Though existing-home sales took a hit last month, June’s pending home sales—a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings—suggest a comeback is in line for most of the country. Every major region of the U.S. except the Midwest saw an uptick in contract signings last month, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Monday.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index in June rose 1.5 percent from May to a reading of 110.2, marking the fi
Consumer perception of mortgage servicing brands is growing dimmer, with many saying banks are more focused on profit than their customers’ needs, according to the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study.“The past few years have not been easy for mortgage servicers, as they’ve struggled with regulatory and market pressures but still managed to deliver on customer satisfaction,” says Craig Martin, senior director
Home sellers in the second quarter of this year sold their properties for an average $51,000 more than they paid for them when they bought them. That’s the highest price gain for sellers since the second quarter of 2007, when it was $57,000, according to a new report by real estate data form ATTOM Data Solutions. This represents an average return on investment of 26 percent.The sellers had owned their homes an average of eight years, which is t
Mortgage rates posted another drop this week, offering more relief to home buyers.Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending July 27: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.92 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.96 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.48 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.20 percent, with an average 0.5 po
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it will hold off on making any increases to its short-term interest rate, at least for a while longer. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the federal funds rate at its current range between 1 percent and 1.25 percent.“In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1 to 1 1/4 percent,
New-home sales inched up 0.8 percent in June, but sales would be higher if there were more new homes to sell. Sales of newly built single-family homes reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units in June, according to a joint report released by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.“While new home inventory rose slightly in June, it remains tight as builders face lot and labor shortages and in
Homes are selling faster in July, and many markets are hotter today than they were a year ago, realtor.com® notes in its newly released housing report. California markets continue to see some of the most traction from home shoppers.“We normally see the housing market begin to slow down in midsummer, but this year has been a different story,” says Javier Vivas, realtor.com®’s manager of economic research. “Mid- to lower-tier homes are fl
After Dallas-area real estate pro Laura Barnett put a listing on the market three weeks ago, it quickly received 22 offers. But Barnett didn’t take the highest bid.Instead, she took the cash offer because she wanted to ensure that there were no hang-ups along the way toward closing, she told CNBC. Appraisals, she says, are not keeping up with the sales prices. If the appraisal doesn’t match the contracted price, buyers usually can’t get
Consumers voted for real estate as their top long-term investment choice for a third year in a row, according to the latest Bankrate.com survey. No-risk cash investments came in second, and stocks came in third.“If you have a long time horizon, you will win in real estate,” Abhi Golhar, a real estate investor in Atlanta, told Bankrate. The housing market has bounced back from its bottom in 2011, and during the last 12 months ending in May, ho
Some buyers are willing to accept an “extreme commute”—a minimum of two hours each way between work and home—in return for the tranquility of the outer ’burbs, a larger property, and more land at a lower price than the city. As The New York Times puts it, these buyers are following an old real estate adage: “Drive until you qualify.”“Technological changes have made it more possible to redefine the workplace,” says Mitchell L.
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