More borrowers are choosing non-banks—financial institutions that only issue loans and do not offer savings or checking accounts—to get a mortgage, The Washington Post reports. It's a major shift in borrower behavior. In 2011, 50 percent of all new mortgage loans originated from the three largest banks: JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. However, in September 2016, that share plunged to 21 percent.During that time, non-banks emerged
With the cost of building materials jumping 25 percent year over year, according to the National Association of Home Builders' NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, builders are increasingly concerned about how this will affect home buyers in the new-construction market. In 2016, builders ranked the cost of building materials low on their list of concerns—but now it's one of their top five.The increased cost of lumber is a chief catalyst. "Neg
All-cash sales are on the decline, accounting for 32.4 percent of total home sales in November 2016, down 4.5 percentage points year over year, according to CoreLogic's most recent housing data. That's a significant drop from January 2011, when cash sales were at their peak: a whopping 46.6 percent of all home sales nationally. CoreLogic experts predict cash sales will fall to a historical norm of about 25 percent by mid-2017.Cash sales are most
Parents are having a tough time saving money. Fifty-one percent of parents recently surveyed say their mortgage was having a “major impact” on their ability to save, according to Bankrate’s Money Pulse survey for February.“It’s probably not as much about the mortgage as it is that stage of life,” says Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist.Homeowners with children are likely to be in their early 30s to mid 50s and have many
Billionaire and renowned investor Warren Buffett has seen mammoth appreciation for a getaway home he owns in Laguna Beach, Calif. He purchased it in 1971 for $150,000. Now Buffett is selling the six-bedroom, 6.5-bath home for $11 million.Are there any lessons from Buffett’s savvy investment that others can draw from who are looking for high appreciation over time? Realtor.com® spotlights a few.Distinguish between price and value.Buffett first
Mortgage rates continue to defy expectations, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate barely budging for the fourth consecutive week.Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 23: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.16 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 4.15 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.62 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortga
Is now a good time for FHA to reduce hurdles to homeownership with a lower mortgage insurance premium? NAR says yes, but the Trump administration and some members of Congress aren’t so sure. On Inauguration Day, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended a planned reduction in the FHA premium saying in a letter to mortgage lenders that “more analysis and research are deemed necessary.”The quarter-point reduction had been
In 2016, 15.5 percent of home purchases were completed using Federal Housing Administration loans, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. For many borrowers, the FHA requires a down payment of just 3.5 percent of the purchase price of a home.The following are the eight metros with populations of more than 200,000 that had the largest percentage of purchases using FHA-insured loans in 2016.1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas FHA sales: 35%2. Ogden-Clea
Forty-three million American homeowners aged 55 and older say they plan to live out the rest of their years in their current home. But adding the necessary features they'll need to age in place could prove costly—and possibly financially impossible for some—according to a new analysis by mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac.About 1.5 million existing homes require retrofitting, such as widened doorways and hallways, adding levered handles, or
As real estate heads into its busy spring season, consumers aren't showing typically large demand for mortgage loans just yet. Total mortgage application volume, which includes refinances and home purchases, dropped 2 percent week over week for the week ending Feb. 17, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. Total mortgage volume has plunged nearly 21 percent from a year ago.Refinancing applications has shouldered most of the blame for the decr
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