Interest rates are on the rise, and home buyers are looking for savings wherever they can. Shopping around for a mortgage can offer big differences among lenders, and those differences could amount to some potentially hefty savings over the life of a loan.A new study by LendingTree measures the basis point spread between high and low annual percentage rates offered to users through the LendingTree marketplace among the 50 largest metros in the U.
The housing market may be in search of much-needed inventory, but it’s not likely to come from new home construction. Builders broke ground on fewer homes in September. Housing starts dropped 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.2 million, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.Broken out, single-family housing starts dropped 0.9 percent to 871,000 units, while multifamily starts—those for apartment buildings and condos
Coliving has become a growing trend in real estate, as more renters and homeowners look for roommates to help better afford their home.In coliving buildings, tenants often lease a tiny room within a larger apartment and then share common spaces, like living rooms and kitchens, with strangers.“Coliving’s institutional moment is now upon us,” Chris Bledsoe, co-founder and chief executive of Ollie, a developer of coliving spaces.Developers are
Don’t discount the entryway with staging, even if it’s tight on space. It’s the first area that potential buyers see as they walk in the front door. It’s your chance to make them feel welcome and fall in love with the home instantly. The entryway is also a high-traffic area, so it needs to be functional, too—a ready place for muddy boots, wet umbrellas, and shoes.“Entryways set a tone for the rest of the home,” Aimee Lagos, who co-f
Homeowners in the majority of housing markets across the country should expect to see home prices continue to appreciate by about 4.5 percent over the next 12 months, and, in a handful of western markets, owners likely will see their prices soar well past that, according to a new report from Veros, a valuation and analytics firm.Western states hold the top 10 spots in forecasts of appreciation, with home price predictions ranging from 9 to 12 per
Some buyers and sellers may get the jitters during their last-minute actions—or inactions—that could cause a deal to fall through. As a real estate professional, how can you tell that one of your clients may be getting cold feet?“There are so many layers involved with mortgage lending and real estate,” Ayesha Kleinjan, co-owner of San Diego Real Estate Properties, told U.S. News & World Report. “The simplest things can make a deal
The average residential lawn in America is about a quarter of an acre (or 10,871 square feet), but the number can vary greatly depending on where you live.For example, Vermont homeowners tend to enjoy the largest lots at 73,979 square feet—seven times the national average. Homeowners in Montana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Maine also tend to boast some of the largest lot sizes in the country, too.Vermont’s large lot sizes average nea
Many homeowners may assume that if they retrofit their home with energy-efficient upgrades that they’ll be able to charge a premium at resale. But that’s not always the case nowadays, and the sales price boost may depend on how well the client chose their selling agent, according to recent studies analyzed in a new article by Kenneth Harney, a syndicated real estate columnist.In the past, studies have confirmed there is a price boost for
Consumers between the ages of 62 and 70 can earn up to 8 percent more in Social Security for every year they delay taking disbursements. Therefore, some homeowners in this age bracket are borrowing against their properties' equity to fund their daily living expenses, hoping to push off taking Social Security benefits—a tactic some lenders even tout for retirees. But the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns that the costs and risks of such
A new effort is underway to raise the low rate of homeownership among underserved groups of home buyers. The Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America is hosting several events across the country, helping borrowers with low credit scores to apply for 15- or 30-year mortgages with cheaper interest rates. One such recent event in Miami drew thousands looking for a chance to get a no down payment, low-interest-rate mortgage. NACA officials say more t
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