An overhaul in how several major credit reporting agencies factor in negative credit information is prompting millions of consumers’ credit scores to rise. Collection events were struck from 8 million consumers’ credit reports in the 12 months ending in June. The New York Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that consumers who had at least one collections account removed from their credit reports are seeing an 11-point increase to their scores.Cr
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking steps to scale back a fair housing rule that had sought to combat housing segregation. HUD Secretary Ben Carson says the 2015 rule is standing in the way of efforts to add more affordable housing.The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule required cities and towns to examine historic patterns of segregation, and then create plans to combat them. Those who didn’t comply risked l
House hunters who are actively seeking a home to buy are spending significant amounts of time looking for that perfect space, according to a new poll by the National Association of Home Builders. More than half of prospective buyers surveyed in the second quarter said they’d been trying to find the right home for three months or longer.The two chief reasons why home buyers said their search was taking so long was not being able to find a home
Unemployment is low and the economy is growing—at a clip of more than 4 percent in the last quarter—but home sales are going down for many real estate professionals. The typical agent in the last year worked on 11 transaction sides, down from 12 sides the previous year.What’s happening? For starters, the inventory crunch is holding markets back. Particularly in the lower price points, there just aren’t many homes for sale. But there are a
The Big Apple pushes out San Francisco as the priciest place to live when you look at what buyers are paying per square foot, according to a new report released by NeighborhoodX, a real estate and data analytics firm. In Manhattan, the priciest property is fetching $10,054 per square foot.New York’s central area is more than twice as expensive as any other city in the U.S. on a per-square-foot basis, according to the report. Manhattan real esta
Wildfires are blazing throughout the state of California, with more than 10,000 people under mandatory evacuation as their homes remain under threat.But as firefighters work on the containment of at least 11 wildfires that continue to burn throughout the state, the California Department of Insurance is already warning homeowners about the insurance headaches they will likely face, even for those whose homes weren’t affected in the latest fire
The wave of foreclosures during the Great Recession was blamed on rising unemployment and subprime loans. But a new research study by Jacob W. Faber and Peter M. Rich suggests the foreclosure fallout may have been from something more: Homeowners who overextended themselves financially by paying for their children’s college education.“Our findings uncover a previously overlooked dimension of the foreclosure crisis, and highlight mortgage ins
How can you spot a town that is an outdoor haven? “If you see a lot of rugged vehicles with bike racks and hauling kayaks, that’s a telltale sign at the ground level that you’re in one of these places,” Chris Chesak, a travel consultant based in Cincinnati, told realtor.com®. “In an outdoors city, [residents will] meet up for a hike. The primary focus isn’t sitting around—it’s being outside.”Realtor.com®’s research team scou
Rising sea levels may be prompting affluent home buyers to rethink purchasing waterfront vacation properties along the country's coasts. Cities and homeowners in wealthy oceanside enclaves on the eastern and western seaboards are fighting to keep erosion and high tides from damaging homes, The Washington Post reports.“I plan to stay and fight as long as I can,” homeowner Justine Kenney told the Post about trying to save her 1940s home in
The median age of owner-occupied homes in the U.S. is 37, indicating that more properties may become pricier to maintain as they grow older and vulnerable to disrepair, according to the 2016 American Community Survey.But builders view the aging housing stock as an opportunity. Rising home prices may prompt more households to spend more on home improvement, the National Association of Home Builders notes on its Eye on Housing blog. Further, “thi
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