Home Affordability Rises: NAHB
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimates that 55 million families, or half of all U.S. households, can afford today’s $200,000 median-priced new homes, thanks to record low mortgage rates and declining home prices. That’s an increase of 17 million households from two years ago. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, NAHB compared [...]
Obama Urges Americans to Refinance
President Obama urged Americans to take advance of the administration’s new program, which allows homeowners whose loans are underwater to refinance. Obama, who spoke Thursday at a White House event, pointed to historically low interest rates and estimated that if 7 million to 9 million homeowners refinance, they will save $1,600 to $2,000 a year. [...]
Top Economists Say Recovery Has Begun
Economic recovery is about making people feel more confident, says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com. Zandi evidenced increasing home sales and gains in the stock market are some promising signs that the worst is over and people will start spending again. “We’re starting to see some pent-up demand for goods,” he says. But [...]
Housing Recovery? Not This Year, Experts Say
One in every nine homes in the United States is sitting vacant, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Economists predict that getting rid of this glut nationwide will take at least three years. Here’s the math: The number of housing units in the United States increased by 8.65 million from 2002 to 2007. During that [...]
Making an Offer On a Short Sale? This is What You Need To Know
If a home or a condo is being sold for below what the seller owes on the property, and the seller doesn’t have other funds to make up the difference at closing – the sale is considered a Short Sale. Many home owners are finding themselves in this situation due to a number of factors, [...]
