News / Features

Existing Home Sales May Shine in August

Existing home sales in August are projected to increase 5.4 percent from July and 15.8 percent year-over-year, according to the most recent projections from Tom Lawler, a noted analyst of the housing market. Lawler said he based his estimates

Oct. 1 the Day of Defeat for Federal Loan Limits

Despite efforts by politicians and housing professionals, federal housing limits will likely decrease on Oct. 1, a development that could hamper homeownership in some markets. The limit to loans by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Authority

Declining Debts an Economic Delight for 12th Straight Quarter

Household debt declined for the 12th straight quarter, as a decrease in mortgages pushed total debt down by a seasonally-adjusted 0.6 percent and mortgage debt by 2.4 percent, according to data from the Federal Reserve.   John Wasik, a

Households Seeing Double in Descending Numbers

“Doubled-up” homes, or, homes that include at least one additional adult who is neither a student nor the homeowner’s spouse/partner, decreased by 0.4 percent in 2011, though the total number of doubled-up homes remains far above its 2007 totals.

NAR Recommends Modifying the Nation’s REO Speedwagon

The National Association of Realtors has responded to a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the U.S. Department of the Treasury for input on recommendations for selling real estate

Bayside Rocks Gets Greener

Bayside Rocks, an annual music and arts festival devoted to raising social awareness, is teaming up with CityGreenLife.com (CGL) this year to make the event “greener” than

Indian Summer Surge for Home Sales

August home sales defied seasonal trends and rose 18 percent from last year, according to new data from RE/MAX. Historically, June is the highest-selling summer month, but in 2011, both July and August exceeded June’s sales

Foreign Developer Unveils Extraordinary, $3.1 Billion Resort

Malaysian developer Genting Group unveiled its master plan Wednesday for Resorts World Miami, a massive, city-within-a-city development with a projected cost of $3.1 billion. The largest North American real estate project since the $8.1 billion CityCenter project was announced

Senate Flanked with Housing Ideas

The seemingly never-ending debate on housing policy continued on Wednesday in Washington, as economists and policy analysts from a myriad of organizations testified before a Senate subcommittee on what to do about housing, particularly the 11 million borrowers who

KeepSum Brings Coupon Euphoria to Real Estate

KeepSum, a website that attempts to bring the same bright, zany style of the gloriously successful Groupon to real estate, has just formally launched, beckoning Realtors to “save some, keep sum.” Functioning more on a business-to-business basis than business-to-consumer,

Home Prices Post Spectacular Increases in Florida

Florida municipalities posted huge year-over-year price gains in August, a strong sign that after a couple tough years, the state’s market is rebounding in a major way. As part of a study by Realtor.com, 146 municipalities in the U.S.

Competition in YOY Forecast

Early reports on Augusts’ Year Over Year (YOY) forecast have lead to competing forecasts between financial and economic analysts. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) estimated that home sales this July ran at a SAAR of 4.67 million, a

Housing “Disturbia” for Rihanna

Pop star Rihanna is a good girl gone bad – at least when Beverly Hills real estate is concerned. The chart-topping singer is suing Prudential California Realty, the company that sold her a 10,000-square-foot mansion for $6.9 million in

Hidden Housing Help in Obama’s Jobs Bill

Housing experts were none too kind to President Obama after his non-specific mention of housing in a major jobs speech last week, but it appears that his jobs bill, the more heavily promoted policy of the speech, does contain

Delinquent Homeowners Get Second Chance From Freddie

Freddie Mac has finalized requirements on a new “Standard Modification,” a loan modification program for delinquent homeowners who did not meet requirements for the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).   Officially launching in January, the new program will

Mortgage Applications Recover Resoundingly with 6.3 Percent Gain

The Market Composite Index, a study of mortgage loan application volume that is compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association, rose 6.3 percent last week, bouncing back from a disappointing 4.9 percent decline the week before.   Despite historically-low interest

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