Home buyers are returning to the mortgage market, undeterred by rising mortgage rates.Mortgage applications to buy a home, viewed as a gauge of future home-buying activity, climbed 4 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Purchase applications are now nearly 5 percent higher than a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.“More prospective home buyers returned to the market after two weeks of decreases in purchas
Homes with a good view fetch a premium, particularly among city dwellers. But how much more are they willing to pay for a home with a good view?Realtor.com®’s research team compared the prices of homes for sale on its site that highlight sought-after views and then compared those homes to similar-sized properties in adjacent ZIP codes that don’t make any special note of a great view. (Note: Many of the homes with the best views are in luxury
Which public builders are making the grade? BUILDER recently released its report card profile of 21 public companies, based on their sales for 2016.The BIG BUILDER Report Card compares the performance of public home builders and assigns them a letter grade based on that performance. Builders are graded in four major categories: financial, land, operations, and sales and marketing. The financial category carries the most weight at 40 percent of th
The pace of young adults leaving their parents’ homes is accelerating significantly, Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group notes in a new analysis.Young adults in their mid- to late 20s or early 30s living with their parents fell between 2013 and 2015—a period known as the economic recovery—much more so than between 2010 and 2012, when the economy and housing market were still recovering from the Great Recession, researchers
Things you can do to generate a constant stream of prospectsKey Takeaways Teach community classes about buying or selling homes to get great quality leads. Involve yourself in community projects to network and find more leads.Most real estate agents aim to have several deals in the works at any given time. If that’s your goal, you’ve probably wondered how to ensure the constant flow of leads necessary to make it happen.Prospecting is your ans
Video is an essential piece of online marketing today. As your brand expands its use of video—whether through live streaming in the field or creating polished video campaigns—these tips from Mike Reff, owner of the video production and digital marketing company Hey Mr. Digital Media and media specialist at Madison & Company Properties in Denver, will go a long way in helping your production become more viewer-friendly.Think beyond the ver
Mosquitos can be a homeowner’s nemesis. As the temperatures rise, mosquitoes are coming out. The mosquito season typically runs April to October. Yards can quickly become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, particularly your vacant listings, if you don’t take precautions (see sidebar).And if you live in Atlanta, you’ll want to take added precaution. Atlanta landed at the top of the list of top 50 mosquito cities in the country, according to Or
Aging homeowners say they want to remain in their homes as they get older, and they’re increasingly taking on remodeling projects to help them do that. The past five years have seen a spike in the number of remodelers who say they’ve done aging-in-place house modifications as awareness for this type of project grows among the public, according to a National Association of Home Builders’ Remodelers survey released this week.“Low-cost, simp
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that cities can sue banks over housing discrimination they claim led to urban blight in their communities. However, cities will face a high standard proving it to courts.Several cities nationwide have sued major lenders under the federal Fair Housing Act, arguing that banks need to be held accountable for harming their communities. In its ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court justices agreed that not just individua
The housing market has been off to a roar this spring. In fact, the market is performing so strongly that the National Association of REALTORS® has upgraded its forecast for the year.At the start of the year, home sales were expected to match last year’s pace due to higher mortgage rates and diminishing affordability. But the market is hardly slowing down, notes Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. He now predicts existing-home sales to rise
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