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U.S. Homeownership Rate Sinks to 15-Year Low
Tweet Share on Facebook May 1, 2012 CommentAfter cresting near 70 percent at the height of the housing boom, the homeownership rate sunk to a 15-year low during the first quarter of 2012 according to new figures released this week, another reminder that despite a recent spate of encouraging housing data, the country's real estate crisis is far from over.
The U.S. homeownership rate slipped to around 65.4 percent, according to the Census Bureau, after holding steady above 66 percent for the past three quarters. The last time the rate was this low, Bill Clinton was serving his second term as president and James Cameron's Titanic had just hit the silver screen.
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Rents Rise While Home Prices Fall
Tweet Share on Facebook April 27, 2012 Comment (1)With the job market improving, making the jump from the pull-out sofa in Mom and Dad's basement to an apartment across town (or across the country) is becoming more realistic for many Americans.
But thanks to surging rental demand, apartment hunters might be in for a little sticker shock when it comes to rent prices this year.
Average rents nationwide ticked up more than 4 percent over the past year, according to a new study from financial information and risk management firm TransUnion, which culled data from more than 130,000 rental applications across the country.
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Costco Could Be Your New Mortgage Broker
Tweet Share on Facebook April 27, 2012 Comment (2)A gallon drum of mayonnaise, a 20-pack of tube socks, and a reasonably-priced flat-screen TV are all things consumers can pick up at warehouse retailer Costco.
Now, they can add a home mortgage to their shopping lists, too.
After a year-long pilot program, Costco is rolling out a full-service home loan program, according to CNNMoney, partnering with New Jersey-based community bank First Choice Bank along with 10 other lenders.
Those lenders have already written more than 10,000 mortgages for Costco members thus far, and that number is only expected to grow as the program is more aggressively marketed.
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Realtors High on Pending Sales Data, but Housing Signals Mixed
Tweet Share on Facebook April 26, 2012 CommentIs the housing market in good shape or is it retreating back into recession territory? That's the question on many observers' minds as they try to sift through several reports this week that gave a somewhat murky picture of the state of the housing market.
First, the good news. The National Association of Realtors announced Thursday that pending home sales—a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings—rose more than 4 percent in March to its highest level since April 2010.
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More Refinance Help on Horizon for Fannie, Freddie Homeowners?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 25, 2012 Comment (5)Politicians and housing industry experts batted around a plan to further refine government refinancing programs Wednesday, weighing the impact of helping more struggling borrowers against the financial interest of American taxpayers who continue to prop up government mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The draft bill discussed at the "Helping Responsible Homeowners Save Money Through Refinancing" hearing at Wednesday's meeting of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, would allow borrowers with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to refinance their mortgages more easily to take advantage of rock-bottom interest rates. Allowing them to refinance would reduce struggling borrowers' monthly payments, help keep them in their homes, and put more money in their pockets, experts say, easing financial stress. By some estimates, homeowners with a $150,000 loan could save $1,600 a year.
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3 Slivers of Good News from The Case-Shiller Home Price Index
Tweet Share on Facebook April 24, 2012 CommentNews that home prices sank to a near-decade low in February, marking six straight months of declines, cast another shadow over a housing recovery that seemed so promising earlier this year.
Dropping about 3.5 percent year-over-year, average home prices reported in the closely followed S&P/Case-Shiller home price index were disappointing, with several cities tracked by the index hitting new post-crisis lows.
"February 2012 data confirm that, broadly-speaking, home prices continued to decline in the early months of the year," David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, said in a statement.
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Survey: Mortgage Foreclosure Scams Surge
Tweet Share on Facebook April 23, 2012 Comment (1)Not only is America's foreclosure crisis still going strong, it now comes with even more fraud and deception.
First-time foreclosure starts—default notices or scheduled foreclosure auctions—were up 7 percent from February to March, the third straight monthly increase according to foreclosure website RealtyTrac.
While those numbers are troubling for most, for scammers, it means a fresh supply of potential prey. With heightened media coverage surrounding the recent national mortgage settlement and refinements to government assistance programs, experts say selling "the schtick" has only become easier for criminals.
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Did Mitt Romney Slip On a Banana Peel When It Comes to Second Homes?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 20, 2012 Comment (3)Mitt Romney caused quite a stir this week when he told fundraisers in tony Palm Beach that he might consider limiting the home mortgage interest deduction on second homes.
"I'm going to probably eliminate for high income people the second home mortgage deduction," reporters overheard the presumptive GOP presidential nominee tell donors at a private fundraiser. "By virtue of doing that, we'll get the same tax revenue, but we'll have lower rates."
The campaign has since retreated from those remarks, playing them off as casual conversation, but others say the issue is no laughing matter.
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Existing-Home Sales Slow in March
Tweet Share on Facebook April 19, 2012 CommentIn another dose of disappointing news for the housing market, sales of existing homes fell for the second month in a row, according to data released Thursday, prompting fears that the long-awaited housing recovery heralded earlier this year may be flagging.
Existing-home sales, which include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops, slipped almost 3 percent to an annual rate of about 4.5 million units in March, according to the National Association of Realtors.
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Sell This Mansion, Get a Benz
Tweet Share on Facebook April 19, 2012 CommentSell a house, get a Benz? That's the proposition one Virginia homeowner hopes will finally get his countryside mega-mansion off his hands.
Recently retired and hoping to downsize, Ken Jenkins and his wife have struggled to sell their $1.9 million mansion, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and have now resorted to hanging a metaphoric carrot in front of the horse's mouth.
The carrot? A brand new 2012 C Class Mercedes-Benz worth about $38,000, which goes to the Realtor who sells the estate, on top of the usual commission. The idea is to entice real estate agents in Virginia and elsewhere to bring more prospective buyers through the property, hopefully resulting in a quicker sale.
