New Homes Section

Mortgage Servicers Under Fire, Not Only by the Obama Administration

JaysonNHS — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:34:16 +0000

Representatives of the Obama Administration have been accusing banks and lenders of failing to properly refinance mortgage loans that would allow tens-of-thousands of homeowners to remain in their houses. A lawsuit has been filed against the five largest mortgage servicers, in the first government lawsuit against them for alleged improper foreclosure practices including robo-signing. The [...]

The Best Homebuilders for Customer Satisfaction

JaysonNHS — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:48:26 +0000

The winners in the 2012 Eliant Homebuyers’ Choice Awards have been announced, and once again a handful of homebuilders are walking away with recognition for their stellar customer service and distinguished construction quality. The top award for overall achievement—named “The Eliant”—went again this year to Rosewood Homes of Scottsdale, Arizona, marking the third-consecutive year the [...]

Voters Still Pro-Homeownership

JaysonNHS — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:05:29 +0000

Homeownership still ranks high on the priority lists of most voters, leaving politicians open to voter criticisms when their policies weaken incentives and aid for homeownership, a recent survey has found. Of the 1,500 voters polled in key “swing areas” of the United States for this recent inquiry, three out of four voters believed that [...]

SOPA/PIPA and the Real Estate Community

JaysonNHS — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:01:57 +0000

If you went online this past Wednesday and found some of your favorite sites blacked out (like Wikipedia, for instance), then you ran headlong into the one-day online protest against SOPA/PIPA. But if you think that this legislation involves arcane details about high-level technological operations of which you neither care nor understand, think again: SOPA [...]

Home Prices Continue Downward Trajectory, But Optimism Shines

JaysonNHS — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:46:26 +0000

Data released this week by the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices show that home prices fell in November of 2011, dropping just over 1 percent from the prior month. Home prices also saw a substantial drop year-over-year, posting a 3.7 percent drop from those seen in November of 2010—a pullback worse than the 3.2 percent drop [...]

Obama’s 2012 Mortgage Refinancing Plan

JaysonNHS — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:20:28 +0000

Aimed at helping underwater homeowners who are current with their mortgage payments, the plan seeks to allow those owners with negative equity to...

New Home Construction Eases in December

JaysonNHS — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:52:50 +0000

The home building industry slowed construction of new homes in December, capping 2011 as one of the most sluggish on record for new home starts and completions. However, most industry analysts and experts remain optimistic for the burgeoning of a recovery in the embattled sector. The data, released Thursday by the U. S. Census Bureau [...]

Pending Home Sales Ease

JaysonNHS — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:44:32 +0000

Americans eased their home shopping in December, according to data released this week by the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking barometer of activity in the housing market, showed pending home sales slowed slightly in December, after the 19-month highs that were seen in November. The modest decline—typical for the [...]

2011 New Home Sales: Out with a Whimper

JaysonNHS — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:42:41 +0000

The median price of a new home in the United States was $210,300 last month, down 12.8 percent from December 2010...

What to Expect When Closing on Your Home

Kevin Koitz — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:53:26 +0000

For most buyers, the closing takes about one hour to complete. It is possible, however, that the closing will take longer if you are not clear on...