faster automated appraisal, Freddie Mac announced this week.Freddie Mac’s automated collateral evaluation appraisal waiver gives eligible borrowers of mortgages for condos the opportunity to save on the traditional appraisal. Borrowers could save about $500 on appraisal fees and potentially close seven to 10 days faster,
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