Mortgage applications for refinancings and home purchases surged 4.1 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, even as interest rates rose, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Volume is now up 5.6 percent over a year ago.More consumers are growing concerned that the long run of record low rates may be coming to an end. As such, they’re rushing to lock in rates before any more upticks.Applications to purchase a home incr
Homes along the beach tend to command a premium. But for buyers who dream of living near the water, they may still be able to find a beach-town bargain.Gulfport, Miss., was named the most affordable beach town in America for the third consecutive year, according to a new analysis by SmartAsset, a personal finance website. Buyers can snag a home along the beach for $116,200 in Gulfport.SmartAsset ranked the most affordable beach towns by looking a
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“Granny flats” or in-law units are surging in popularity in some housing-starved areas. Some lawmakers are leading the charge by changing laws to allow accessory dwellings units in backyards, converted basements, or garages of existing homes.In the San Francisco Bay Area, the number of people applying to build these units has grown by more than 1,000 percent over the past year, due to a change in laws that now allow for these small dwellings.
As you build your sphere of influence, you may connect with the deaf or hard of hearing. If you don't know how to communicate with them, you may strain the relationship through etiquette blunders or even just inefficiency. Always ask them how they prefer to communicate, but start with these guidelines from Lifehacker.com and you'll quickly pick up the rest.To get their attention, a few options include moving into their field of vision, gently tap
The population of the U.S. is growing, rising by 2.2 million people in 2016, according to the latest Census data. But the population growth is not even across the country. For instance, the South and West saw their populations rise by 1.1 percent in 2016, while the Northeast and Midwest saw just a 0.1 percent uptick.Eight states saw populations grow by more than 1.6 percent in 2016. Many of the fastest-growing states tend to be affordable, midsiz
Ginnie Mae officials recently testified to lawmakers that “loan churning” within the VA program is putting veteran borrowers at risk with serial refinancings.Michael R. Bright, Ginnie Mae’s executive vice president, was one of four mortgage industry experts who testified to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs last week about the constant pressuring to get vets to refinance their loans. Bright testified that loan churning within the VA p
The gap between homeowners’ and appraisers’ perceptions on the value of properties is continuing to close. Homeowners, in general, still tend to slightly overestimate the price of their home, but not by nearly as much as they did a year ago.Home appraisals were, on average, 0.5 percent lower than what owners expected in December, according to the latest National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index. The gap is closing; a year ago, homeow
Where can a home buyer’s money stretch the furthest? The Rust Belt and Midwest may offer some of the best bargains.The realtor.com® research team scoured across 500 of the largest metros to rank the ones with the lowest median home prices. The results were limited to one city per state for the purposes of geographic diversity.“There are a lot of people in that first-time home buyer group looking for starter homes, and they can’t afford it
While building a client-centric culture at your real estate company sounds ideal, efforts often flounder beyond sophisticated marketing campaigns, says Sallie Sherman, co-author of Five Keys to Powerful Business Relationships and founder and CEO of S4 Consulting.“Customer-centric companies understand that being customer-centric is a detailed performance game,” Sherman says. “They align every part of the company around their customers’
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