[facebook] [retweet] Inventories tightened 8.7% from January 2014 to January 2015 Housing inventory continues to tighten in markets across the country – a 2015 trend identified by realtor.com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke in its housing inventory data report for January. Nationwide total listings declined by 6.7% month over month and about 8.7% year over year. “January’s inventory…
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[facebook] [retweet] Two similar pieces of legislation introduced last month in the House and Senate that would extend tax relief to homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage loans have been referred to committees and are waiting to be heard. Congressman Tom Reed (R-New York) introduced the Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act of 2015 (H.R.…
[facebook] [retweet] Both the delinquency rate and the foreclosure inventory rate in Q4 2014 for residential mortgage loans fell to their lowest levels since 2007, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey released Wednesday. The delinquency rate, which includes loans that are at least one payment past due but not loans in foreclosure,…
[facebook] [retweet] QUESTION: Can you find deals to flip on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)? The simple answer to this question, one that I receive all the time, is NO, you can’t find deals to flip on the MLS. Whenever I post something on my website or Facebook about the lack of deals on the…
[facebook] [retweet] House prices and rental prices are about to switch roles after three years of soaring home prices and tepid growth in rental prices, a new Capital Economics report said. Over the next few years, Capital Economics predicts that rents are likely to rise at an annual average rate of 5% or more, while…
[facebook] [retweet] The year 2015 is gearing up to be a stronger, more expensive housing market powered for the first time by new millennial buyers, according to the Realtor.com 2015 Housing Forecast. Among its five largest predictions for next year, Realtor.com expects first-time buyers will return to the market in full force after years of retrenchment…
[facebook] [retweet] If walls could talk, do you know what your investment property would be saying? I think most of us probably cringe at the thought of what might have occurred at a property before we bought it, especially considering the condition in which we oftentimes find them. In most cases it’s easier to just…
[facebook][retweet] Most forecasts didn’t foresee oil’s plunge An examination of break-even inflation rates suggests sharply lower oil prices are a key driver of the 90 basis points rally in 10-year Treasurys and the 60 basis points drop in mortgage rates in 2014, according to analysts at BofA Merrill Lynch. Most real estate economists are forecasting…
[facebook] [retweet] James, one of our subscribers, recently posted the following question on our website: “Would it be better to purchase homes from distressed sellers, or to buy foreclosures?” As always, an excellent and insightful question, which is why I chose to answer it as a part of this month’s “ASK the P.I.G.” series. This…
[facebook][retweet] All-cash buyers and institutional investors were able to purchase residential homes at a larger discount rate from the average market value at the time of purchase than the average rate for all U.S. homebuyers in the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Institutional Investors & Cash Sales Report for Q3 2014. RealtyTrac reported that…