The typical spring home buyer this year is on the hunt for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a garage and updated kitchen, according to a new realtor.com® survey of more than 1,000 home shoppers. Forty-four percent of respondents say they want a three-bedroom home, and 93 percent say they want a home with at least two bathrooms. But the garage is becoming increasingly important to home shoppers, too, with 27 percent rating it as one of th
Seven of the top 10 cities to sell a home in 2018 are in California, according to new rankings by SmartAsset, a personal financial website. Many markets in the state are breaking records for home prices, which means sellers are seeing hefty profits. High buyer demand and low inventory also are leading to quicker sales.SmartAsset ranked the best places to sell a house by looking at several factors, including change in home values, average days on
The Federal Housing Administration insured about $1.9 billion worth of mortgages in 2016 that it never should have, according to a new report from a federal watchdog. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General found that in 2016, the FHA insured about 9,507 borrowers who were barred from receiving FHA loans under federal requirements, either because they had delinquent federal debt or were subject to fede
Middle-class earners are being hit with income stagnation, rising housing costs, and increasing debt loads, but there are several markets across the country that could offer relief. The middle class is defined as households who earn between $42,000 to $125,000 annually, according to the Pew Research Center.Realtor.com® analyzed the nation’s 100 largest metros with the highest share of homes on the market that are priced for middle-income worke
As home prices rise, more homeowners are turning to home equity lines of credit, but they have concerns about cashing out on their home. The number of American consumers expected to take out a HELOC is projected to double to 10 million over the next five years, according to the J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Home Equity Line of Credit Satisfaction Study. The study looked at HELOC preferences among consumers, including customer choice and satisfaction bas
Faced with labor shortages in the appraisal field, the Appraisal Foundation’s Appraiser Qualifications Board is easing the requirements to become an appraiser, including reducing the number of hours of college coursework and job training needed. The board, which establishes the minimum qualifications for appraisers in the U.S., has been reviewing its process for the past two years.The appraisal industry has been struggling to attract new worker
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 1 basis point to an average 4.44 percent this week, Freddie Mac reports.“Treasury yields fell from a week ago, helping to drive mortgage rates modestly lower,” explains Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist. “The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped below 2.8 percent for the first time since early February of this year. The decline in Treasury yields comes as investors move into safer assets
Inventory shortages are helping home prices continue to break record highs, according to an analysis by realtor.com®. “Never in history have there been more eyes on fewer homes than today,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research at realtor.com®. “The price gains observed in the last days of March tell us the market is on pace to see half of the homes listed above $300,000 this summer. This means buyers are not just having to
Renters may see some relief in their pocketbooks, as hikes in rental costs slowed in the first quarter of this year, according to RealPage, a real estate technology and analytics firm. The average rent for new leases increased 2.3 percent to $1,310, marking a decrease from a 2.6 percent hike in the fourth quarter of 2017. Further, it’s the smallest yearly gain since the third quarter of 2010.Since reaching a peak in 2015, at 5.3 percent, rental
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