Consumer perception of mortgage servicing brands is growing dimmer, with many saying banks are more focused on profit than their customers’ needs, according to the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study.“The past few years have not been easy for mortgage servicers, as they’ve struggled with regulatory and market pressures but still managed to deliver on customer satisfaction,” says Craig Martin, senior director
Home sellers in the second quarter of this year sold their properties for an average $51,000 more than they paid for them when they bought them. That’s the highest price gain for sellers since the second quarter of 2007, when it was $57,000, according to a new report by real estate data form ATTOM Data Solutions. This represents an average return on investment of 26 percent.The sellers had owned their homes an average of eight years, which is t
The United States is going through an energy revolution that within 20 years will reshape people’s homes and communities, experts said at the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Sustainability Summit in Washington, D.C., this week. Most people aren’t aware of the revolution right now, but that will change as the cost of alternative sources of energy, such as solar panels, plummets and the use of smart technologies—particularly LED li
Real estate professionals in New York and Arizona say they have recently received an email from a real estate professional in Jacksonville, Fla., who was offering them a referral. The problem is that when they Googled the agent’s name, they discovered she had died a month ago.The email sender claims to be late real estate professional Mary Anne Rolnick, 76, who was murdered inside her home in June. Rolnick’s son, Scott Rolnick, has been charg
Mortgage rates posted another drop this week, offering more relief to home buyers.Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending July 27: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.92 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.96 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.48 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.20 percent, with an average 0.5 po
Aurora, Ill., located outside of Chicago, topped realtor.com®’s list of the most affordable housing markets with the best elementary schools in the country.Researchers analyzed ZIP codes within the top metro areas in the nation that contained at least one public or public charter school. Realtor.com® culled data from GreatSchools.org.“When searching for a new home, finding something affordable in a good school district with family-friendl
The U.S. homeownership rate may have finally bottomed out, as the share of Americans who own homes is steadily climbing. The ownership rate posted an increase in the second quarter, reversing a sharp downward trend that begun in the Great Recession.The homeownership rate was 63.7 percent in the second quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday. That marks nearly a full percentage point increase from a year ago.Last year, the homeownership
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it will hold off on making any increases to its short-term interest rate, at least for a while longer. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the federal funds rate at its current range between 1 percent and 1.25 percent.“In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1 to 1 1/4 percent,
New-home sales inched up 0.8 percent in June, but sales would be higher if there were more new homes to sell. Sales of newly built single-family homes reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units in June, according to a joint report released by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.“While new home inventory rose slightly in June, it remains tight as builders face lot and labor shortages and in
Homes are selling faster in July, and many markets are hotter today than they were a year ago, realtor.com® notes in its newly released housing report. California markets continue to see some of the most traction from home shoppers.“We normally see the housing market begin to slow down in midsummer, but this year has been a different story,” says Javier Vivas, realtor.com®’s manager of economic research. “Mid- to lower-tier homes are fl
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