Research Firm Says Real Estate Stabilizing

By Mike Colpitts Almost six years after the U.S. housing market began its collapse, one of the nation’s largest real estate research firms says the housing market is making strides towards stabilizing and may be close to a bottom of the market. CoreLogic analysts say the U.S. housing market “is transitioning to more stability in… Continue reading Research Firm Says Real Estate Stabilizing

Jobs Data Weakens Real Estate Market

By Ryan Jackson Three straight months of weak employment growth is likely to slow the recovery in the U.S. real estate market since job growth is the biggest indicator of future home sales. The unemployment rate rose to 8.2% Friday as a result of businesses failing to hire more workers. The disappointing news added to… Continue reading Jobs Data Weakens Real Estate Market

Healing Real Estate Market Behind the Numbers

By Ryan Jackson The bread and butter of the housing market, single family home sales rose just 3% in April to 4.09 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. Although the increase represents an improvement for the U.S. housing market, it shows a healing upturn in the pace of sales going into the… Continue reading Healing Real Estate Market Behind the Numbers

Owner Financing Grows in Popularity

By Mike Colpitts Faced with a tight mortgage market, owner financing is growing in popularity as more homeowners market their homes to benefit new owners. But misconceptions over the easy availability of homes financed by their current owners keep many wannabe buyers from making home purchases. U.S. banks offer mortgages under tightly regulated criteria to… Continue reading Owner Financing Grows in Popularity

History Breaking Mortgage Rates Dip

By Mike Colpitts The history breaking spree runs on for U.S. mortgage rates as the 30-year fixed rate loan experienced a slight dip, dropping a single basis point from last week to 3.78%, according to Freddie Mac. The rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage held steady at 3.04%. The 5-year adjustable rate mortgage averaged 2.83%,… Continue reading History Breaking Mortgage Rates Dip

Home Buying Picks Up

By Mike Colpitts Ushered in by near record low mortgage rates, evidence of a pick up in home buying is beginning to develop as the annual spring home buying season turns into high gear, with an increase in home purchase applications for mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The announcement is good news for… Continue reading Home Buying Picks Up

Bank of America Increases Short Sale Payments

By Ryan Jackson Bank of America, which has performed more foreclosures than any other single U.S. lender is raising the amount of money it pays delinquent homeowners to agree to a short sale. The program will pay any where from $2,500 to $30,000 in relocation assistance to qualifying mortgage holders. The program is hoped to… Continue reading Bank of America Increases Short Sale Payments

Home Sales Jump in April

By Mike Colpitts Existing home sales jumped for the first time in three months in April, rising 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.62 million units, and are 10% higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. Home prices also showed some improvement. However, homes listed on the market for… Continue reading Home Sales Jump in April

Housing Index Shows Upward Trend

By Mike Colpitts Home prices declined an average of less than one-percent in the U.S. on a year to year basis through the end of March, according to a heavily watched housing price index indicating an upward trend for the marketplace. The CoreLogic index showed that prices were down 0.6% from one year ago, including… Continue reading Housing Index Shows Upward Trend

Home Purchases Jump Two Weeks

By Mike Colpitts Led by a jump in conventional mortgage applications, home purchases rose for the second week in a row signaling a positive turn for the U.S. housing market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly index. Pushed by record all-time low mortgage rates, buyers turned out to take advantage of the historically low… Continue reading Home Purchases Jump Two Weeks