Interest rates are inching up and credit can still be hard to get but there is one bright spot for households hoping to buy a home soon: they can get a larger loan now, thanks to recent loan-limit increases for both conforming loans and loans backed by FHA. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) increased… Continue Reading Families Can Get $11,000 More In Loan Funds
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR(R) Magazine You don’t have to go all Clark Griswold to show your holiday spirit. Decorations can be subtle, tasteful and inviting when a house is up for sale during the holiday months. Sure, there are two sides to this: Some staging and real estate professionals assert that you shouldn’t decorate… Continue Reading 10 Staging Tips for Holiday Decor
The following Field Guides have recently been updated in the Library: NEW in the Library at Realtor.org: Foreign Investment Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) FIRPTA was enacted in 1980 to address perceived abuses by foreign investors, who, unlike US citizens, were not required to pay capital gains taxes, to create equity of tax treatment between… Continue Reading New and Updated in the Library – December 2016
Phubbing, fake news, multitasking, chocolate, crime, tips, procrastination, and lights. How often do you check your phone in your significant other’s presence, and have you thought about how that makes your SO feel? Fake news is a thing, so here are steps to help discern fact from fiction. Now Facebook has a plan to combat… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: December 12-16
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to today’s U.S. Commerce Department report on November housing starts: “There’s little to cheer about regarding residential construction in November. The fall in single-family housing starts offers zero relief to the housing inventory shortage throughout the country. Moreover, the collapse in multifamily starts assures continued robust… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: November Housing Starts
WASHINGTON (December 14, 2016) — Existing-home sales are forecast to muster only a small gain in 2017 because of increasing mortgage rates and shrinking consumer confidence that now is a good time to buy a home, according to new consumer survey findings and a 2017 housing forecast update from the National Association of Realtors®. In… Continue Reading Home Sales Expected to Expand Modestly in 2017 As Affordability Pressures Temper Buyer Enthusiasm
In this week’s Five for Wednesday: You’ve probably heard of vampire draw — the phenomenon wherein your switched-off appliances consume energy, costing you money — but did you know smart outlets and smart power strips can help you save some dough? Here’s how. If you’re in San Francisco and ask Uber to give you a… Continue Reading Energy Vampires, Self-Driving Ubers, Delivery Drones, and More in Five for Wednesday
Below is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s immediate reaction to the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) announcement this afternoon that it’s raising its benchmark interest rate for the first time in 2016: “The era of ultra-low interest rates is over. Today’s short-term rate hike will be followed by several additional rounds of increases in 2017 and… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: Lawrence Yun on Today’s FOMC Decision
2016 was a great year for the housing market. Existing-home sales are currently (as of October) at their strongest pace since February 2009, distressed sales reached an all-time low earlier this fall and first-time buyers finally gained some traction despite affordability and supply pressures. All of this adds up to what should be an even stronger… Continue Reading 2017: Expect Higher Mortgage Rates, Slightly More Sales
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Sharon Delia (803) 772-5206 SC REALTORS® wraps up sold-out annual conference COLUMBIA, S.C. (September 21, 2016) -- South Carolina REALTORS® (SCR) 2016 annual conference "Doing the Charleston" at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, SC on September 13-15, 2016 drew a sold -out crowd of 300 Realtors®. The conference was organized… Continue Reading SC REALTORS(R) wraps up sold-out annual conference