Mortgage rates mostly held at last week’s year-to-date lows, offering another opportunity for borrowers to take advantage of savings.“Following a sharp decline last week, the 10-year Treasury yield rose 11 basis points this week,” says Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti. “The 30-year mortgage rate, however, remained unchanged at 3.78 percent. If Treasury yields continue to rise, mortgage rates could see an increase in next week’s
The real estate industry has been pouring in donations to go toward supporting storm victims affected by catastrophic flooding from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Over the past two weeks, individual and state and local association donations to the REALTORS® Relief Foundation have totaled $1.2 million. The National Association of REALTORS® also announced this week that it would give an additional $600,000 contribution to the RRF.The RRF says 100 pe
REALTORS® took their concerns over tax reform proposals to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with Iona Harrison, chair of the National Association of REALTORS®’ Federal Taxation Committee, warning the Senate Finance Committee that they limit or nullify the tax incentives for homeownership. Harrison said the proposals would actually raise taxes on millions of middle-class homeowners and reminded senators that a drop in home values following tax refor
Which states offer retirees the most bang for their buck? SeniorAdvice.com developed a special scoring system to identify and measure livability for seniors based on financial factors, like tax rates, cost of living expenses, average income, and senior living costs.The following five states landed at the top of SeniorAdvice.com’s rankings as the most senior-friendly for retirement finances:1. Wyoming2. Virginia3. South Dakota4. Alabama5. Louisi
Houston’s catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Harvey doesn’t appear to be a deterrent for the area’s housing demand.The brokerage firm Redfin says that its agents already have 45 home buyers ready to purchase homes where the storm hit. They said that only eight buyers backed out because of the storm. Showing requests rebounded just a week after the storm, the firm says.But the impact of the flooding likely will have an effect on home price
Appraisals continue to lag homeowners’ price expectations, according to the latest Quicken Loans’ National Home Price Perception Index, which compares homeowners’ initial estimates and appraiser’s opinions of home values. Appraised values were 1.35 percent lower than homeowners’ expectations in August. That has narrowed from a 1.55 percent difference in July.Many homeowners are still not understanding their home’s current value, accor
A home in Sunnyvale, Calif., recently sold for a whopping $782,000 above its list price. The four-bed, two-bath home that is less than 2,000 square feet was listed for nearly $1.69 million. But the home attracted more than 20 bids and ended up selling for $2.47 million.“I think it’s the most anything has ever gone for over asking in Sunnyvale—a record for Sunnyvale,” Dave Clark, the Keller Williams real estate professional who represented
Home buyers and homeowners are taking advantage of some of the lowest interest rates in a year. Mortgage applications for refinancings and home purchases jumped 9.9 percent higher last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Still, the MBA reports the weekly index remains about 19 percent lower the same week a year ago, which is mostly attributed to a decrease in refinancing applications.The 30-ye
Fifty-nine percent of real estate professionals say staging a listing contributes to receiving higher offers from buyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Staging. Sixty-two percent of agents also say staging “slightly” or “greatly” decreases the time a listing spends on the market.The amount of money sellers stand to gain from staging their home is significant. Thirty-one percent of practitione
The impact immigrants have on U.S. real estate is growing, as 13 percent of the nation’s population—about 42 million people—hails from foreign countries, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “Immigrants are a big driving force for housing markets across the nation,” Kusum Mundra, an economics professor at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J., told realtor.com®. “Most want the American dream, which is to own a hom
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