Buyers are doing everything from tapping into their retirement savings accounts to taking financial gifts from family and friends in order to bring more money to the closing table. Bankrate.com recently surveyed more than 2,500 adults about their home purchase to find the top ways they’re saving.About 47% of first-time home buyers said they saved on their own to purchase a house. But others also sought help elsewhere, such as through a fir
Fort Wayne, Ind., and Pueblo, Colo., were the top-performing housing markets in August—another sign that small towns are turning on the charm in drawing more buyers away from the big cities. The two cities topped realtor.com®’s newly released list of hottest housing markets.“Smaller markets with smaller price tags continue to heat up feverishly,” says Javier Vivas, realtor.com®’s director of economic research. “Buyers have more succ
About Sheri There are many qualities and skills that go into being an excellent real estate professional - integrity, in-depth community and market knowledge, marketing savvy, effective negotiation skills and a high-quality professional network, all of which are hallmarks of how I work.That said, in my experience as a Collin County real estate professional, I've also found that providing the very best service is essentially about putting my cl
A lot of talk has centered on the force of single women in real estate, but how about single men? LendingTree recently analyzed the largest metro areas to narrow down the cities that offer the most perks for bachelors. They factored in demographics, the economy, culture and entertainment, safety, and more.Madison, Wis., topped the list as the best city for single men, mostly due to its performance on measures like health and safety. Madison
The homeownership rate of black Americans hit an all-time low in the first quarter of this year as black communities continue struggling to recover financially from the housing crisis a decade ago, recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows. The black homeownership rate has dropped 8.6 percentage points since peaking in 2004.“We can see that discrimination is still there, although it has changed its form,” Michela Zonta, a senior policy analyst at
Purchasing real estate has become an increasingly costly endeavor over the last half-century. Median home prices have surged 121% nationwide since 1960, but median household income has only increased 29%, according to a new study by Clever Real Estate. Renters have faced escalating prices, too. Median gross rent has risen 72% since 1960, more than double the growth in adjusted incomes.“Rising rents and increasing home prices make it harder than
Mortgage products that haven’t been widely used since before the Great Recession are making a comeback. The volume of loans with alternate documentation has more than doubled in the last two years among loans included in mortgage-backed securities, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.The alt-doc loans have performed well since the housing crisis, but Fitch analysts say they’re still concerned about the uptick. “Although alternative doc
Mortgage rates are dropping, giving millions of homeowners an opportunity to lower their monthly payments. An estimated 8.2 million borrowers could refinance and potentially lower their monthly payments by at least 75 basis points, estimates Black Knight, a mortgage software and analytics firm. This marks the largest percentage of homeowners who stand to benefit from lower mortgage rates since the end of 2016.Last week, the average
The right home improvements could help shave energy bills by up to 35% or unlock up to $627 in annual savings, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.Steve Chalk, who recently retired from his work at the department, told CNBC that a home energy assessment can help determine what the best savings projects are for a homeowner to take on.Home energy audits cost about $400, but the price greatly depends on the type of residence and its loca
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