RealtyBizNews: Real Estate News
With the latest on mortgages, refinancing, real estate & home tips
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Housing affordability in the US remained close to its all-time record highs in the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.
Two of America’s biggest banks have announced a temporary halt to foreclosure sales in several US states. Citigroup and Wells fargo said that the move was a precautionary measure after federal regulators made changes to guidance on the minimum standards applied to foreclosure transactions in the affected states.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, has warned that even as the economy picks up and more employment opportunities are created, the commercial real estate market faces a number of challenges as it makes its first tentative steps towards a recovery.
Throughout the housing crisis, one of the biggest stumbling blocks faced by real estate agents, buyers and sellers alike has been the appraisal process. Would the appraised value be lower than the agreed sales price, and if so, how much lower would it be? It’s thought that thousands of potential transactions have been derailed due to lower-than-expected appraisals.
We’re seeing a lot of momentum in the luxury home market of late, with prices on the rise and many areas where the market had struggled rapidly transforming into seller’s markets, says the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.
Despite the obvious gradual improvements seen in housing markets across the US, the overall recovery remains extremely “fragile”, according to a new report. The April Housing Scorecard notes some significant progress in the main indicators of the real estate market, but warns that there is still much to be done.
As the housing market continues down the long, winding road to recovery, a growing number of foreign buyers are helping to drive it forward, lured by tantalizingly low real estate prices and the prospect of residency in the US.
There’s some good news for military servicemembers on the horizon, after Capitol Hill lawmakers agreed on new legislation that would extend foreclosure protection to enlisted personnel who bought their homes after they went on active duty. Known as the Family Home Protection Act (H.R. 1842), the bill takes over from where the old Servicemembers Civil Relief Act left off.
Investors and all-cash home buyers accounted for about 19% and 30%, respectively, of all sales in March, according to the National Association of Realtors. That represents a significant share of the market, and some analysts are concerned that as home prices rise, investor and all-cash demand will start to shrink.
