This is the third consecutive month of accelerating gainsAugust’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows that home prices are continuing to ascend to all-time highs with no signs of slowing down.August 2017’s national index comes in at 195.05, a 6.1 percent year-over-year increase from August 2016 and a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent month-over-month increase.“Home price increases appear to be unstoppable,” said S&P Dow Jones
Clients with lower credit scores can still become homeownersKey Takeaways As lenders move away from zero- and low-down-payment loans, there are still programs for credit challenged borrowers. Agents should know the programs and partner with lenders who serve the underserved.Although homeownership rates are still low — just 63.7 percent this past second quarter — several big players in the mortgage industry are pulling away from products tha
More Americans are flocking to southern states with Florida and Texas topping the list of where they’re most likely to move to, according to a new analysis by LendingTree. LendingTree looked at where residents in each state are looking to move by reviewing purchase mortgage loan requests for primary residents in all 50 states from October 2016 to October 2017.Florida is the number-one destination of movers in 18 of the 50 states, according to t
Homeowners should not become overconfident in a seller’s market, or they might end up sabotaging their sale. Realtor.com® recently featured common home seller negotiation tactics that can backfire, including:Starting a bidding war.“If mishandled, people may assume the worst, and the best offer may walk away,” Sep Niakan, broker-owner at HB Roswell Realty in Miami, told realtor.com®. For example, bidding war problems can surface when fai
Mortgage rates inched higher last week, prompting more buyers and homeowners to retreat from taking out loans.Total mortgage application volume, which includes refinancing and home purchases, dropped 2.6 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The index is now 20 percent lower than a year ago.Refinancing saw the largest drop last week at 5 percent. Refinancing applications are
Despite tight housing inventories and rising home prices, the homeownership rate rose slightly in the third quarter and reaching the highest level since 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.The homeownership rate rose to 63.9 percent in the third quarter, up slightly from 63.5 percent a year ago, the Census Bureau reported.While the uptick isn’t considered statistically significantly, economists were still somewhat upbeat that the home
Despite tight housing inventories and rising home prices, the homeownership rate rose slightly in the third quarter and reaching the highest level since 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.The homeownership rate rose to 63.9 percent in the third quarter, up slightly from 63.5 percent a year ago, the Census Bureau reported.While the uptick isn’t considered statistically significantly, economists were still somewhat upbeat that the home
Effective leaders build relationships. Broker-owners and managers who develop bonds with their agents, staff, and consumers build trust and longevity while retaining great people.“The leader’s world is about creating a direction and context for action, and leaders need to develop special relationships that include high levels of trust and commitment.” says Sallie Sherman, co-author of Five Keys to Powerful Business Relationships and CEO
Single women are making up a bigger share of sales. Single females comprised 18 percent of sales this year, which matches the highest share since 2011, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.Single women were the second most common household buyer type, behind married couples at 65 percent.Single women tend to purchase slightly pricier homes than single men, despite earning less, according
Homeowners continue to delay moving, as the typical seller in 2017 had stayed in his or her home for 10 years before selling—a tie for the record tenure set in 2014, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Homeowner tenure has steadily increased since 2009, when sellers typically lived in their home for a median of six years before selling.Economists speculate that low inventory and soari
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