Common wisdom has it that home buyers who rely on down payment assistance are more likely to default on their mortgage repayments, but a new study has debunked that theory. The study, by the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, found that buyers who receive financial assistance with […]
Study: Down payment assistance doesn’t mean a higher chance of defaulting
November 8, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Military vets have housing affordability edge, study finds
November 7, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Active-duty military and veteran households are, on average, better able to afford housing than a typical U.S. household, according to a new Zillow analysis. Nationally, it would take 29.6% of the typical household income to pay the median rent – just below the 30% rule of thumb for affordable housing. Active-duty military households would spend […]
SquareFoot lands $16M in Series B funding round
November 6, 2019 by
SquareFoot, a new kind of commercial real estate company, has announced a $16 million Series B funding round led by DRW VC. Existing investors, including Triangle Peak Partners, RRE, Rosecliff, and senior real estate executives, also joined the round. The investment brings the company’s total funding to more than $29 million. The new investment will […]
Apple will invest $2.5 billion to help fix California’s housing shortage
November 6, 2019 by
Apple Inc. has become the latest big tech company to make a financial commitment to address housing shortages in California, pledging a whopping $2.5 billion to solve a lack of affordable and available homes in the state. Apple’s pledge comes at a time when homeownership rates in the Bay Area are at a seven year […]
8.3 million first-time buyers poised to hit the market by 2022
November 4, 2019 by
A wave of first time buyers is expected to fall upon the U.S. housing market in the next three years. Around 8.3 million first-time buyers will be looking to apply for a mortgage between 2020 and 2022, according to a new report by the TransUnion credit rating agency. That’s significantly higher than the 7.6 million […]
Minneapolis officially removes single-family zoning
October 31, 2019 by
Minneapolis has become the latest U.S. city to do away with single-family zoning laws, allowing a greater variety of construction within its neighborhoods. The measure to eliminate single-family zoning was approved in a 10-1 vote by Minneapolis City Council members. Single-family zoning laws have come under attack in several U.S. cities and states in recent […]
Survey shows most Americans are unafraid of natural disasters
October 31, 2019 by
Americans say they’re aware of the risks related to climate change, but they remain unconcerned it might affect their homes. According to a survey of 2,700 Americans by personal finance website The Simple Dollar, around 55% say climate change is leading to increasingly severe and more frequent natural disasters. But some 32% say they’re unafraid […]
Here are the rules for selling a haunted home
October 30, 2019 by
Halloween is just around the corner and with everyone feeling a bit spooky, Zillow has come up with useful information for real estate agents who’re facing the prospect of trying to sell a haunted home. The good news is, from the seller’s perspective, in most cases they won’t have to say boo about it. Zillow’s […]
Investors are bracing themselves for a recession
October 29, 2019 by
As talk of a possible recession increasingly pops up, some investors are debating whether or not now is the time to downsize their real estate portfolios, according to an article by the Forbes Real Estate Council this week. “The first thing to realize is that a recession is always coming,” the article states. “Anyone who […]
Fannie and Freddie introduce new standard mortgage application form
October 29, 2019 by
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say their redesigned mortgage application form came into effect last week. The new form removes certain questions over applicant’s language preferences and housing counseling information. The Uniform Residential Loan Application is a standardized form that needs to be completed by most borrowers when they apply for a mortgage. Last weeks’ […]
