Median home prices in the second quarter eclipsed a record high set in 2016, jumping 6.2 percent year over year as the inventory crunch continues to push property values higher, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.The national median price for an existing single-family home was $255,600, up from $240,700—the previous high—in the second quarter of 2016, NAR reported Wednesday. Prices for single-family homes rose in 87 percent o
Foreign buyers continue to outspend domestic buyers in the U.S.From April 2016 to March 2017, properties purchased by foreign buyers had a median price of $302,290. That is 30 percent more than the median purchase price of $235,792 for all existing homes sold in the U.S. during that period, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate.In a further examination of ave
A 20 percent down payment is no longer the norm. In the past year, 1.5 million borrowers purchased their homes with down payments of less than 10 percent, according to Black Knight Financial Services. That marks a seven-year high.A growing number of home shoppers are financing more than 90 percent of their home purchase.“The increase is primarily a function of the overall growth in purchase lending, but, after nearly four consecutive years of d
Home owners are turning to home equity not just for home renovations but also to launch new businesses. Equity was used as a source of capital to launch 284,618 U.S. businesses—7.3 percent of all businesses, according to a newly released analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau that culls 2014 data.According to the study, the industries that use home equity at some of the highest rates are accommodation and food services, other services, retail trade
Saving for a down payment is often the number one hurdle to many would-be home buyers. And consumers looking to buy may have to wait many years, depending on their profession, to save $55,000 for a down payment to buy a median priced home in the country, according to a new realtor.com® analysis.Realtor.com®’s research team studied how long it takes buyers in 12 professions to save up for a down payment. For the study, researchers assumed that
How Mark Podolsky closed 192 deals working an average of 2 hours a weekKey Takeaways County research is a crucial part of the process for purchasing land. Look for vacant properties with delinquent taxes as they’re easier to buy at a low price. Always offer less than the land is worth. If you don’t buy your properties at a discounted price, you’ll never be able to turn a profit. Emphasize seller financing while marketing. This is the key to
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reversed course this week, averaging 3.90 percent.“After holding relatively flat last week, the 10-year Treasury yield fell 4 basis points this week,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year mortgage rate moved in tandem with Treasury yields.”Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for the week ending Aug. 10: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.90 percent, with a
Growing incomes and low mortgage rates are helping to prop up housing affordability and offset rising home prices, according to the newly released National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. A quarter-point drop in interest rates in the second quarter helped to make homes more affordable to more consumers. Between the beginning of April and the end of June, 59 percent of new and existing homes were affordable to f
Two of the largest institutional landlords announced Thursday that they plan to merge in a $4.3 billion deal. Invitation Homes, the rental home wing of private equity firm Blackstone Group, and Starwood Waypoint Homes will own about 82,000 single-family properties in more than a dozen major markets under the merger, which still needs to be approved by stockholders. The combined company will operate as Invitation Homes.Other institutional investor
Homeowners continue to say that their homes are worth more than appraisers’ opinions, according to the latest reading from Quicken Loans’ National Home Price Perception Index. Consumers believed their properties to be worth 1.55 percent more than what appraisers said they were in July.That said, the gap is narrowing between these differing opinions. In June, homeowners’ estimates were 1.7 percent higher than appraisers’ opinions.There
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