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January 28, 2012
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  • Where the Biggest Foreclosure Discounts Are
    01/27/2012

    Foreclosures in the third quarter sold, on average, for about a 34 percent discount compared to the average sales price of homes not in foreclosure, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac. 

    But in some metro areas discounts can be even larger between foreclosures and other home sales. 

    Here are the metro areas that offered some of the largest discounts in foreclosure sales in the third quarter of 2011: 

  • Mortgage Rates Rise After Posting Record Lows
    01/27/2012

    Mortgage rates started to edge higher this week, after a series of recent positive reports showing the housing market on the mend, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly mortgage market survey. 

    The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage after posting all-time record lows for the past three weeks reversed course this week and ticked up to 3.98 percent. Still, this is the eighth consecutive week that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have remained below 4 percent, Freddie Mac reported. 

  • 2011 Marks Worst Year on Record for New-Home Sales
    01/27/2012

    Sales of new-home declined in December, dropping 2.2 percent, and marking the end to the worst year on record for new-home sales, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. 

    New-home sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 307,000 in December — less than half the 700,000 pace that economists consider healthy for the sector. 

    In 2011, 302,000 new homes were sold nationwide, overtaking 2010’s 323,000 sales that had previously marked the worst year for sales on record. 

  • First-Time Buyers More Willing to Compromise
    01/27/2012

    When it comes to space and upgrades, first-time home buyers are more willing to compromise than repeat buyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2011 “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.” 

    While they have big wish lists too, first-time buyers seem to be most driven by finding a home that offers a reasonable monthly mortgage payment.

  • President Ford’s Home on Market for $1.7 Million
    01/27/2012

    The 6,316-square-foot Rancho Mirage, Calif., home belonging to the late President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford is up for sale at $1.699 million. 

    The one-story, flat-roof home overlooks a golf course and features his and her offices, five bedrooms, and six-and-a-half bathrooms. The Ford’s moved into the home after leaving the White House in 1978. 

  • Will High Rents Push People to Buy Homes?
    01/27/2012

    With Marcus & Millichap's National Apartment Report showing that the U.S. average for asking rents in 2011 came in at $1,061 a month, housing analysts believe more apartment tenants will look to own. 

    Some expect the average monthly rent to rise to as much as $1,101 this year, which Paul Bishop of the National Association of REALTORS® says should prompt more potential home buyers to "think twice before renting."

  • 10 Cities Where List Prices Soared in the Last Year
    01/26/2012

    List prices are heating up in Florida, as recovery takes hold in the Sunshine State. Florida boasts the highest number of cities in the top 10 for largest increases in median list prices in the last year. In Miami alone, median list prices have jumped 32 percent in the last year. 

    Nationwide, median list prices have inched up 5.03 percent from December 2010 to December 2011, according to Realtor.com data. 

  • Fed Vows to Keep Rates Low Until 2014
    01/26/2012

    The Federal Reserve announced that short-term interest rates will likely stay near zero for nearly three more years, a move that is expected to spillover to long-term mortgage rates for home buyers and home owners.

    In August, the Fed had made a rare move to say it would keep rates near zero until at least mid-2013. The Fed said Wednesday that the economy still needs more help and it will now extend that period to 2014. 

  • Foreclosure Sales are Down, Average Discount 34%
    01/26/2012

    In the third quarter of 2011, homes that were in foreclosure accounted for 20 percent of all residential sales in the country, according to RealtyTrac in its latest Foreclosure Sales Report. 

    While a high number of foreclosures still persist, the bulk of foreclosed home sales is shrinking. In the second quarter of 2011, foreclosures accounted for 22 percent of all sales and 30 percent of all sales in the third quarter of 2010. For comparison, in 2005 and 2006, foreclosure sales accounted for less than 5 percent of all sales.

  • New Task Force Cracks Down on Mortgage Crime
    01/26/2012

    President Obama announced in his State of the Union address Tuesday the creation of a new task force that will investigate abusive and risky lending that led to the housing crisis. But the new task force may threaten to derail a settlement deal among the nation’s largest banks and government and state officials over alleged foreclosure abuses.