The Federal Housing Administration is expanding mortgage relief to FHA-insured homeowners who live or work in areas that were affected last year by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as wildfires and mudslides in California. Mortgage servicers in those areas will offer additional payment options to help disaster victims remain in their homes.The FHA is launching a “Disaster Standalone Partial Claim” option, which covers up to 12 mont
Because millennials, Generation X members, and baby boomers are in different stages of their lives, they are seeking different types of real estate markets that meet their specific needs. Realtor.com® found the hottest locations for each age cohort based on migration data for each of the major U.S. metros, home-search activity on realtor.com®, and the percentage of positive change in homeownership for each city from 2016 to 2018. The research s
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage shows little signs of stopping its gradual move upwards week to week. This marks the seventh consecutive week for higher mortgage rates, and rates continue to be at a four-year high.“Fixed mortgage rates increased for the seventh consecutive week, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate reaching 4.40 percent in this week’s survey; the highest since April of 2014,” says Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s chief economist
Home prices in ZIP codes with the highest environmental hazard risk are appreciating at a faster pace than the overall housing market in the past year and over the last decade, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2017 Environmental Hazards Housing Risk Index.Researchers analyzed more than 8,600 ZIP codes in the U.S. looking for four environmental risks: Superfund sites, brownfields, polluters, and poor air quality. They found that median home pr
Taxpayers can continue to deduct the interest they pay on home equity loans when the funds are used for home improvements, the IRS confirmed in a statement on Wednesday. The status of home equity deductions has been in question following the limits on the mortgage interest deduction included in recent tax reform legislation. The IRS says it has been fielding more questions from taxpayers and tax professionals on whether the interest on home equit
Consumers across the globe tilt in favor of homeownership, despite steady gains in renting. Twenty-nine of 30 countries recently analyzed have a majority of homeowners, with Switzerland being the sole exception, according to a new analysis by RentCafe, a nationwide listing service for renters.While the number of renters is on the rise in 21 of the 30 countries, homeownership still prevails. The number of renters in the United States, for example
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that it is awarding $34.9 million to help low-income residents become more self-sufficient. The money will be allocated to public housing authorities, public housing resident associations, Native American tribes, and nonprofit organizations across the country. It will be used to hire or retain service coordinators to help low-income residents find jobs, educational opportuni
A shortage of homes and surging prices are hitting first-time buyers particularly hard heading into the spring season. The share of first-time homeowners dropped to 29 percent of all existing-home sales in January, down from 33 percent a year ago, according to the latest housing report from the National Association of REALTORS®.“First-time buyers are typically people with a tighter budget,” says Joseph Kirchner, realtor.com®’s senior eco
Home buyers and homeowners may be getting spooked by higher mortgage rates. Mortgage applications for both home purchases and refinancings plummeted 6.6 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.Volume is now just 3.5 percent higher than a year ago, with annual increases continuing to shrink week to week.Applications to refinance dropped 7 percent last week
Home buyers locked in heated bidding wars are increasingly turning to escalation clauses to keep their offers in play, The Wall Street Journal reports.Escalation clauses are addendums to real estate contracts in which a prospective buyer is able to submit an offer but then raise his or her offer in increments to a maximum amount if others submit competing offers.In competitive real estate markets where homes are fetching multiple bids, real est
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