News / Features

Monthly Existing-Home Sales Falter, but Retain Yearly Gains

After increasing almost 8 percent in August, existing-home sales fell back to earth in September, decreasing 3 percent from August but retaining strong year-over-year gains, according to new data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) today. Total sales

Prey’s Anatomy: Perspectives on the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction

Who knew something so popular could receive such scorn? Since mid-September, when the mortgage interest tax deduction (MID) was floated as a possible casualty of the Congressional “Super Committee” charged with lowering the federal deficit, the famous deduction has

Renting and Homeownership at Odds in Freddie Housing Report

Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft released the October 2011 Economic Outlookyesterday, reporting a decrease in homeownership but increase in rental demand. On one hand, Nothaft reported an increase of 1.4 million households that have moved to rental properties

Fed Approves New Resolution Plans, But is it Enough?

The Federal Reserve approveda new policy on Monday that aims to clarify how larger financial institutions would handle another systemic shock to the banking sector, though some critics still say the new policy falls short. The plan, which was

Housing Starts Jump 15 Percent in September

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced new data for construction earlier today, the most notable being that housing starts rose 15 percent from August to September. In total, privately-owned housing starts were

Are Short Sales the Remedy for Home Values?

The past few months, media outlets have been awash with proposed remedies for falling home prices, but the latest solution comes from an unlikely source: short sales, home sales of distressed homes before they are repossessed and sold by

Home Sales Continue Summer Surge into Fall

The cooling temperatures had not the slightest effect on home sales in Houston, as sales increased for the fourth straight month and the fifth overall month in 2011. Year-over-year, sales were up 16.9 percent, and prices rose 0.4 percent

City View Lofts Makes Apartments out of a Cookie Factory

Keeping with the trend of transforming downtown commercial spaces into housing units, City View Lofts has turned a 100-year-old Nabisco cookie factory on N. Chenevert into 57 loft

This Time It’s Personal – FICO Revamps Credit Scores

In an effort to better represent the financial stability of potential homebuyers, Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO) has announced a collaborative venture with CoreLogic to broaden the base of factors it utilizes when rating clients of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae

Builder Confidence Posts Highest Monthly Gain in 19 Months

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) rose to 18, an increase of four points from September to October, the highest monthly gain in 19 months. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB),

Could HUD Programs Be The Next Budgetary Cut?

Budget reductions are a hot topic in Washington right now, and if two bills from the House and Senate are any indication, funds for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) could be in danger. HUD funds are

Lagging Supply Threatens Ultimate Buyer’s Market

Housing inventories, according to data from the National Association of Realtors’ Realtor.com, are down 20 percent from last year to 2.19 million. That’s the lowest level since the site began tracking inventories in 2007, and it poses a unique challenge

Sideways Growth the Projection for Thursday’s Sales Data

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will release its existing home sales data on Thursday, and housing guru Tom Lawler is predicting a continuation of the sideways growth that has defined home sales for the last four months. Posted

Children of the ’50s a Boom to Real Estate

If only all potential homebuyers operated like the baby boomer generation – then business really would be booming! According to a national survey conducted by Coldwell Banker of more than 1300 of the firm’s agents, 87 percent of the

Guaranteed Rate Opens New Branch in Dallas

Guaranteed Rate, Inc., one of the largest and fastest growing independent mortgage lenders in the country, has just announced it is opening a new branch in Dallas-Fort Worth. Nick Marascia, who will be the branch’s manager, said Guaranteed Rate is

App Review: Mortgage Calculator Pro

Price: $0.99 How it Works: The Mortgage Calculator Pro, one of the top 10 finance apps for 2010, is a quick and easy calculator designed for brokers, Realtors and homebuyers. Optimized for iOS 4 and Retina Display, Calculator Pro

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