Home affordability is more than the price a buyer agrees to pay a seller. In a new study, SmartAsset factored in closing costs, real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and mortgage rates for every county and city in the U.S. with a population of more than 5,000.SmartAsset pinpointed the most affordable cities and counties in its analysis by considering the total housing costs on an average house that accounted for the smallest proportion of t
Refinancing volume dipped to its lowest level since June 2009 and prompted overall mortgage application volume to drop 3.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Total mortgage application volume – which also includes applications for home purchases – is now nearly 31 percent lower than the same week a year ago.As mortgage rates have inched up, refinance applications have continued to fal
Bigger isn’t necessarily better when it comes to appreciation. In fact, a new study shows that smaller homes likely will offer a bigger percentage return on a home shopper’s investment.A new study conducted by NerdWallet culled three years of listing data from realtor.com® of the 20 of the largest U.S. metro areas and shows that smaller homes, in general, appreciate at a faster rate than larger homes.Markets can vary greatly, however. In 17
Home price appreciation picked up speed in the final three months of 2016, prompting the majority of metro areas to soar to new record highs with home prices, the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest quarterly report reveals. Of the 150 markets NAR has tracked since 2005, 52 percent – or 78 – now have a median sales price that is at or above its previous all-time high.The fourth quarter of 2016 proved to be a strong one for home price
The equity picture is looking brighter for homeowners. At the end of 2016, there were 13.9 million U.S. properties – or nearly 25 percent of the housing stock with a mortgage -- that were considered equity rich, according to ATTOM Data Solutions.Equity rich is when the loan on the property is 50 percent or less of the property’s estimated market value. The number of equity-rich properties has grown by 1.3 million homes compared to a year ago.
Many farmers are facing higher debt as a multiyear drop in prices for corn, wheat, and other commodities plagues on. That is pushing more farmers out of business. The Farm Belt will soon have fewer than 2 million farms, the lowest in years.Still, economists aren’t predicting the crisis to be as severe as the one that struck the Farm Belt in the 1980s, in which farmland values plummeted and interest rates soared.Economists expect farmland values
More Americans are showing optimism toward their personal finances and the housing market, a reversal to a five-month decline in Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index.In particular, Americans are more upbeat about home prices, home selling, their rising household incomes, and they’re less scared about losing their jobs, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index, a survey of 1,000 Americans in January about their attitudes
The chairman of the tax-writing House Ways & Means Committee joined REALTORS® at NAR’s 2017 Federal Policy Conference in Washington yesterday and urged them to stay engaged over the next year while lawmakers in Congress look at a full-scale reform of the country’s tax code.This year, tax reform is expected to be high on the list of priorities Congress and the new Administration are expected to take up. Reform of the seco
Housing affordability dropped to the lowest level in seven years at the end of 2016. It now takes 22.2 percent of a person’s median income to make the monthly principal and interest payment on a median-priced home, according to new findings from Black Knight Financial Services. That amounts to a 10 percent increase in the fourth quarter alone.Economists blame rising mortgage rates, price increases, and sluggish income growth for the growing hou
A slight decrease in mortgage rates last week gave home buyers a slight jolt to get moving. Total mortgage application volume, which includes refinancings and home purchases, increased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. That said, applications continue to run 23 percent below year-ago levels, mostly due to a big drop in refinancing applications.Last week, mortgage application
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