National News

Pending Home Sales Lose Strength as Year Ends

Pending home sales took a step back in December, but remain well above 2013 levels. The National Association of Realtors released its newest Pending Home Sales Index today, finding that despite persistently low interest rates, December pending home sales

No End in Sight For Houston’s Inventory Spiral

We’re all waiting for Houston’s housing inventory situation to improve…but that has yet to happen. The inventory situation in Houston continued to worsen in 2014, according to new numbers from realtor.com. Per realtor.com’s analysis, inventory in Houston dropped by 4.9 percent from November

Supreme Court Hears Arguments Against Landmark Housing Equality Legislation

The Federal Housing Act has helped curb housing discrimination since the late 60s. A new lawsuit could see to extend those protections or limit them. On April 4, 1968, a historic date by any measure, civil rights leader Martin Luther

New Home Sales Price Sets New Record in 2014

New home sales may have disappointed in 2014, but median sales price was an entirely different matter. December may have capped off a lackluster year of sales for newly built single-family homes, but when it came to the median

ListHub Releases New Details on Zillow Split

ListHub publishes letter offering new details on their forthcoming split with Zillow, while Zillow finds new MLS provider. In a bombshell statement released in early January, Zillow announced that as of April 7 the listing portal would no longer

Texas Home Prices Remain Positive in New Case-Shiller

Home prices in the Texas area remained right on track in the latest Case-Shiller. Home prices in the Texas area remained positive as ever in November, with prices in Dallas rising 0.1 percent from October and 7.7 percent from Nov. 2013, according to the latest Case-Shiller

December Sales Hit 7 Year Peak, Threaten Affordability

Strong late year sales emphasize the presence of persisting demand, but low inventory could lead to eventual affordability problems. Existing-home sales faltered moving into the deep winter months, but according to a new report from the National Association of

Are Mortgages Any Easier to Come By? In a Word: Somewhat

Everyone knows that lending standards today are relatively restrictive by historic standards, but are they loosening up at all as housing and the economy improve? To find out, we took an exclusive look at CoreLogic’s Housing Credit Index (HCI),

Special Report: Distressed Sales Nearly Nonexistent in Housing Today

Here is an undeniably positive development in the housing recovery. Distressed home sales – such as the one in our photo above – were the most visible result of the housing downturn, a true sign of the unfortunate times.

Will a ‘Strong’ U.S. Dollar Ruin International Real Estate in the U.S.?

Foreign home sales have been a big deal in the U.S., but could the strengthening economic climate change that? Foreign real estate has been a big deal in the U.S. during the housing recovery, and the numbers speak for themselves

3 Ways the 2014 Homebuilding Market Bested 2013

How was 2014’s homebuilding market better than 2013’s? Allow us to count the ways… The numbers are in, and they’re quite clear in their conclusions – by every possible metric, 2014’s homebuilding market represented a strong improvement over 2013.

When to Schedule Closings: A Review of 2014

Danielle Hale of NAR tackles existing-homes sales to determine what the most popular closing dates of 2014 were. It’s a whimsical if not slightly tired cliché to say “it’s all in the timing,” but in rare form, it’s one

4 Important (and Surprising) Economic Trends Agents Should Know About

Sure, the economy is doing better than it was a year ago, but the narrative extends far deeper than that. New survey data from Pew Research is very much in line with the government’s latest jobs numbers, as more

Millennial Employment Stands Out in Housing Barometer

Trulia’s fourth quarter Housing Barometer explains how housing ended 2014 on a good note. Trulia released its newest Housing Barometer this week, which reflects 2014’s fourth quarter on a scale of 0 percent (recession levels) to 100 percent (pre-crisis

Just How Low are Mortgage Rates, Right Now? Answer: Really, Really Low

Okay, we all know that mortgage rates are low right now…but just how low? With mortgage rates expected to rise in 2015, we decided to take a closer look at the historical averages for rates – and via numbers from Freddie

With Strong Price Increases, is Houston Now Overvalued?

We’ve come a long ways since the market crash, but does new research suggest we’ve gone too far? With asking prices up in Houston by 13.4 percent, the market the market may be overvalued to market fundamentals, according to a new

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