Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997
Corporate buyers are snapping up residential properties in Massachusetts and pushing out long-time residents, according to a report by the news outlet 25 Investigates. These investment companies form a complex network, making it nearly impossible for individuals and towns to hold them accountable.
Continue reading “We All Deserve a Home, But Corporations Outbid Some of Our Friends.”
As we enter an election year the current administration points to how strong the economy is. But there’s a disconnect between these regular public assurances and people’s life experiences. So many are either locked into their current mortgages or just completely sidelined from the market.
This is no joke: High mortgage rates. Wages lagging while housing prices soar. The whole environment where homeownership is treated as a privilege rather than a norm. Recently, Fortune highlighted a daunting challenge for prospective U.S. real estate buyers: to afford a home in today’s market, they need an annual income increase of almost $50,000 compared to their pre-pandemic earnings.
So, will the runup to the election bring any opportunities to current owners and hopeful buyers?
Continue reading “It’s Election Year. How Will This Affect Sellers and Buyers?”
Bitcoin is now available from mainstream financial managers. Suddenly, it’s a significant part of U.S. investment and retirement portfolios. So, bitcoin is joining real estate as an asset class.
At this point, the leading cryptocurrency can influence the costs of housing in some markets. Its rise even allows some people to buy their first homes.
Let’s take a closer look.
Continue reading “Bitcoin Creating New Home Buyers? Why We’re Watching the Crypto Effect on Real Estate Markets”
Some interesting findings came out this year:
Leaf Home, a company focused on accessibility and upgrades, together with market researchers at Morning Consult, warn of a looming burden for younger generations. Our aging U.S. housing stock will depend on buyers to carry out repairs.
The silver lining for these put-upon home buyers? At least fixer-upper homes create low-cost entry points for hopeful buyers.
Continue reading “A New Generation of Renovators? Boomer Sellers Are Putting Younger Buyers to Work.”
Affordable homes for sale are still scarce. And yet a recent Realtor.com survey shows a strong hint of optimism. Four in ten hopeful first-time buyers think 2024 will be their year.
“In a year of expected interest rate drops,” says Architectural Digest, “real estate could come roaring back from its beauty sleep.” Well, that’s one way of describing what hopeful buyers have dealt with! So Realtor.com sought out the top draws for new-to-the-market buyers, and turned up some small-town gems. A peek at this list tells us how to think about a couple of key questions:
What qualities make for very good buys?
What makes a neighborhood likely to keep increasing in value?
Let’s take a look.
Continue reading “Buyers Are Back. Are Small Towns Their Best Bets?”
Once upon a time, way back in 2003, the Federal Housing Administration instituted a 90-day wait for sales of homes by flippers. And to this day, only those who’ve owned for more than three months may sell to buyers who get FHA loans.
Clearly, flippers need to keep this in mind. FHA-backed mortgages, of course, are popular options for all kinds of buyers. Quite a few are first-timers striving to establish their credit profiles. People with credit scores of 580 can be eligible to put as little as 3.5% down, if they meet all other criteria. So that’s a wide pool of potential buyers. And these buyers sometimes do find homes listed by sellers aiming to make quick resales.
Continue reading “Buy a Flipped Home, Get an FHA Loan. Like Oil and Water—Or Do They Mix?”
As we’ve all noticed, deed transfers really got stuck in a rut in 2023. Too few owners are selling their homes. Supply is down. Prices are up.
A core issue? The Federal Reserve. Over the past two years, the Fed has hiked rates in order to banish inflation and to tighten up the economy. So, if you think it’s a terrible housing market out there, interest rates have absolutely factored into your frustration.
But finally, the Fed has announced it will not hike interest rates again in the coming year. The “signal” from the Fed is that sometime in 2024 it will even cut those high rates.
Time to buckle up? Let’s take a look.
Continue reading “Update! Fed Signals 2024 “Pivot” on Interest Rates. What Should Home Sellers and Seekers Know?”
A new Biden Executive Order will influence the development of artificial intelligence (AI). The Executive Order will both steer and facilitate the use of AI in many aspects of our lives.
So, is any of it relevant to how deeds change hands, and homes are bought and sold? The answer is yes — especially where financing is involved. Let’s take a look.
Continue reading “What a New Executive Order Says About Artificial Intelligence—and How It Could Help People Buy Homes”
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), a major lending company, is now offering free appraisals for some borrowers.
The perk is part of an oh-so-tempting 1-0 temporary rate buydown package, available to local mortgage consultants itching to help buyers break through the current housing standstill.
“So,” you ask… “What is a 1-0 buydown mortgage?” Successful loan applicants can hack 1% off whatever interest rate they locked in. They keep that discount for the first year of the loan. So, whatever the current rate is, cut that by 1%. If the rate is 8%, the borrower only pays 7%. After that first year, the regular rate kicks in.
UWM is putting some icing on the cake. It’s promising to pick up the tab for up to $600 in appraisal fees. Conventional and government-backed home loans can qualify. And the whole deal is good through March 31, 2024.
Continue reading “Mortgage Companies Are Antsy for People to Buy Again. Look Who’s Covering Appraisal Costs.”
Millennials now range in age from their late 20s to early 40s. Most of the ones who can buy homes are getting to the older edge of that range.
They need more money than buyers of the past. Maybe that’s why they’re waiting until later in life to buy. In short, this generation’s home buying challenges really are unique.
Continue reading “Home Buying Today, for Millennials”