Finance - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Commercial Agents See 11% Jump in Income

Real estate pros specializing in commercial real estate are seeing an increase in gross income and sales volume, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Commercial Member Profile, released Wednesday.The median gross annual income for 2016 was $120,900, an 11 percent increase from the $108,800 income reported in 2015, according to the report, based on a survey of nearly 2,000 NAR members who conduct all or part of their busine

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Freddie Mac to Restrict 1% Down Mortgages

Mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac will begin this fall to tighten restrictions on low down payment mortgages that allow borrowers to only contribute 1 percent of the home’s purchase price. Borrowers will now be required to come up with at least 3 percent in order to then receive any contribution from a lender.Read more: Freddie Mac: Housing Is Still AffordableFreddie Mac and Fannie Mae started the low down payment offerings in 2014 by rolli

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Should Housing Fear a Price Correction?

Existing-home prices have jumped 6.5 percent from a year ago to a record high of $263,800 in June, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. It marks the 64th consecutive month for year-over-year price increases. The escalating prices are causing some to fear a price correction could be on the horizon.However, new research from JPMorgan finds that the risk of a dramatic decline in U.S. home prices is very low. JPMorgan culled historica

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Home Sales Poised to Reverse Downward Trend

Though existing-home sales took a hit last month, June’s pending home sales—a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings—suggest a comeback is in line for most of the country. Every major region of the U.S. except the Midwest saw an uptick in contract signings last month, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Monday.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index in June rose 1.5 percent from May to a reading of 110.2, marking the fi

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Consumers Cast Doubt on Mortgage Servicers

Consumer perception of mortgage servicing brands is growing dimmer, with many saying banks are more focused on profit than their customers’ needs, according to the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study.“The past few years have not been easy for mortgage servicers, as they’ve struggled with regulatory and market pressures but still managed to deliver on customer satisfaction,” says Craig Martin, senior director

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Sellers Net Highest Profit in a Decade

Home sellers in the second quarter of this year sold their properties for an average $51,000 more than they paid for them when they bought them. That’s the highest price gain for sellers since the second quarter of 2007, when it was $57,000, according to a new report by real estate data form ATTOM Data Solutions. This represents an average return on investment of 26 percent.The sellers had owned their homes an average of eight years, which is t

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30-Year Rates Are Hovering Below 4%

Mortgage rates posted another drop this week, offering more relief to home buyers.Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending July 27: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.92 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.96 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.48 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.20 percent, with an average 0.5 po

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Fed Votes to Leave Key Rate Alone

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it will hold off on making any increases to its short-term interest rate, at least for a while longer. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the federal funds rate at its current range between 1 percent and 1.25 percent.“In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1 to 1 1/4 percent,

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New-Home Sales Are High, But They Could Be Higher

New-home sales inched up 0.8 percent in June, but sales would be higher if there were more new homes to sell. Sales of newly built single-family homes reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units in June, according to a joint report released by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.“While new home inventory rose slightly in June, it remains tight as builders face lot and labor shortages and in

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July’s Hottest Housing Markets

Homes are selling faster in July, and many markets are hotter today than they were a year ago, realtor.com® notes in its newly released housing report. California markets continue to see some of the most traction from home shoppers.“We normally see the housing market begin to slow down in midsummer, but this year has been a different story,” says Javier Vivas, realtor.com®’s manager of economic research. “Mid- to lower-tier homes are fl

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