Mortgage rates were on the rise this week, and as a result, home buyers faced higher borrowing costs. The 30-year fixed rate rose to its highest average in seven years, averaging 4.94 percent this week, Freddie Mac reports.“The economy continued to show resilience as strong business activity and the growth in employment” drove mortgage rates higher, says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Higher mortgage rates have led to a slowd
The Federal Reserve voted on Thursday to keep its key interest rate on hold, but signaled that rate hikes and tightened borrowing costs are likely on the horizon.The Fed kept its benchmark target for rates unchanged in the 2 percent to 2.25 percent range. The Fed’s rate does not directly influence mortgage rates but does tend to have an effect.“The labor market has continued to strengthen and … economic activity has been rising at a strong
Credit scores often take about 11 months to fully recover after a consumer purchases a home, according to a new study by LendingTree, an online loan marketplace.After a buyer purchases a home, their credit scores fall by an average of 15 points, but it takes 160 days—or slightly over five months—for the full impact to take effect.The analysis showed that after the full drop, recovery takes an average of another five months. For most borrowers
Wells Fargo blamed a calculation error for resulting in foreclosures on hundreds of homeowners who instead should have been helped by the bank. The finance giant acknowledged this week that it had improperly foreclosed on 545 distressed homeowners after they had requested assistance with their mortgages.In total, Wells Fargo said 870 homeowners were wrongly denied help. More than half of that total ended up losing their homes.An internal review
The real estate industry is being increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. A new report from the cybersecurity firm eSentire shows that real estate was the second highest industry hit with malware events in the second quarter of 2018.The real estate–related attacks usually center around internet communications and insecure connectivity to the internet. Real estate also sees a high volume of attacks aimed at D-Link home routers. If a hacker ta
Rising home prices are helping homeowners get richer and richer. Equity-rich properties represented 25.7 percent—or nearly 14.5 million—of U.S. properties in the third quarter, a record high, ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate research firm, reports. “Equity-rich” means the combined estimated amount of loans secured by the property was 50 percent or less of the property’s estimated market value.“As homeowners stay put longer, they c
Voice assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, are finding more uses in real estate, and not just for calling up homes for sale but also for easing the transfer of money. Some property managers are already experimenting with allowing their tenants to tell Amazon’s voice assistant, “Alexa, pay my rent.”A new deal between Zego and S2 Capital is linking smart-home devices in some 30,000 apartments over the next three years.
REALTOR®-supported candidates across the country at the federal, state, and local levels scored wins that promise to benefit the real estate industry’s goals of strong communities and healthy residential and commercial property markets.The National Association of REALTORS® supported hundreds of local, state, and federal candidates, selecting real estate champions regardless of party affiliation. Among some of these wins yesterday in Congress
“Gen Zers don’t just want to become homeowners; they want to do it at a younger age and we found that they’re saving or planning to save for it accordingly,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Their desire for homeownership may be similar to that of millennials and Gen Xers, but graduating into one of the best labor markets in generations might give them the boost they need.”Nearly 80 percent of Gen Zers surveyed
In certain areas of the country, homeowners are living beyond their means. Researchers at online loan marketplace LendingTree recently dug through credit report data to compare average household income, factoring in credit inquiries, the use of revolving credit lines, debt unrelated to housing, and mortgage balances.They found residents in San Antonio, Texas; Riverside, Calif.; and Las Vegas are struggling to meet their bills. Researchers loo
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