Category: Housing Market

New Home Sales May Have Hit Bottom

By Kevin Chiu The housing market has some good news to celebrate after the Commerce Department reported a new home sales increase of 11.1% in March, which may represent a bottom for the new home sales market. The rise in sales reached an adjusted rate of 300,000 homes, but still remains below the 700,000 annual… Continue reading New Home Sales May Have Hit Bottom

Freddie Mac Buys Fewer Mortgages

By Mike Colpitts Already on a path to reduce the number of mortgages it buys, Freddie Mac purchased fewer loans in March, reducing its share of the mortgage market as calls to eliminate the government sponsored lender increased in Congress. The number of mortgages Freddie Mac bought in March dropped 4.7% for the month to… Continue reading Freddie Mac Buys Fewer Mortgages

Florida Market #1 in Housing Recovery

By Mike Colpitts An economic development program is driving one Florida County to a recovery in housing long before the rest of the U.S. Lee County, which is home to Fort Myers, has the second highest foreclosure rating in the nation right behind Las Vegas, Nevada on a per-capita basis. But Lee County, which has… Continue reading Florida Market #1 in Housing Recovery

States Outlaw Extra Home Sale Charges

By Kevin Chiu Washington State became the twenty-fifth state in the country to outlaw extra home sale charges to the new owners of homes for 99 years. The action means that half of all U.S. states have now outlawed private transfer fees by adopting new state laws prohibiting their collection. But a federal effort to… Continue reading States Outlaw Extra Home Sale Charges

Survey Shows Mixed Results on Handling Foreclosures

Respondents to a new Housing Predictor survey seem as divided as Congress on how to handle the growing foreclosure crisis. However, the largest percentage or 41% of those who took the survey said that the U.S. government should just let homeowners in default on mortgages get foreclosed. The mixed outcome comes as the foreclosure crisis… Continue reading Survey Shows Mixed Results on Handling Foreclosures

More Lose Money Investing in Real Estate

Despite conventional wisdom being that real estate is one of the safest investments that can be made, slightly more people have lost money investing in real estate than have cashed out a profit, according to a new Housing Predictor poll. The online survey found that 37% of respondents have lost money as a result of… Continue reading More Lose Money Investing in Real Estate

Almost Half Are Distress Sales

By Mike Colpitts Nearly half of all U.S. home sales are now either foreclosures or bank-assisted short sales, according to the Campbell Inside Mortgage Finance survey taken monthly. Distress sales composed 48.6% of sales in March. The survey polls more than 3,000 real estate agents and brokers monthly. The latest poll also found that buyer… Continue reading Almost Half Are Distress Sales

Law Would Waive Taxes

By Mike Colpitts A new proposal made by a Florida member of the U.S. House of Representatives would waive federal income taxes on retirement plans if the proceeds were used to buy a home that was foreclosed. The bill, offered by Representative Bill Posey (R-FL), a Realtor has made the resolution as part of the… Continue reading Law Would Waive Taxes

Decline Confirms Double Dip

By Kevin Chiu Home prices have clearly shown a double-dip is underway in the housing market, according to real estate data provider Clear Capital. The values of residential properties fell 0.7% below prior lows in 2009 as forecast by Housing Predictor. The drop in home values demonstrates that markets remain stressed as a result of… Continue reading Decline Confirms Double Dip