It’s a good time to be a homeowner: Nearly two-thirds of housing markets across the country saw home prices at all-time highs in the fourth quarter of 2017, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Tuesday.The national median existing single-family home price in the fourth quarter was $247,800, up 5.3 percent from a year ago. Ninety-two percent of the markets measured by NAR saw an uptick in single-family home prices. Twenty-six metros
With the backing of Fannie Mae, home-sharing giant Airbnb has announced a new partnership with select lenders, including Quicken Loans, Citizens Bank, and Better Mortgage, that will allow homeowners to report rental earnings as part of their income when applying to refinance a mortgage. Owners who rent rooms on Airbnb had been facing delays, higher interest rates, and loan limitations when refinancing.“This initiative was developed to identif
Bitcoin has been used in a few real estate transactions in recent months, but does the cryptocurrency really have the power to revolutionize how homes are bought and sold? Housing experts don’t agree unanimously.“Bitcoin millionaires” is a new breed of financially savvy consumer looking to invest their profits in real estate. Earlier this year, research from realtor.com® uncovered 37 listings nationwide in which bitcoin was mentioned as
The owners of a Los Angeles home that was featured in the FX show “American Horror Story” have sued their brokers, claiming the property’s Hollywood connection was not properly disclosed before the sale.Ernst von Schwarz and Angela Oakenfold bought the home—which was the central setting of the show’s first season in 2011—for $3.2 million in 2015. They claim in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court that the house has att
As mortgage rates continue to inch higher, consumers are bracing for steeper homebuying costs this spring. Households earning the national median income of $68,000 a year could afford about 59.6 percent of new and existing homes that were sold in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The trade group’s latest report looks at home prices, mortgage interest rates, and median household income across 23
Your average buyer or seller in the high-end real estate market may not be what you’d imagine, according to Paul Boomsma. The Chicago-based president and founder of Luxury Portfolio International, the marketing program for luxury real estate companies within the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World group, presented research at the PowerHouse SMART 2018 Luxury Conference held in Chicago this week that aims to help real estate professional
At the end of 2017 properties sold at a quicker pace, despite inventory shortages and rising home prices. On average, homes sold in December were on the market for 40 days, down from 52 days a year ago, according to the December 2017 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey.Since 2011, the median number of days on the market has been decreasing. In May 2011, properties were typically listed for three months. For all of 2017, properties were on the mar
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that starting Monday it will accept public comments on their enforcement process. Among its many oversight areas is the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, known as RESPA.Mick Mulvaney, currently the acting director of the CFPB, announced the public comment period in an effort to help improve the bureau’s overall efficiency and effectiveness in its enforcement of federal consumer financi
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached its highest average since December 2016, Freddie Mac reports. This is the fifth consecutive week that mortgage rates have been on the rise, increasing borrowing costs for home shoppers heading into the spring buying season.“Following a turbulent Monday,financial markets settled down with the 10-year Treasury yield resuming its upward march. Mortgage rates have followed,” says Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s
When you see cranes in the sky, you know development is on the rise. San Francisco saw the largest increase nationwide in cranes dotting its skyline between July and October 2017, according to Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB), a property and construction consulting firm. RLB’s most recent quarterly report shows an 18 percent jump in the city by the bay’s crane count, putting it at 26. Largely driven by job growth in the tech industry, constructi
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