First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extention Possible
Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate. The current credit is due to expire on Nov. 30. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill [...]
Have We Weathered the Economic Storm?
Have We Weathered the Economic Storm? The Boston Real Estate market has not fallen as far as experts and professionals had originally predicted. The Second Quarter Citywide Link report has shown a significant increase in appreciation for the second quarter of 2009 to 103% from 95% for the first quarter. What does that mean? Well, [...]
Mortgage Trends with Brian Cavanaugh
Are mortgage rates going up? Are mortgage rates going down? I am a regular participant in the Bankrate.com Mortgage Rate Trend survey and this week’s survey may point you in the right direction. The Bankrate.com survey is for conforming mortgages only. It is not specific to Cincinnati, nor does not apply to FHA mortgages, VA [...]
2Q Survey Shows Rising Sales, Slowing Price Declines
Sales of existing homes rose 3.8 percent to 4.76 million units during the second quarter of 2009, up from 4.58 million units in the first quarter, but they were still 2.9 percent below the 4.90 million units sold in the second quarter of 2008, according to NAR’s latest quarterly survey of metro home sales. Nine [...]
More Americans Move to Improve
A growing number of Americans are changing residences in an effort to move into a bigger home or a better neighborhood, according to a recent study by Relocation.com. The most important reason people move is to live in a bigger or better home (26 percent), followed by living in a better neighborhood (24 percent); to [...]
U.S., Regional Home Prices Climb
Home prices rose 5 percent in July over the previous quarter, the first U.S. home price gains in more than three years, but they were 14.7 percent below a year ago, according to new study by Clear Capital, a real estate valuation company. All four regions posted quarterly gains at the end of July: 11.2 [...]
Pending Sales Rise for Fifth Straight Month
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in June, rose 3.6 percent over the previous month and is 6.7 percent above June 2008, NAR reported. This is the fifth consecutive month that the pending sales index rose. In the Northeast, the index edged higher by 0.4 percent in June and [...]
Boston-area home prices rose 3.7% in May
Boston-area home prices rose 3.7 percent in May, offering a rare piece of positive news in a housing market that has tumbled some 10.8 percent since its peak in 2006. The local real estate data was part of a broader study of home prices that showed a 1.6 percent increase in the United States from [...]
Longer Marketing Time For The Luxury Market
America’s high-end neighborhoods could feel the pain as homes linger on the market and prices slide. There are more than 60,000 homes priced above $1 million listed on Realtor.com with the inventory at levels far above the national average of 10 months. Some observers predict that big inventories in formerly protected enclaves will drive down [...]
Another Rash of Foreclosures Coming Soon
Some economic observers are predicting another wave of foreclosures later this summer or in the fall. That’s because lenders that have held off on foreclosures as part of President Obama’s plan will now move forward aggressively to clear the backlog of troubled mortgages. Rising foreclosures will further depress home values, says Mark Zandi of Moody’s [...]
