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 »
Steven Bock thought he was a typical downsizing baby boomer. With his second child graduating from college, he and his wife felt it was time to put their 7,000 square foot, multimillion dollar, suburban Boston home on the market and head into the city to rent. What they found changed ... Read More »
Prospective home buyers view a kitchen while touring a model home at the PulteGroup Inc. Mirehaven housing development in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Confidence among the nation’s home builders held steady in March, although a majority of analysts had expected it to improve slightly. Even lower mortgage rates since the start ... Read More »
Higher interest rates pushed mortgage refinancing activity down further last week, and home buying isn’t picking up the slack. Total mortgage application volume fell 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. It is nearly 21 percent higher ... Read More »
Wealthy Iranians, companies and state-backed buyers will spend up to £6 billion ($8.5 billion) on overseas real estate over the next five-to-10 years following the lifting of international sanctions, a report said on Wednesday. High-net-worth Iranians are likely to look to buy properties in London, Dubai, Switzerland, Germany or the ... Read More »
Spring has officially sprung, but the spring housing market started about a month ago, according to most real estate agents. With the supply of homes for sale not even close to demand, competition has been fierce, and that is changing the rules of the real estate road. Yes, it’s a ... 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 »
