By Jim Woodard
Published: June 14,2013
When a new housing boom is emerging, potential “flippers” come out of the woodwork in droves to try for big-profit investments they’ve seen promoted on TV. That’s what’s happening in many markets today. As most people know, house flipping is the practice of buying a home at a discounted price, improving it in some way [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: June 7,2013
Individual investors are using a variety of methods to obtain needed funds for investing in real estate. Those methods range from loans against the equity in their residences to tapping into their retirement accounts. Driving the trend is a strong desire to take advantage of today’s hot and growing real estate market, especially buying bargain-priced [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: May 31,2013
Nationwide, home affordability is up and growing, driven by low mortgage rates (but now rising a bit) and stabilizing incomes, thus giving consumers more buying power, according to a report published by the National Association of Realtors. The NAR report cited an interesting example: “Assuming a 5 percent down payment, a 3.5 percent mortgage rate, [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: May 24,2013
The homeownership rate has reached its lowest point since 1995. Capital Economics predicts further declines before a rebound occurs. The analytics firm predicts that the homeownership rate will fall to a low of 64 percent. If and when it does, the market will have about 9 million more renters than when the homeownership rate peaked. [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: May 16,2013
It’s very unlikely that a significant housing bubble is forming, most experts say. For example, reports from Capital Economics and Redfin asserted no such bubble is forming – at least not on a national level. Capital Economics recently addressed concerns that home price increases, which are rising twice as fast as gains in income and [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: May 10,2013
Many homeowners are unsuspecting victims of medical problems, ranging from asthma attacks to lung cancer, caused by components and conditions in their residences. This was revealed in a new study by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Several steps can be taken to minimize those risk factors. Researchers say [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: May 2,2013
‘Tis spring, when homeowners’ thoughts turn lightly to images of vacation homes. Sales of those properties are rising, as they have been over the past two years. Vacation home sales rose 10.1 percent to 553,000 in 2012 from 502,000 in 2011, according to the recently released National Association of Realtors’ 2013 Investment and Vacation Home [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: April 26,2013
Does homebuyer counseling really lead to significantly lower mortgage default rates? The answer is yes, according to several recent studies. One such study by NeighborWorks America found that borrowers who went through a prepurchase counseling program were nearly one-third less likely than non-counseled borrowers to fall behind on their mortgage payments by 90 days or [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: April 18,2013
Applications for interest-only home mortgages are on the rise. They are especially popular with investors or “flipper” buyers who hold title for a very brief time, or buyers who have trouble qualifying for a conventional mortgage. An “interest only” mortgage is one for which the scheduled monthly mortgage payment consists of interest only. The option [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: April 12,2013
Homeowners and investors are asking a key question: How much will home values rise in coming months and years? Highly credible analysts and organizations are projecting varying degrees of value appreciation. Here’s a sampling: One bullish projection comes from JPMorgan Chase and Co., which sees home prices rising at a rate of 14 percent through [...]
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