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Builders Devise Tactics to Discredit Foreclosure Sales
February 19, 2012 in Buying a Home, Home Values, Massachusetts, Real Estate Market | Tags: Buying a Home, buying foreclosures, foreclosed homes, homebuilders, new home builders | Leave a comment
Builders Devise Tactics to Discredit Foreclosure Sales
Homebuilders are switching tactics and confronting head-on one of their biggest nemeses: foreclosed houses that not only lure buyers away with deeply discounted prices, but also simultaneously depress the appraisal values of newly built homes.
At a packed session at the International Builders’ Show expo in Orlando, Fla., this month, consultants and builders said that with gluts of foreclosures in major markets around the country — and more forecast to arrive in the next two years — the time has come to …
Read more at Builders devise tactics to discredit foreclosure sales.
Housing Affordability Reaches New Records
February 17, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts | Tags: Buying a Home, housing affordability | Leave a comment
Housing Affordability Reaches New Records
Nationwide housing affordability, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), rose to a record level during the fourth quarter of 2011, while prospective home buyers continued to feel the constraints of tighter credit standards and a soft economy.
HOI data released today indicated that 75.9 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,200, the highest percentage recorded in the 20-year history of the index.
Read more at Housing Affordability Reaches Record Level as Tight Credit Conditions Impede Housing Market.
Home Buying: Most Affordable in Decades
February 16, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts | Tags: Buying a Home, home prices, housing affordability, Mortgage Interest Rates, Mortgage Rates | Leave a comment
Home Buying: Most Affordable in Decades
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Buying a home is now more affordable than it has been in the last twenty years.
Thanks to continued declines in home prices and rock-bottom mortgage rates, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index hit a record level of affordability.
Read more at Home buying: Most affordable in decades.
Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Stays at Record 3.87%
February 16, 2012 in Massachusetts, Mortgage Interest Rates | Tags: 30 year fixed mortgage, Buying a Home, fixed mortgage rates, Mortgage Interest Rates, Mortgage Rates, mortgage refinance | Leave a comment
Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Stays at Record 3.87%
WASHINGTON – The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage held steady at a record low for a third straight week, offering more incentive to those looking to buy a home or refinance.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year home loan was unchanged at 3.87%. That’s the lowest level since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was also unchanged at 3.16%. That’s up from a record low of 3.14% reached two weeks ago.
Read more at Rate on 30-year mortgage stays at record 3.87%.
How to Fight a Low Appraisal
February 15, 2012 in Buying a Home, Home Values, Massachusetts, Mortgages, Selling a Home | Tags: appraisals, Buying a Home, mortgage refinance, refinancing a mortgage, Selling a Home | Leave a comment
How to Fight a Low Appraisal
When it comes to selling a home or refinancing a mortgage, the appraisal process can make or break the deal.
“The appraisal is pretty much the lynchpin of any transaction in real estate these days,” says Michael Corbett, Trulia’s real estate expert and author. “Over the years there’s been so much acceleration in pricing and a huge drop in pricing that knowing the value is almost an art form.”
Read more at How to Fight a Low Appraisal.
How to Beat the Competition and Buy a Foreclosure
February 6, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts, Real Estate Market | Tags: Buying a Home, buying foreclosures, home buyers | Leave a comment
How to Beat the Competition and Buy a Foreclosure
Start with your best offer and consider bumping up the deposit
Finding a bank-owned home for sale these days is hard enough. Actually buying one is an even bigger problem.
Last year the supply of bargain-basement, foreclosure homes shrank, as banks temporarily stopped trying to repossess properties to review possible paperwork errors.
But 2012 should be a different story.
Read more at How to beat the competition and buy a foreclosure.
Is That House Worth the Asking Price?
February 1, 2012 in Buying a Home, Home Values, Massachusetts | Tags: Buying a Home, home buyers, Home Values | Leave a comment
Is That House Worth the Asking Price?
With home values all over the map and local markets faring very differently in the wake of the housing bust, how do you know if the seller’s list price is on the money?
For most buyers, it starts with what’s known as comparable properties, or comps. In theory, a seller could price their home however they please — but …
Read more at Is That House Worth the Asking Price?
4 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Foreclosure
January 31, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts | Tags: Buying a Home, buying foreclosures, foreclosed homes | Leave a comment
4 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Foreclosure
Foreclosures can offer big bargains, but buyers need to be careful that they don’t get over their heads in purchasing a home that may need more repairs than they bargained for.
Foreclosures are usually sold as-is, and homes that are left vacant standing too long can have a lot of maintenance problems.
Real estate experts suggest buyers consider the following questions:
Read more at 4 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Foreclosure.
Size Matters Most to First-Time Home Buyers
January 30, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts | Tags: Buying a Home, first-time homebuyers, home buyers | Leave a comment
Size Matters Most to First-Time Home Buyers
When first-time homebuyers begin looking for new digs, they often have one guideline firmly in mind: think small.
“First-time homebuyers, because they have not been through the homebuying process before, have less confidence that they are making the right decision even in spite of low interest rates and affordable prices,” says Stephen Melman, director of economic services for economics and housing policy for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
Read more at Size Matters Most to First-Time Buyers.
Mild Winter Heating Up Cape Sales
January 27, 2012 in Buying a Home, Cape Cod, Home Values, Massachusetts, Real Estate Market | Tags: Buying a Home, buying a vacation home, Cape Cod real estate, home buyers, home prices, home sales, Home Values, luxury home buyers | Leave a comment
Mild Winter Heating Up Cape Sales
Single-family home sales on the Cape dropped 4.25 percent in 2011 compared to the year before, but luxury home buyers helped boost the market as the average price increased from $465,630 to $466,646 and last year saw 11 sales over $4 million compared to only five in 2010.
So far, the mild winter combined with pent-up demand in the higher end market has helped the Cape get off to a strong start with 15 listings over $1 million going under contract since the beginning of December.
Read more at Mild winter heating up Cape sales.
10 States Where You Can Get Amazing Bargains On Foreclosed Homes
January 26, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts, Real Estate Market | Tags: Buying a Home, foreclosures, home buyers | Leave a comment
10 States Where You Can Get Amazing Bargains On Foreclosed Homes
U.S. foreclosures fell 9% in December from the previous month, and these foreclosures resulted in sales that depress home prices.
RealtyTrac calculated the states with the highest foreclosure savings, as measured by average sales prices versus average foreclosure sales price.
Read more at 10 States Where You Can Get Amazing Bargains On Foreclosed Homes.
Rate on 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rises to 3.98 Pct.
January 26, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts, Mortgage Interest Rates | Tags: 30 year fixed mortgage, Buying a Home, Mortgage Interest Rates, Mortgage Rates, mortgage refinance | Leave a comment
Rate on 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rises to 3.98 Pct.
WASHINGTON — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose this week for the first time this month, though it remained below 4 percent for the eighth straight week.
The low rates may be contributing to a slow turnaround in the depressed housing market. Still, many who can afford to buy or refinance a home have already done so.
Read more at Rate on 30-year fixed mortgage rises to 3.98 pct.
What the Fed’s Low Interest Rates Mean for Homebuyers
January 26, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts, Mortgage Interest Rates | Tags: Buying a Home, Mortgage Interest Rates, Mortgage Rates, mortgage refinance | Leave a comment
What the Fed’s Low Interest Rates Mean for Homebuyers
The Federal Reserve announced today that they will keep interest rates low until at least late 2014 in an effort to help jump-start the sluggish economy by making it less expensive to borrow money across all segments of the economy.
What this means for homebuyers and current homeowners is that mortgage rates for a purchase loan or to refinance will …
Read more at What the Fed’s Low Interest Rates Mean for Homebuyers.
5 Lessons Homebuyers Must Know
January 25, 2012 in Buying a Home, Massachusetts, Real Estate Market | Tags: Buying a Home, home buyers, housing market, Real Estate Market | Leave a comment
5 Lessons Homebuyers Must Know
NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Growing signs of improvement in the housing market could draw more buyers in the coming months, and although the rules of the game haven’t changed much, the big question for anyone returning to the housing market — or getting into it for the first time — is what are the long-term lessons to be learned from the recent housing downturn?
Read more at 5 Lessons Homebuyers Must Know.
Home Buying Could Soon Beat Renting
January 25, 2012 in Buying a Home, Cape Cod, Massachusetts | Tags: Buying a Home, housing market, low interest rates | Leave a comment
Home Buying Could Soon Beat Renting
Falling home prices have sent many would-be buyers to the sidelines. If all goes well, record low interest rates and rising rents may soon prompt some of them to take a second look at buying.
Unfortunately, that’s a big “if,” according to Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics.
Read more at Home buying could soon beat renting.
Rising Rents Make Home Buying a Better Choice
January 20, 2012 in Buying a Home, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Real Estate Market | Tags: Buying a Home, Real Estate Market, rental housing market | Leave a comment
Rising Rents Make Home Buying a Better Choice
With home prices still sliding in the wake of the housing bust and credit as tight as ever, rental prices continued to increase at a fast pace this year.
Rental prices in the top 20 most-populated metro areas climbed 3.75 percent in 2011, while home prices dropped by 1.83 percent, according to a report by HotPads.com, a rental listing service that also generates data on the rental housing market. The measurements were based on the median prices of two-bedroom rentals and homes in the 20 cities.
Read more at Rental Prices Climb, Buying Remains More Affordable.
Five Mortgage and Housing Trends in Winter 2012
January 18, 2012 in Buying a Home, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Mortgages, Real Estate Market | Tags: Buying a Home, housing market, Mortgage Rates, Real Estate Market | Leave a comment
Five Mortgage and Housing Trends in Winter 2012
These Times Won’t Last Forever
Thinking of buying a home? Don’t take too long. There is no question this is still a buyers’ market, but you’ll find with a wave of investors in search of good deals, the bargain homes are selling at a much quicker pace. The low prices and low mortgage rates won’t disappear overnight, but they won’t last forever.
Read more at Five Mortgage and Housing Trends in Winter 2012.
State Doubles Down on Affordable Housing Tax Credit
December 10, 2011 in Buying a Home, Cape Cod, Massachusetts | Tags: Buying a Home | Leave a comment
State Doubles Down on Affordable Housing Tax Credit
The same stock market crash that deflated retirement accounts and siphoned value out of real estate also walloped government-subsidized housing developments.
That market is coming back, in Massachusetts at least, and starting next year the state will double its funding for low-income housing, in the form of tax credits.
Read more at State doubles down on affordable housing tax credit.
Housing Still Great Investment, Americans Say
December 9, 2011 in Buying a Home, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Mortgages | Tags: Buying a Home, first-time homebuyers, home buyers, housing affordability | Leave a comment
Housing Still Great Investment, Americans Say
Sixty-two percent of Americans say that purchasing a home is a good investment over the next 10 years, according to the Mortgage Index Study conducted on behalf of Bank of America.
Affordability ranks high among the 1,104 consumers surveyed nationwide. For those considering a home purchase within the next year, 62 percent reported contacting a lender or using online tools to determine affordable monthly mortgage payments, according to the survey. Seventy-four percent also said they plan to …
Read more at Housing Still Great Investment, Americans Say.
Low Mortgage Rates Keep Housing Affordability High
December 9, 2011 in Buying a Home, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Mortgage Interest Rates | Tags: Buying a Home, housing affordability, Mortgage Interest Rates, Mortgage Rates | Leave a comment
Low Mortgage Rates Keep Housing Affordability High
Mortgage rates continued to be near record lows this week, keeping housing at affordable levels for most households.
“Thirty-year fixed-rate loans have declined 0.62 percentage points from a year ago, and median sales prices on existing homes are off 4.7 percent in the year ending with October,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “These low rates and home prices have pushed housing affordability to record highs this year.”
Read more at Low Mortgage Rates Keep Housing Affordability High.
