Following a series of interest rate hikes, the Federal Reserve may be ready to hit the pause button—which could be welcome news for mortgage borrowers. Notes from the Fed’s latest meeting show a consensus among board members not to raise the benchmark interest rate at the body’s January meeting or its next meeting in mid-March. However, Fed officials did say they expect economic growth to remain strong enough to still support a rate increas
Though you’re bound by the Code of Ethics not to prognosticate about the safety of any particular location, it’s an issue at the forefront of your buyers’ minds. “When homeowners think about the biggest investment of their life, top of mind is how safe an area would be to live in and raise a family,” Rick Palacios Jr., director of research at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, told realtor.com®.You can, instead, send your clients to in
Mortgage rates posted more drops this week, lowering the borrowing costs of potential home shoppers and refinancers. Rates are now at a nine-month low, which helped boost mortgage applications more than 20 percent this week.“Lower mortgage rates combined with continued income growth and lower energy prices are all positive indicators for consumers that should lead to a firming of home sales,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief e
Mortgage rates have been decreasing in recent weeks, but if they reverse course and start to rise again, more potential home buyers may get “priced out,” a new study from the National Association of Home Builders shows. About 1 million households would likely no longer be able to afford buying a median-priced new home if mortgage rates rise from 4.85 percent to 5.1 percent. Last week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.51 percent
Wages are failing to keep pace with rising home prices, according to a new study from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate research firm. Median home prices increased faster than weekly wages in 601 of the 755 counties—80 percent of the markets that researchers analyzed in the report.The markets that saw home prices outpace wage growth by some of the highest amounts were Los Angeles County, Calif.; Cook County (Chicago), Ill.; Harris County (Hou
Sellers whose homes aren’t in tip-top shape may need to spend extra money or put in a little elbow grease to get their properties in market-ready condition. But what are the most important repair or maintenance tasks that support a higher asking price? “Smaller and less expensive updates in combination with good staging will have a great return,” Susanna Haynie, GRI, a sales associate with Colorado Real Estate Group in Colorado Springs, tol
The government shutdown became the third-longest in U.S. history Monday, as 800,000 federal workers and nearly 4 million government contractors braced for a pause in their paychecks. The disruption could impact the ability of many of those affected to pay their mortgages.Twenty-three percent of Americans have no emergency savings, and 22 percent have less than than three months' worth built up, according to a 2018 Bankrate.com survey. “Any dela
Even as home prices start to cool, the market for investors who want to flip homes for a quick profit remains hot. Part of the reason flips are strong is because millennials “want to move into a home that requires minimal work,” Charles Tassell, chief operating officer of the National Real Estate Investors Association, told realtor.com®. “A house that has already been rehabbed or flipped [and is priced lower than new construction] is reall
Luxury home sales are cooling off, and some home sellers are finding they may have to invest in a few upgrades to nab top dollar for their home.High-end sales posted a 7 percent gain in October annually, the second slowest increase in more than two years, according to an analysis from realtor.com®. And while sales are slowing, inventories of homes for sale are swelling. The total number of properties listed at or above $1 million is posting doub
The new year is kicking off with lower mortgage rates for home shoppers and people looking to refinance their mortgages. The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to a 4.51 percent average this week, Freddie Mac reports.“Low mortgage rates combined with decelerating home price growth should get prospective home buyers excited to buy,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “However, it will be interesting to see how the re
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