Austin, Texas, ranked number one for the second year in a row as the top place to live in the United States, according to new rankings released by U.S. News & World Report. The magazine ranks the 125 largest metros based on affordability, employment prospects, and quality of life each year.“When deciding on a place to settle down, it’s important to understand that where a person lives can impact their well-being,” says Kim Castro, execu
The latest consumer sentiment index from Fannie Mae shows that home buyers don’t seem to be deterred by rising prices and rates, at least for now. The net share of survey respondents who said now is a good time to buy rose 10 percentage points in March month over month and is now at 32 percent, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index, based on a poll of about 1,000 consumers.Overall, the index rose 2.5 percent in March to a re
The effect of natural disasters—hurricanes and wildfires—in 2017 appears to have a lessening impact on mortgage delinquencies at least on the national levels. Nearly 5 percent of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due) in January, a slight decline from a year ago, according to CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insights Report, released Tuesday.But the areas hit by natural disasters late last year continue to face e
The Realtors Property Resource®, a real estate data and analytics platform, hit a record number of users in March, the National Association of REALTORS® announced. RPR is a subsidiary of NAR.The number of RPR users surged to a record 178,000, a 16 percent increase from a year ago. RPR webinars posted a 135 percent increase in registrations, and average attendance per webinar rose by 158 percent. The number of new accounts created in the first
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice will hold a public workshop June 5 in Washington, D.C., to explore issues related to competition among residential real estate brokerages. The agencies also will invite the public to submit comments on several topics online through July 31, including brokerage models and MLS practices. “Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial transactions most consumers make in their
Median prices for luxury homes in the Santa Monica, Calif., ZIP code of 90401 have surged 60.7 percent over the last year, making it the hottest high-end ZIP code in the country, according to a new analysis by realtor.com®. The site’s researchers culled housing data from April 2016 through March 2017 for more than 600 ZIP codes where median list prices are above $1 million. They compared that 12-month period to the previous year to identify th
Monthly mortgage payments have risen an average of nearly 13 percent nationwide over the last year—or an extra $168—as buyers grapple with both higher home prices and increasing mortgage rates, according to a realtor.com® analysis. Luxury buyers are feeling the worst sticker shock, paying double the rate. In the top 10 percent of the market, owners are now paying an average $241 more per month.Mortgage interest rates are about a half of a pe
Many older Americans may be concerned about having enough money to cover their expenses when they enter retirement, as 41 percent of homeowners ages 65 and older are still carrying mortgage debt, according to 2016 data from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. The percentage of older adults who are still paying off their mortgage while in retirement has steadily increased over the years.Some may turn to reverse mortgages, which allow
Borrowers found some relief for the second consecutive week with lower mortgage rates.“After dropping earlier this week on trade-related anxiety in financial markets, the benchmark 10-year Treasury stabilized on Wednesday, but at a level slightly lower than from the start of last week,” explains Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist. “Mortgage rates followed and fell for the second consecutive week. … Though rates on the 30-
Ten cities are banding together in a new effort to create a place for city leaders to find solutions for improving affordability and reducing evictions. The effort, launched in late March, is called the PolicyLink All-in Cities Anti-Displacement Policy Network. Mayors, city council members, and senior city staff members from 10 U.S. cities are meeting next week to draft policy ideas and solutions.The cities hope that by teaming up they’ll be a
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