Author: Mortgage Blog Content
04
May
2020
Last week’s economic reports included readings from Case-Shiller Housing Market Indices, pending home sales, and inflation. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and first-time jobless claims were also released. Case-Shiller: February Home Price Data Positive Before Coronavirus Impact February data on home prices showed rising home prices; the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index showed 4.20 percent growth in home prices year-over-year as compared to January’s home price growth rate of 3.90 percent. Case-Shiller’s 20-City Home Price Index rose by 0.40 percent from a year-over-year rate of 3.10 percent to 3.50 percent. Home prices increased in all of the 20 cities included in the Index; 17 of the 20 cities reported a greater…
01
May
2020
Some clever millennials are teaching the older boomers a new way to invest in real estate, which goes by the name of "house hacking." What Is House Hacking? House hacking has nothing to do with computers, although you may go on the Internet to find candidates for real estate investments suitable for hacking. The goal of house hacking is to acquire a multifamily rental property, live in one part of it and rent out the other parts for enough rental income to cover most, if not all, of the expenses of owning the property. Live Rent-Free As the on-site manager of a property that you own, you do not have to…
30
Apr
2020
Home prices continued to grow in February according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. National home prices grew at a seasonally-adjusted annual pace of 4.20 percent as compared to national home price growth of 3.90 percent in January. Case-Shiller's 20-City Home Price Index showed higher home price growth rates in February with average annual home price growth of 3.50 percent. January home prices grew by 3.10 percent for cities included in the 20-City Index. The lowest year-over-year home price growth rates were posted by Chicago, Illinois with 0.70 percent; New York City posted 1.50 percent growth, and Dallas, Texas with 2.50 percent home price growth. Phoenix, Arizona home prices grew by…
29
Apr
2020
One might wonder if the continued improvement in the access to online information about properties for sale has removed the need for working with a qualified real estate agent or broker. It has not. The trends reported by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) are interesting. Buyers are finding a home to purchase by searching online in larger numbers than before. In the NAR survey of homebuyers, the home was found online by the buyer for more than half of the homes purchased, with only 28% of the homes purchased suggested to the buyer by a real estate agent. Even so, NAR also reports that 87% of buyers made their home…
28
Apr
2020
The "Golden Girls" trend got its name from the popular television sitcom about four elderly women who live together to share expenses. It is becoming a popular way in real life for elderly adults to share homeownership and it has many benefits. The cost of assisted living is quite high. The median cost in the United States for assisted living is $4,051 per month. In many parts of America, that amount makes a substantial mortgage payment. Rather than pay that high price to live in an adult assisted-living community, many able-bodied elderly are choosing to pool their resources and live together in a large home that they own together. Buying A…
27
Apr
2020
Last week’s scheduled economic news included readings on sales of new and previously-owned homes and consumer confidence. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and new jobless claims were also released. COVID-19 Requirements Impact Home Sales Widespread state and local requirements for sheltering at home negatively impacted home sales in March. New homes sold at an annual pace of 627,000 sales as compared to 741,000 sales reported in February. Analysts estimated 628,000 sales for March according to the Commerce Department. The National Association of Realtors® reported lower sales of previously-owned homes in March with an annual pace of 5.27 million sales. February’s annual sales rate was 5.76 million homes. Sales of pre-owned homes…
