Want to avoid paying a fortune in property taxes? Don’t buy a home in New Jersey. There, we said it. The Northeastern state, home of failed presidential contender/overeager Trump supporter Gov. Chris Christie, has the nation’s highest state real estate taxes of 2016, according to WalletHub. That means residents are ... Read More »
What’s a millennial pushing 30 to do? Apparently, leave the fun, the fantasy, the pace, and the possibilities of big-city living far behind and buy a home … out in the burbs. Just 17% of buyers under the age of 35 closed on urban residences, down from 21% a year earlier, ... Read More »
Fewer homes were sold last month as the lack of properties bearing those familiar “For Sale” signs continued to keep prices high. Sales dropped 7.1% from January to a total seasonally adjusted 5.08 million, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors®. But they were still up ... Read More »
Where will the most homes be sold this spring? In the Midwest, the latest numbers show. All across the U.S., buyers were snapping up homes, pushing the number of residences under contract for sale in February 29% higher than January, theNational Association of Realtors® reported on Monday. That’s looking at ... Read More »
Embrace the saying “It’s too soon to tell.” This powerful mantra applies to virtually all situations and can keep emotions at bay when stress arises. Finally, look outside of real estate for inspiration and guidance. Adopt the Seven Da Vincian Principles of curiosity, demonstration, sensation, smoke, art and science, the ... Read More »
Imagine looking at ads on Craigslist one day and seeing your family home for rent, only you didn’t post the ad and have no intentions of renting out your home. That’s what happened to Lourdes Guerrero, who owns a home in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a local CBS ... Read More »
For young people looking to buy their first homes, there’s a big obstacle: student loan debt. It’s not holding back everyone, but debt obligations have a huge impact on the mortgage approval process, not to mention the ability to save for a down payment and other home-buying costs. One bank ... Read More »
The Federal Reserve was never hiking rates four times this year. Investors didn’t believe it, and now Fed Chair Janet Yellen has all but explicitly acknowledged it. Indeed, Yellen’s blockbuster speech Tuesday assuring that the central bank would go slowly on future adjustments to monetary policy only caught some of ... Read More »
Anyone shopping for a home today has probably had at least one encounter with sticker shock. No matter the neighborhood, home prices are generally rising, and bidding wars are often the rule rather than the exception. That means fewer neighborhoods are now considered affordable — a lot fewer. Nine percent ... Read More »
Home price appreciation in major U.S. metropolitan areas in the first month of the year kept pace with recent gains as inventory remained low, S&P Dow Jones Indices reported Tuesday. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index rose 5.7 percent in January from the previous year, roughly in line with expectations. “Home ... Read More »
Spring home buying season has kicked into high gear, but it wasn’t enough to boost mortgage applications, which fell by 1 percent last week from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. That was largely due to a drop in refinancings, which slipped 3 percent. The refinance share of ... Read More »
Commercial real estate had a banner year in 2015, and the fundamentals of high demand and low vacancies are still driving rents higher. There is, however, a catch that could cool the market quickly, at least when it comes to financing. Investors are insisting on high yield, and the bonds ... Read More »
