Some urban areas are great for both buying and rentingWhen searching for a home, deciding whether to rent or buy can be a daunting task. The choice is one of the biggest decisions that many adults make in their lives.Many younger people have been renters for most of their adult lives, which makes the leap into homeownership a difficult one. The costs of buying can vary more than renting, but there are many hidden costs that can be overlooked, mak
'Since demand is exceeding supply and financing is available, there is nothing right now to keep prices from going up'Key Takeaways The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.5 percent annual gain in April, down from 5.6 percent last month.April’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index numbers set a fifth consecutive all-time high — a trend that isn’t expecte
A new survey of 30 large cities in the United States shows that the cost of water utilities has risen by up to 150 percent over the last seven years.The data from Circle of Blue, a group of journalists and scientists tracking water issues, shows that in some cities, a family of four using 12,000 gallons a month—which is considered average household use—could pay up to $154 per month.That was the rate for Santa Fe, N.M., with San Francisco com
Ongoing inventory shortages are propelling home prices higher, causing pending home sales to slump for the third consecutive month, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. None of the major regions of the U.S. saw an increase in contract activity in May.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, dropped 0.8 percent to a reading of 108.5 in May. The index is 1.7 percent below a year
Mortgage rates are hovering at a six-month low, yet mortgage demand is decreasing. And high-end buyers are taking the lion's share of the blame.Total mortgage application activity for refinancings and home purchases plunged 6.2 percent last week on a week-over-week seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The index is now 17 percent below where it was a year ago.Broken out, home purchase applications dropped
Homeowners can make a lot of mistakes during that first year in homeownership, especially when eagerness can sometimes lead to ignorance. HouseLogic recently featured several of the most common and costly missteps homeowners most often make in their first year, including:1. Always going with the lowest bid.Homeowners may be smart about gathering multiple bids when, say, that HVAC system needs repairs. But they may be tempted to always go with the
Nearly 4.5 million borrowers are eligible to refinance and could lock in savings on their monthly mortgage payments but have not taken advantage, according to a new report from Black Knight Financial Services.The average borrower stands to save $260 a month. Nearly 700,000 borrowers could save $400 or more per month, the report shows.“The recent pause in the upward movement of interest rates continues to encourage late-to-the-game borrowers to
More mortgage lenders are reporting that they have lowered their credit standards and expect to continue to do so in the coming months, according to Fannie Mae’s second-quarter 2017 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey.The share of lenders reporting they have eased mortgage credit standards over the prior three months has gradually been growing since the fourth quarter of 2016. Additionally, the number of lenders who say they plan to ease credit s
Nearly 80 percent of all borrowers are paying for real estate taxes and home insurance through escrow accounts, according to a recent analysis by CoreLogic. That is up 900 basis points over the past six years.The mortgage industry has been encouraging more borrowers to use escrow accounts because it ensures they have reserves to cover the costs of the mortgage principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. It also helps to lower the risks of tax and
The median price for a new single-family home reached a record high in May of $345,800, the Commerce Department reports. Buyers will be paying a huge premium for new construction, as new-home prices are now 16.8 percent higher than they were a year ago.So far, however, the higher price tags don’t seem to be spooking home shoppers. In May, 61,000 new homes were purchased—a 2.9 percent increase from April and an 8.9 percent increase from a year
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