Real Estate Consumer News

U.S. Foreclosure activity decreasing in the west and on the rise in the midwest and east

Dennis Norman — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:52:41 +0000

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for April 2012 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 188,780 properties in the U.S. during the month, a 5 percent decrease from the previous month and a decrease of 14 percent from April 2011 and is [...] Related posts:

Report says housing market recovery to be led by demand by investors for rental property

Dennis Norman — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:45:22 +0000

According to a new report, The Shifting Nature of U.S. Housing Demand, by The Demand Institute, average home prices will increase by up to 1 percent in the second half of 2012. By 2014, home prices will increase by as much as 2.5 percent. From 2015 to 2017, the study projects annual increases between 3 and 4 percent. This recovery will not be uniform across the country, and the strongest markets could capture average gains of 5 percent or more in the coming years. [...] Related posts:

New home construction continues to show modest improvement

Dennis Norman — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:05:00 +0000

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for April 2012 showing an increase in single-family home building permits from the month before of 1.9 percent and a 18.5 percent increase in new home starts compared to the year before. [...] Related posts:

Mortgage Rate Update; How does amortization work?

Robert Fishel — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:09:30 +0000

By committing to a mortgage loan, the borrower is entering into a financial agreement with a lender to pay back the mortgage money, with interest, over a set period of time. The borrower’s monthly mortgage payment may change over time depending on the type of loan (Fixed, ARM, Interest Only, etc.). However, for this article, we will address the typical 30 year fixed Principal and Interest loan program. So… [...] Related posts:

Fed Reserve Governor Duke on the "Prescriptions for Housing Recovery"

Dennis Norman — Tue, 15 May 2012 03:43:07 +0000

Before you go getting too excited over my headline, I should point out that, even though Fed Reserve Board Governor Duke's presentation today at the National Association of REALTORS mid-year meeting in Washington D.C. was titled "Prescriptions for Housing Recovery", Governor Duke opened her remarks with "I wish I had such a prescription". She went on to say that it is difficult to think of a single thing that, by itself will generate a sustainable recovery in housing. She did say, however, that she saw some policies that will help reduce the shadow inventory of houses in the foreclosure pipeline as well as improve the availability of financing to potential home buyers. [...] Related posts:

How to protect yourself from mortgage fraud

Dennis Norman — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:46:17 +0000

The collapse of the real estate market, along with a down economy has created a fertile environment for fraudsters to attempt to advantage of the many desperate homeowners that are out there. Their methods vary from foreclosure “rescue” schemes, mortgage assistance scams and other scams that generally offer to lower your payments or debt, prevent [...] Related posts:

Mortgage loan delinquencies drop to lowest rate since 2009

Dennis Norman — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:36:09 +0000

More good news on the housing market! The national mortgage delinquency rate (borrowers that are 60 or more days past due) declined for the first 3 months of 2012, coming in at 5.78 percent according to a report issued by TransUnion. This is after increases in the delinquency rate in the prior 2 quarters and is the lowest rate since the 1st quarter of 2009. [...] Related posts:

What cities have had the best recovery of the real estate market?

Dennis Norman — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:18:14 +0000

Finally, after several years of writing depressing things about the real estate market and housing industry, I'm getting to write some positive things lately! Well, to keep the party going, today I have a list of 10 towns in the U.S. that are leading the U.S. in terms of a housing market recovery according to the "Top Turnaround Town Report" from REALTOR.com. Seven of the top ten markets are in Florida, but the number 1 turnaround town in the U.S. according to the report is Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona where the inventory of homes for sale has fallen almost 50 percent in the past year while prices increased almost 27 percent during the same period. [...] Related posts:

Mortgage Rate Update; Why Refinance?

Robert Fishel — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:08:32 +0000

With interest rates at all time lows, it is worth the few minutes to do a mortgage check up and determine if a refinance would be beneficial to your situation. Since there are many reasons a homeowner may choose to refinance, we’ll take a look at the few most common reasons to consider a refinance. [...] Related posts:

Report shows home prices stabilizing as result of improving balance between supply and demand

Dennis Norman — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:38:32 +0000

A report released this morning by CoreLogic, one of the nations leading providers of property information shows that home prices in the U.S. fell in March 0.6 percent from the year before and increased by 0.6 percent from the month before. Excluding distressed sales, month-over-month home prices increased for the third month in a row. If we take distressed sales out of the picture then the year-over-year home prices increased 0.9 percent. [...] Related posts: