National News

NAHREP Appoints New Board Leadership for 2016

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) has appointed Leo Pareja as their new president elect, as well as four new additions to the board, according to a statement released by NAHREP. “Leo Pareja is an outstanding example of

U.S. Job Growth Exceeds Expectations

The 2015 job market finished out the year on a high note The economy added 292,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0 percent, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

3 Real Estate Trends That Will Not Change in 2016

Some Americans think 2016 will offer more of the same for housing Earlier this week, we reported on a new realtor.com study, which featured a largely positive list of trends that will change heading into 2016. Trulia published their own survey of

Houston’s Rental Market Shows No Signs of Slowing in 2016

How did the local rent markets close out the year? The Houston rental market finished 2015 on active terrain, according to new analysis from Reis. For the 12-month period ending in December, Houston rents rose 4.5 percent, slightly slower than the 4.6 percent

Green Features Remain Important to Homebuyers

“Green” and energy-efficient features remain important to homebuyers, though some options are more sought-after than others. That finding came courtesy of NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, and to parse through the results, we put together the

MBA: Mortgage Applications Fall Considerably in Late December

According to Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Jan. 1, 2016, mortgage applications decreased 27 percent from two weeks prior. Refinancing mortgage activity decreased to 55.4 percent of total applications, from 56.1 percent the previous

5 Real Estate Trends to Expect in 2016

How will the 2016 housing market take shape? When all the statistics are tallied, 2015 will likely have been the best year for new home sales since 2007, which has raised expectations for 2016. Realtor.com has highlighted five housing trends

Tight Inventories Push Down Pending Home Sales

Pending home sales in November declined for the third time in four months as buyers continue to battle both rising home prices and limited homes available for sale, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales

CFPB Takes Reassuring Tone Among TRID Complaints

Existing-home sales fell more than 10 percent in November, marking the slowest sales pace in 19 months and possibly serving as quantifiable proof of the effect TRID is having on the industry, according to National Association of Realtors Chief

Homeownership Out of Reach for Many Houston Renters

Stagnant wages and high rents combine to push homeownership out of reach for thousands of Houston residents More than 625,000 renters in the Houston housing market struggle with the cost of housing, according to a new report from the Joint Center of Housing

Strong November New Homes Sales Could Make for Best Year Since 2007

New home sales are shaping up for their best year since 2007 Sales of new single-family homes in November rose 4.3 percent from October and 9.1 percent from Nov. 2014 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 490,000, according

What Rising Rents and Declining Affordability Mean for Housing

Housing is on a precipice of affordability, according to a new study The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University has offered some unflinching examinations of the nation’s housing market, particularly in terms of affordability and the growing

Is Young Adult Homeownership Ready for a Turnaround?

Data suggests the young adult homeownership rate is stabilizing After decades of decline, the 25-to-34-year-old homeownership rate has begun to level out, seeing no significant decline in 2014, according to Fannie Mae’s Housing Insights report. That trend, according to

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Act Extended To 2017

As part of a wider piece of tax legislation, Congress has voted to extended the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Act to 2017. Originally passed in 2007, the act protects underwater homeowners from incurring tax bills on the debt forgiven during

Is the American Middle Class Disappearing? 4 Stats to Consider

Where does America’s middle class stand financially? New analysis from the Pew Research Center explains The U.S. middle class, which has long defined the country’s economic prosperity, is no longer the majority of Americans. That eye-grabbing finding came courtesy of

November a Universally Strong Month for New Construction

It was a month of thanksgiving for the nation’s homebuilders November offered U.S. homebuilders many reasons to give thanks, with permits, starts and completions all in positive territory. According to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau, building

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