The Federal Reserve says that an increase in interest rates is coming soon, and quarterly hikes are likely in the future—a fundamental shift of its policy over the last few years, The New York Timesreports. While the Fed has been very cautious regarding signs of economic weakness, the bank is “now willing to shrug off at least a little bad data,” according to the article.Federal Reserve board member Lael Brainard, who advocates caution when
Would-be buyers are hard-pressed to find enough homes for sale this spring, and that is chipping away at the number of mortgage applications lenders are processing, CNBC reports.Total mortgage applications, including those for refinancing and home purchases, dropped 3.4 percent week over week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The MBA’s mortgage application index is now 14 percent lower than a y
No change in sight for the escalating seller's market, but what goes up must come down eventuallyKey Takeaways The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.8 percent annual gain in March, up from 5.7 percent last month.March’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index numbers set a fifth consecutive all-time high – the highest HPI seen in 33 months.March 2017’s n
Though millennials express desire for homeownership, they aren’t saving anywhere near what they need for a down payment. About 80 percent of millennials recently surveyed by rental website Apartment List say they hope to one day buy a home, but 36 percent say they’ll likely need to wait more than five years before they can. Only 16 percent believe they’ll be able to buy within two years, according to the survey of 24,000 millennial renters
Is there anywhere left for people looking to save money?Key Takeaways Rising affordability issues for would-be buyers impacts renters as well.Home prices have been consistently rising with Q1 2017 home prices surging 6.9 percent quarter-over-quarter and 5.9 percent year-over-year.Some aspiring buyers look to renting in the ‘burbs as a cheaper option, but Zillow’s latest rental study shows that rents in suburban and urban areas are facing affo
Low mortgage rates and strong job growth are giving the housing market one of its best years in decades—even as overall economic growth has weakened—according to Freddie Mac’s monthly Outlook report for May. The report’s optimism is a change from the mortgage giant’s previous predictions, when economists said the housing market likely would not perform as well as it did in 2016.New-home sales in March were better than expected, and exis
Mortgage rates dipped to their lowest averages of the year this week, Freddie Mac repots. “As we predicted, the 30-year mortgage rate fell 7 basis points this week in a delayed reaction to last week’s sharp drop in Treasury yields,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The survey rate stands at 3.95 percent today, a new low for the year.”Freddie Mac reported the following national averages with mortgage rates for the we
Homes with solar panels tend to sell for higher prices than comparable homes with conventional energy, studies show. One study, released two years ago by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, found that solar homes sell for a 15 percent premium. But selling these homes can require extra preparation on the part of real estate agents.The biggest issue is how the panels were financed. If the owner simply bought the panels, there shouldn’t be any
Fannie Mae is cracking down on selling foreclosed homes to firms that it says engage in abusive forms of seller financing, which could include rent-to-own leases or longer term installment contracts known as contract for deed, The New York Times reports.In its first action on the new policy, Fannie Mae said it would no longer sell properties to Vision Property Management, which operates in more than a dozen states and is one of the largest firms
One week after facing a class-action lawsuit over its home-price tool, Zillow is looking to improve it with a contest. The real estate website is offering a $1 million award to the “person or team” who can improve its Zestimate, an online tool meant to help people estimate the value of their property. Zillow officials say the contest has been in the works for more than a year and was not motivated by the lawsuit.Last week, Zillow faced a clas
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