Mortgage rates are resting near record lows — and that’s spurring a wave of refinancing activity as Americans look to take advantage of the savings a cheaper interest rate could bring. Refinance loan volume jumped to the highest level since 2013 last week, especially among jumbo mortgage borrowers, on theRead More →
Climate change is making extreme weather worse and, right now, Americans are paying the price. Over the past two years, wildfires in California, floods along the Mississippi River and hurricanes in the Southeastern United States have caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. In 2018, weather-related catastrophes prompted $215Read More →
Dear Moneyist, I am one of three children, and we are all 60-plus years old. A vacation property that belonged to my parents is now in my mother’s name and my late father’s three children’s names. My sister scoffs at me when I suggest selling our family vacation property. She,Read More →
Whoever wins the presidential race come November could determine the fate of housing markets across the country, according to a report from analysts at the financial services firm BTIG. Since the 2016 presidential election, counties that voted for President Trump have seen stronger housing markets than those that voted forRead More →
Planning to sell a home in Raleigh, N.C.? There’s a decent chance that an “iBuyer” will purchase it. Raleigh had the largest share of homes bought by companies that use technology to make instant offers on homes. Nearly 7% of homes sold in Raleigh in the third quarter of 2019Read More →
Dear Moneyist, I recently married a man that I have been friends with for 41 years. My husband’s children hate me and refused to come to our wedding, yet he is leaving them all of his property. He is wealthier than me and before we got married he required meRead More →
Economists say that 2020 will be a positive — though not exactly stellar — year for the housing market. And that could be good news for renters and home buyers alike. But that’s assuming experts’ forecasts are right. “If interest rates go up 100 basis points, we’ll be off,” DougRead More →
Forget Seattle, Denver and San Francisco. Boise, Idaho, is poised to be the hottest housing market at the start of the next decade. A new report from Realtor.com identified the housing markets that are expected to see the most notable home sales and price growth in 2020. Boise ranked No.Read More →
In the housing sector, every day is Veterans Day. That’s because many lenders provide VA loans that are backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Perhaps the most attractive benefit of a VA loan is that a borrower can receive a mortgage without making a down payment towards theRead More →
Some banks are cutting their own climate-change exposure by selling riskier disaster-area mortgages to taxpayer-supported entities. That puts the health of the mortgage market at risk, a potential repeat of the financial conditions at the root of the banking crisis a decade ago, a research paper published in September argues.Read More →
Residential real estate prices have fully recovered in many areas, and rental rates are strong. To take advantage of this favorable situation, you might be thinking about buying a new residence and converting your existing place into a rental property that you can sell later for a higher price. GoodRead More →
By Nupur Anand and Swati Bhat MUMBAI (Reuters) – India might have thought the worst of a bad loans crisis was past, but a severe cash crunch in the real estate industry could augur fresh strife for its banks. A slump in the residential property market is leaving many buildersRead More →
By Clare Jim and Felix Tam HONG KONG (Reuters) – While months of Hong Kong protests have scared away tourists, sent jitters across the financial center and cast a dark cloud over the local economy, there’s one thing residents of the city are confident they can bank on – sky-highRead More →
On a recent weeknight, Dahlia and Adam Brown came home to their spacious Colonial on a quiet cul-de-sac in Marietta, Ga. The Browns both work demanding jobs and have two young sons. They bought the house in June using Knock, a company that’s trying to revolutionize the real-estate industry withRead More →
TOKYO (Reuters) – China’s troubled Anbang Insurance Group has started a sale of its entire $2.4 billion Japanese property portfolio and previous owner Blackstone (NYSE:) Group is bidding, two people said, after the insurer failed to sell some of the assets last year. Beijing has been speeding up asset disposalsRead More →
The number of properties with foreclosure filings nationwide is a mere fraction of what it was during the height of the financial crisis. But at the local level, some markets are showing signs of weakness — and that could represent a reason for worry for homeowners or an opportunity forRead More →
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is set to eliminate a regulatory loophole that made getting a mortgage more feasible for thousands of Americans. The consumer watchdog agency announced this month that it will allow a temporary provision commonly known as the “qualified mortgage patch” to expire in January 2021 asRead More →
Buying a home in Boulder, Colo., is still the safest bet. For the fifth year in a row, Boulder ranked as the best housing market nationwide based on home price growth and stability, according to a new report from SmartAsset. The odds of a major drop in home prices inRead More →
© Reuters. Model showing property project “Yulinyuanzhu” developed by Shanghai Red Star Macalline Real Estate Group is seen at a showroom in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan By Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo XISHUANGBANNA, China (Reuters) – A bus came to a halt amid a tropical rainforest not far from China’s border withRead More →
Alternative Rates Reference Committee, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank of New York A new interest-rate index can be a suitable replacement for Libor, the current benchmark rate index set to be retired after 2021, a working group of finance professionals has determined. That means the mortgage industry should start soonRead More →
Getty Images A house proudly displays its American flag outside. Happy Fourth! Rates for home loans edged up as financial markets stabilized on hope about global trade, but held near long-time lows. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.75% in the holiday-shortened July 3 week, Freddie Mac said Wednesday. That wasRead More →
© Reuters. Investing.com – Hong Kong-listed housing developers gained on Monday in Asia after the city’s leader decided to suspend a highly controversial extradition bill. Real estate developers rebounded today following the news that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the suspension of a proposed extradition bill that sparkedRead More →
Home-flipping has rebounded by one key measure. But that’s doesn’t make it an easy path toward becoming rich. Just over 49,000 single-family homes and condos were flipped in the first quarter of 2019, according to a recent report by real-estate data firm Attom Data Solutions. These homes comprised 7.2% ofRead More →
Britain’s biggest clothing retailer is set to enter the residential-real-estate market as part of ambitious plans to boost the group’s financial performance. Marks & Spencer Group PLC MKS, +1.32% is to turn property developer as part of a major plan to unlock value across the retailer’s store estate. The strugglingRead More →
Getting to work in the mornings can be a struggle for Angelina Flood. On a good day, it can take at least an hour for her to drive from the home she and her husband bought in Southborough, Mass., to her job as an editorial assistant in Cambridge, Mass., justRead More →
