News / Features

FHFA Puts Finishes Touches on REO-to-Rental Program

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is putting the final finishing touches on its closely watched REO conversion program, according to FHFA official Meg Burns. A plan to sell distressed Fannie Mae properties to investors, who will then rent

Stability Key Feature in Obama’s April Housing Scorecard

Greater stability and sales activity were the big takeaways from the Obama White House’s latest Housing Scorecard, a detailed report on the nation’s housing market. Released in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and

Bob Miles is Ten Year Legend Award Recipient

Bob Miles is a real estate agent at Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors Katy office and this years Prudential annual sales convention held in Orland Florida in March, he won the the Ten Year Legend Award. Miles has been in

Despite Soft Jobs Report, Housing Attitudes Stabilizing

The U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, a relatively small amount that nonetheless reduced the unemployment rate, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but homeowner interest remains high in Fannie Mae’s latest National

Non-Conforming Practices in Lending

The federal conforming loan limit was one of the most highly contentious issues in the tail end of 2011, but based on recent statistics, all that controversy seems to have been for naught. Originally passed in late 2008 to

Mansion vs. McMansion

Just as many consumers ponder what McDonalds burgers are really made of, real estate professionals and journalists ask an equally probing question: What is a “McMansion”? According to research completed by Brian Miller, a sociologist at Wheaton College who has

Supply-Side Economics in the Construction Field

A mill fire in the British Columbia is impacting the current price of lumber, though the future for the construction material is still debatable. The result of wood dust, the fire has pushed the Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite

Houston Housing Overcomes Adversity

Despite a tough mortgage market, Houston’s housing market continues to flourish, thanks to consumer demand and a strong local economy. For the Houston area, home sales increased 9 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, and the median home price

Foreclosure Rates Fall in Latest CoreLogic Report

Foreclosure rates continued their year-over-year declines in CoreLogic’s National Foreclosure Report for March, a monthly assessment of the foreclosure markets. The 69,000 completed foreclosures in March 2012 were 14,000 less than in March 2011, though they were a slight

Lenders Take Tiny Steps Into Jumbo Market

The jumbo loan market, once a dominant force in mortgages, is a shadow of its former self, and with the Dodd-Frank legislation pending, some are wondering when the super-sized lending option will make a true return to the housing

Student Debt Crisis Poses New Challenges for Agents

In survey after survey, Americans reaffirm their interest in owning a home, but a new obstacle is hindering that dream for recent college graduates – student debt. Now totaling more than $1 trillion, according to a recent report from

REO Properties Buck Housing Trends with Rising Prices

Falling home values have been one of the more stubborn inhibitors to a true housing recovery, but new research by Clear Capital has found no such problems in the REO market. According to a HousingWire article on the research,

Construction Spending Rebounds in March

After a couple of mild months, construction spending rebounded in March, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For the month, spending was up 6.0 percent from March 2011 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $808.1

SWMJ Construction Announces Expansion

Houston-based SWMJ Construction announced that they will no longer only be a government rehabilitation and remodeling and small to medium commercial construction group; the company will enter the residential remodeling industry because, the company says, the Houston market has

Mortgage Rates Lowest In Decades

Freddie Mac’s average 30-year FRM fell again last week to 3.88 percent, an incredible 0.90 percent lower than April of 2011. Though low rates have become a seeming custom in recent months, an article from CNN Money offers one essential reminder –

Despite the Web’s Ubiquity, Agents Still a Vital Asset

By now, every agent has heard at least once how important the Internet is, but a new survey from HomeFinder.com has reaffirmed the continuing importance of real estate agents. In a wide-ranging consumer survey of nearly 400 HomeFinder.com users, the website

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