The first step buyers most often take in their home shopping pursuit is to check up on financing and to make sure they can even afford a home, according to a new survey of 1,000 recent buyers. The survey was commissioned by loanDepot and mellohome, a real estate services provider. The majority of these customers—nearly 74 percent—sought financing first in their home buying journey before looking at homes. For first-time buyers, that percenta
Buying and selling real estate can be an emotionally-charged venture, especially when it involves property that belonged to a family member who's recently passed away. It’s up to the real estate professional to provide guidance to clients who are making important decisions regarding what’s usually the biggest asset in an estate—the home.But it’s not always straightforward. Take the recent death of legendary singer-songwriter Aretha Frankl
Younger Americans are waiting longer to get married, and the industry has been concerned that the tendency will lead to a delay in homeownership too. But Toll Brothers CEO Douglas C. Yearley says the delay in getting hitched could actually be good for housing. In an interview with CNBC, Yearley predicts more millennials will be able to afford high-end homes, a segment of the market that Toll Brothers is focused on.“We know they’re marrying
Homes for sale are not lingering on the market for long. Properties typically on the market sold for 27 days, shorter than the 30-day median from a year ago, according to the July 2018 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey.The area that saw some of the quickest sales in July was the District of Columbia, where properties sold in just 17 days. Utah was next with 19 days, followed by Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington, all
Hurricane Florence, still a dangerous Category 4 storm, is threatening to strike the Carolinas and Virginia on late Thursday, with warnings of life-threatening storm surges, destructive winds estimated at 130 mph, massive inland rainfall, and flooding. Weather forecasters are warning that Florence could be one of the strongest strikes on record for this area of the East Coast.Three states lie in its path for a direct hit: North Carolina, South Ca
A waterfront home in the suburbs that has nearly 5,000 square feet and a one-story ranch may be at the top of American consumers’ real estate wishlists, according to findings from a Porch.com survey of more than 600 Americans and Europeans about their ideal home designs, amenities, and locations.Forty-five percent of Americans surveyed say if they could get their top choice they’d have a waterfront view, whether that’s a lakefront or ocean
If the real estate industry is serious about holding practitioners to a higher standard, customer service must be more important than sales numbers. It’s critical to hold industry professionals to higher standards. That idea brought together the brightest real estate minds to discuss the changes the industry is undergoing at a Palm Springs, Calif., conference in March. They distilled the group’s insights into a dozen actionable takeaways, dub
More buyers are bypassing big, established banks and turning to a growing subset of specialized lenders to obtain a mortgage.Last year, a “nonbank” called Freedom Mortgage originated $51.1 billion in home loans, more than Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., according to research from business news publication Inside Mortgage Finance. Freedom has risen from being the 78th largest mortgage lender in the U.S. in 2012 to the 11th largest
Striking down a growth of ordinances in municipalities across the country attempting to make homelessness illegal, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that it’s not a crime to sleep outside on city streets when not enough shelters are available. Several cities had been fining or arresting people who slept on city sidewalks or in parks. In the decision, the court defines such legal action as “cruel and unusual punishment” and said it
In some places in the U.S., bad credit doesn’t have to be a deterrent to scoring a mortgage and buying a home. Researchers from realtor.com® analyzed metros to find where a less-than-perfect credit score—even those well under 650—can still land buyers a home.To get a mortgage without top-notch credit, government loan programs may be key, researchers say. Such programs may be more available in some areas of the country than others. For exam
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