home selling: 30-Year Mortgage Rates Inch Up.
- 11/05/10 08:28 AM
Freddie Mac confirms that average interest for 30-year fixed mortgages rose for the third consecutive week, bumping up to 4.24 percent from 4.23 percent a week ago. The average 15-year rate for the week ended Nov. 4 was 3.63 percent, a drop from 3.66 percent. Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc., says this week's Federal Reserve actions "aren't going to change the economy right away, but they should help keep mortgage rates low for quite some time." … (0 comments)
home selling: Remodeling the Laundry Room Can Add Value to your Home
- 11/02/10 04:08 AM
"God is in the DETAILS". Remember this quote when you want to sell your home!!!I have shown places where the laundry room looked like a dungeon from a horror movie. This can impact the buyer in a negative way. Remodeling a laundry room can add a surprising amount of appeal and value to a home. Here are some key steps:· Pick a decorating style. A laundry room doesn’t have to be institutional. Giving it personality increases appeal. . Stay away from bright strong colors. · Add convenience. Starting with a laundry detergent dispenser, make it easy to get the job done.. … (3 comments)
home selling: Boston Condo contrasts: Prices downtown highest in decade, but sales are off!!
- 11/01/10 07:01 AM
The median price of a downtown Boston condominium hit a 10-year high in the third quarter while the number of sales dropped to a new low for the decade. That’s the conclusion of a housing report set to be released today by the Boston company Listing Information Network that shows the median selling price of downtown condominiums increased 9.2 percent to $475,000 during the third quarter of 2010 compared with the same period last year. Sales volume, meantime, sank by 24.5 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period last year. Only 677 properties sold, marking the smallest number … (1 comments)
home selling: Latest Report: What’s In, What’s Out With Home Design.....
- 10/29/10 06:51 AM
Coinciding with a sluggish housing market, home owners have changed their preferences about how space is used and designed in their homes. Function over extravagance has reigned in recent years, along with affordability, when it comes to home features, according to the latest American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey for the second quarter of 2010. Here are a few highlights from the report, based on nearly 300 residential architects who were surveyed about the design preferences of U.S. households. WHAT’S IN Home offices: More people are working out of their home or telecommuting, prompting more home owners to want … (2 comments)
home selling: New Home Sales Rise 6.6 Pct. After Dismal Summer.....
- 10/27/10 05:58 AM
Sales of new homes nationwide improved last month after the worst summer in nearly five decades, but not enough to lift the struggling economy. The Commerce Department says new home sales in September grew 6.6 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 307,000. Even with the increase, the past five months have been the worst for new home sales on records dating back to 1963. Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics, called the September home sales encouraging. But he said it doesn't change the fact that activity remains at extremely low levels. "That's unlikely to … (0 comments)
home selling: October Housing Scorecard Shows Homes Are More Affordable
- 10/26/10 10:14 AM
The Obama administration's October edition of the Housing Scorecard show continued signs of stabilization in house prices and high home affordability due in part to record-low interest rates, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. "Over the last 21 months, the Obama administration's swift action in the housing market has kept millions of families in their homes and provided responsible borrowers with incentives to refinance or to become a homeowner," said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. "But, with many unavoidable foreclosures still in the pipeline, it's clear that we have … (1 comments)
home selling: Mortgage Rates Edge Up!!!
- 10/25/10 04:20 AM
Interest on the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 4.21 percent this week, up from a record low of 4.19 percent a week ago, reports Freddie Mac. Rates for 15-year fixed loans also rose, climbing to 3.64 percent from 3.62 percent. However, the five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to a record low of 3.45 percent, after averaging 3.47 percent the previous week.Source: Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch (10/22/10) … (0 comments)
home selling: Bay State Foreclosure Petitions Drop In September; Foreclosure Deeds Climb
- 10/21/10 10:02 AM
The number of foreclosures started by lenders in Massachusetts during the month of September declined from a year earlier, according to a new report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. The September number was also lower than the total foreclosures recorded in August. In September, lenders filed 2,358 petitions to foreclose - which marks the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts - a 6.7 percent drop from 2,527 a year earlier. Foreclosure petitions in September also dropped about 20 percent from 2,961 in August. Foreclosure petitions have exceeded 2,000 since February. A total of 20,964 foreclosure … (0 comments)
home selling: Mortgage Applications Slump As Rates Rise From Lows
- 10/20/10 05:13 AM
Mortgage applications nationwide slumped last week as interest rates on 15- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose for the first time in six weeks, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. Interest rates, however, are not far from record lows and the drop in demand does not bode well for the housing market, which has been showing signs of improvement but remains highly vulnerable to setbacks. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended Oct. 15 decreased 10.5 percent. The four-week moving average of mortgage … (1 comments)
home selling: Regulators Advancing Joint Foreclosure Review!
- 10/19/10 05:18 AM
Regulators are teaming up and advancing their review of banks' and mortgage servicers' foreclosure practices to determine whether individual homeowners were improperly kicked out of their homes. Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said on Monday that teams from his agency, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are working together to determine the extent of the problem related to allegations that banks failed to comply with state laws as they completed foreclosure proceedings against delinquent borrowers. Walsh said the regulators are now going into the large servicers - which include Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup … (0 comments)
home selling: IRS: Homeowners Can Deduct More Interest On Mortgage Debt
- 10/18/10 08:26 AM
Homeowners can deduct interest on up to $1.1 million in mortgage debt, $100,000 more than the previous limit of $1 million, according to a recent change by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS ruling, announced last week, brushed aside a Tax Court ruling that would have limited those deductions. Taxpayers are allowed to deduct interest on up to $1 million in debt to purchase or improve a residence. In addition, taxpayers may deduct interest on up to $100,000 of home equity indebtedness, provided that this debt is fully secured by the residence. In a 1997 case, the Tax Court limited a … (1 comments)
home selling: 30-Year Mortgage Rates Plumb New Depths!!!
- 10/15/10 08:46 AM
Freddie Mac reports that the average interest on 30-year fixed mortgages slipped to an all-time low, for the third consecutive week, to 4.19 percent. At the same time, 15-year fixed-rate loans and the five-year adjustable-mortgage rate both also hit record lows. Rates on the former were 3.62 percent, while the latter averaged just 3.47 percent.Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nathan Becker (10/15/10) … (0 comments)
home selling: Banks Seize 288K Homes In Q3, But Challenges Await
- 10/14/10 05:14 AM
Lenders seized more homes nationwide this summer than in any three-month stretch since the housing market began to bust in 2006. But many of the foreclosures may be challenged in court later because of allegations that banks evicted people without reading the documents. A total of 288,345 properties were lost to foreclosure in the July-September quarter, according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing service. That's up from nearly 270,000 in the second quarter, the previous high point in the firm's records dating back to 2005. Banks have seized more than 816,000 homes through the first nine months … (0 comments)
home selling: Stubborn economic woes, rising rents strain housing market’s recovery
- 10/13/10 04:06 PM
Greater Boston’s housing market might be facing a period of more instability, according to a study to be released today by New England’s largest community foundation. The Boston Foundation report says the region’s housing market could get battered from two directions, with continuing economic woes depressing house prices and driving up foreclosures, and Boston’s burgeoning student population pushing up rents. Bluestone cited “disconcerting developments’’ nationwide, including the gross domestic product numbers, which fell sharply in the second quarter, and the growing ranks of the unemployed nationwide — both trends that threaten the troubled housing market. Through July of this year, new … (1 comments)
home selling: Three Scenarios From the Foreclosure Freeze
- 10/13/10 08:41 AM
Three Scenarios From the Foreclosure Freeze Gregor Watson, a principal with McKinley Partners, a development company that buys foreclosed homes, told listeners on a Citi home-builder conference call that there were three potential outcomes from the foreclosure fiasco: · Best case: These are technical issues that can be resolved quickly so the foreclosure process can continue and the glut of foreclosed homes is cleared from the market. · Medium case: There is significant litigation that takes years to sort out and this slows the troubled housing market even further. · Worst case: The market grinds to a halt and title insurers … (0 comments)
home selling: Abbey Group Secures 3-Year Financing Extension For Boston's 45 Province
- 10/05/10 05:53 AM
Boston-based real estate development firm The Abbey Group has secured a three-year extension of financing from German lender Helaba Bank for the firm's 45 Province development in Boston's Downtown Crossing neighborhood. According to a statement from Abbey, sales activity at the 32-story condominium tower was brisk over the summer, with a dozen units coming under agreement or sold since June. "The Abbey Group's commitment to 45 Province and the Boston residential market has been unwavering," Christian Ritter, executive vice president of Helaba Bank, said in a statement. "We have great confidence in their product and in their new marketing team, and … (0 comments)
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Freddie Mac confirms that average interest for 30-year fixed mortgages rose for the third consecutive week, bumping up to 4.24 percent from 4.23 percent a week ago. The average 15-year rate for the week ended Nov. 4 was 3.63 percent, a drop from 3.66 percent. Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc., says this week's Federal Reserve actions "aren't going to change the economy right away, but they should help keep mortgage rates low for quite some time." 
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