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Anecdotes have increased in recent quarters that there is a growing shortage of appraisers. 55.6 percent of lenders who took part in the most recent Survey of Mortgage Originators indicated some level of issues getting appraisals. However, 11.1 percent indicated that the issue was significant. Respondents indicated that roughly 9.8% of volume was hit with [...]
While local conditions vary, the REALTORS®Buyer Traffic Index and the REALTORS® Confidence Index—Current Conditions for single-family homes remained above 50 in December 2016, indicating that more respondents reported “strong” than “weak” conditions, according to the December 2016 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey Report, a monthly survey of REALTORS® about their sales activity and local market conditions.[1] [...]
Take a closer look at the home’s foundation before buying, says Matt Stock, president of U.S. Waterproofing, based in the Chicago area. An undisclosed structural foundation repair could leave a new buyer facing a price tag of $20,000 or more. “We’ve seen foundations sink 8 inches,” says Stock. “That was a $150,000 repair for the [...]
John Blom By John Blom Last year I blogged about my experience as president of my local association, so it seemed right to wrap it all up with a grand finale — a seminal description of the lessons that I learned as part of that experience. I sat down last week to write that post and [...]
REALTORS® reported that sales of distressed properties continued to fall in 2016, according to the December 2016 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey Report, a monthly survey of REALTORS® about their sales activity and local market conditions.[1] Distressed sales accounted for seven percent of sales (eight percent in 2015). With rising home values, improved economic conditions, and [...]
Super Bowl Sunday is almost here: the New England Patriots (a shocker to nobody) vs. the Atlanta Falcons. Last month we looked at who would be the this year’s champion if the winner was determined based on the home price movements of each team’s city. It now appears that much to the chagrin of NFL Commissioner [...]
Deals, animals, health, Pac-Man, battery life, juniper trees, taxes, and snacks. Good news if you are buying a house this month! You lucked out! Nope. We’d have to move. We don’t want to tell anyone how to spend their money, but it seems like a waste to buy plane tickets for this group. Rob Gallop/flickr/2007 [...]
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to this morning’s U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) January jobs report: “Job growth is critical in a rising interest rate environment. Every 10 basis point rise in mortgage rates can shave off approximately 35,000 in home sales annually. That is why today’s solid job addition of 227,000 [...]
More first-time homebuyers avail of a low downpayment loan compared to all homebuyers, according to the December 2016 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey Report, a monthly survey of REALTORS® about their sales activity and local market conditions.[1] Among first-time homebuyers who obtained a mortgage and whose transactions closed in October—December 2016, 81 percent made a downpayment [...]
This blog post was written by Managing Director of Housing Research, Danielle Hale, and Data Analyst, Hua Zhong. You probably know that home closings slow down during the holidays and the earlier part of the week. Here is the data to back up your intuition: The sales data for December 2016 is still preliminary, but [...]