Real estate associations and firms are rushing to help thousands of displaced hurricane victims find temporary housing in the Houston area. The Houston Association of REALTORS® launched a housing section on its website to help victims of Hurricane Harvey find a temporary place to live. The site allows real estate professionals, property owners, landlords, and property managers to post homes they agree to make available. Some of the homes poste
Real estate professionals in South Florida say housing was largely spared the wrath of Hurricane Irma last week, and they expect only minor delays in closings. Homes that were under contract when Irma hit will need to be reinspected, says Jim Flood, regional manager for Supreme Lending in Fort Lauderdale. Some lenders are covering the average $200 cost for reinspections and extending interest rate lock-ins for 10 days to help clients minimize del
In the second quarter of this year, 5.6 percent of all home sales were flips, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q2 2017 U.S. Home Flipping Report. The report defines a flip as a property that is sold for the second time within a 12-month period.As housing inventory remains low and buyers get more competitive, home flippers are employing a number of strategies to gain an edge and improve their ROI, says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president a
The recent Equifax data breach, which exposed the personal information of about 143 million Americans—one of the largest hacks on record—could put home sales at risk. For consumers trying to get a mortgage, the data breach, which compromised people’s Social Security numbers, addresses, and credit card information, could stall their loan approval or put them at risk for having their information stolen and used in unlawful real estate transa
Young adults strapped with student debt are delaying buying a home an average of seven years, according to a joint study by the National Association of REALTORS® and American Student Assistance released Monday. The average student debt load among survey respondents—who are millennials between the ages of 22 and 35—is $41,200, which is higher than their average annual income of $38,800, the study shows.Eighty percent of the more than 2,000
Mortgage rates mostly held at last week’s year-to-date lows, offering another opportunity for borrowers to take advantage of savings.“Following a sharp decline last week, the 10-year Treasury yield rose 11 basis points this week,” says Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti. “The 30-year mortgage rate, however, remained unchanged at 3.78 percent. If Treasury yields continue to rise, mortgage rates could see an increase in next week’s
The real estate industry has been pouring in donations to go toward supporting storm victims affected by catastrophic flooding from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Over the past two weeks, individual and state and local association donations to the REALTORS® Relief Foundation have totaled $1.2 million. The National Association of REALTORS® also announced this week that it would give an additional $600,000 contribution to the RRF.The RRF says 100 pe
REALTORS® took their concerns over tax reform proposals to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with Iona Harrison, chair of the National Association of REALTORS®’ Federal Taxation Committee, warning the Senate Finance Committee that they limit or nullify the tax incentives for homeownership. Harrison said the proposals would actually raise taxes on millions of middle-class homeowners and reminded senators that a drop in home values following tax refor
Which states offer retirees the most bang for their buck? SeniorAdvice.com developed a special scoring system to identify and measure livability for seniors based on financial factors, like tax rates, cost of living expenses, average income, and senior living costs.The following five states landed at the top of SeniorAdvice.com’s rankings as the most senior-friendly for retirement finances:1. Wyoming2. Virginia3. South Dakota4. Alabama5. Louisi
Houston’s catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Harvey doesn’t appear to be a deterrent for the area’s housing demand.The brokerage firm Redfin says that its agents already have 45 home buyers ready to purchase homes where the storm hit. They said that only eight buyers backed out because of the storm. Showing requests rebounded just a week after the storm, the firm says.But the impact of the flooding likely will have an effect on home price
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