Homeowners struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic have received another extension for their mortgage payments. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Thursday it is providing an additional three months of forbearance to borrowers with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, bringing forbearance up to 18 months total. To qualify, borrowers must be enrolled…

Housing groups, including the National Association of REALTORS®, are urging federal agencies to provide more information on the distribution of $25 billion in rental assistance under current COVID-19 relief legislation, which was signed into law in December. The coalition of real estate trade organizations says the funds are critical to counter the economic fallout of…

Home buyers better hurry: This month may offer the best time of year to get a mortgage. But February can offer some of the best rates too, according to a new study from Haus, a home-finance startup. The firm studied seasonality, loan size, credit scores, and other factors that play a role in mortgage rates.…

The pandemic is expanding the divide between those who are thriving financially and those who aren’t, CNN reports. Stock market growth is enriching the wealthy and they’re up-sizing by purchasing pricier homes. However, those facing unemployment in the pandemic and first-time buyers who don’t have equity in a current house, are struggling in the housing…

Home prices are surging by double-digit percentages annually, but deals can still be found in pockets throughout the country. Realtor.com®’s research team recently conducted a study to find out where. They searched listings in 150 of the largest metro areas to find which ones had the most homes for sale at $100,000 or less. That…

Quicken Loans originated the highest number of home purchase loans in 2019, more than any other lender, according to a new analysis from Ascent, a personal finance resource produced by The Motley Fool. Wells Fargo closed loans totaling more than $305 billion in 2019, 73% higher than its nearest competitor. Ascent looked at the top…

The lack of inventory will be the biggest story in housing this year, said real estate professionals recently surveyed by HomeLight, a real estate referral company. HomeLight’s Top Agent Insights report, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020, reflects responses from more than 1,000 real estate professionals nationwide. What issues are top-of-mind for real estate…

After a slowdown in rental growth during the spring and summer of 2020, rents are back on the rise. A new report from CoreLogic shows that national single-family rental prices increased 3.7% year over year in November and are now above the levels before the COVID-19 pandemic started. “This is in contrast to rents for…

Buyers beware: It’s a seller’s market and homeowners are holding firm on the price. More than half—or 52%–of about 1,000 real estate professionals recently surveyed believe the biggest challenge that home sellers will face in 2021 is the temptation to overprice their homes due to the hot market conditions. The homebuying frenzy since the pandemic,…

Sixty percent of home buyers and sellers say they’re optimistic about the housing market in 2021, a leap above 2020’s numbers, according to a new survey commissioned by Redfin. High earners and homeowners are the most upbeat, shows the survey of more than 1,400 people, which was conducted in November and December. Nearly three-quarters of respondents…

Amazon is following the lead of other tech giants by looking for ways to help solve affordable housing woes that plague areas where it has offices. Tech companies have long been blamed for fueling surging home prices that push out local residents who seek more affordable housing. Amazon.com Inc. announced it would commit more than…

Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have tightened rules on buildings that offer too many short-term rentals in vacation locales, drawing objections from the real estate industry. The new rules could make it tougher for some buyers to get a mortgage on condos in resort areas, and many real estate professionals aren’t happy…

The Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), one of the nation’s largest multiple listing services covering much of Illinois and parts of Wisconsin and Indiana, announced 2020 was a record year in sales from its subscribers. Agents through MRED’s marketplace conducted more than $43 billion of business in 2020, the most since MRED was founded in…

Homeownership is a better deal than renting, despite rapidly escalating home prices over the last few months, according to a new study released by ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate research firm. Owning a median-priced three-bedroom home is more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property in 63%—or 572—of 915 U.S. counties analyzed. Record low mortgage…

Mortgage rates started the year with a new record low. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to a 2.65% average this week, the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking such records more than 50 years ago. “Despite a full percentage point decline in rates over the past year, housing affordability has decreased because these low rates…

As remote work has grown and more Americans are no longer bound down to a long commute, more people are being drawn to the idea of a second home. Builders are responding to the uptick in interest. Single-family construction in second-home markets rose at a 13.6% average rate in the third quarter annually compared to…

Commercial property owners are hopeful that tenants, many of whom canceled leases amid the pandemic, will return in 2021. But owners realize they may need to make building improvements to address the current reality regarding COVID-19. Plainfield, Ill.–based Cicero Construction Group, which offers design services and construction management, recently compiled insights to help building owners…

For several housing markets, their growth in 2020 is expected to continue this year, particularly in cities where tech and government jobs are more plentiful. Realtor.com® recently analyzed the 100 largest U.S. markets to find those poised for the most growth in 2021. NAR’s Prediction: 10 Markets to Lead Post-Pandemic Rally “Economic momentum from the thriving…

As the pandemic rages on, owners of short-term rentals are readjusting their lease terms and hoping guests will stay longer than a few nights. Booking.com, a website for making accommodations, announced that it’s looking to introduce “extended stays,” and Airbnb has created a “monthly stay” category. Some hotels, such as Red Lion Hotels chain, are…

Americans are taking a greater interest in the aesthetics of their spaces. Share these trending stories online to connect with homeowners interested in sprucing up their spaces and help potential buyers envision their new home. The following are the top five home design stories at REALTOR® Magazine for 2020. 1. How to Best Navigate New Color Trends…

Prior to the pandemic, home offices were losing some clout. No longer tethered to a cord, homeowners found they could work from anywhere—the kitchen table or the local coffee shop. But now the home office is being spotlighted in homes and gaining prominence in real estate listings. Homeowners are craving a dedicated space for a…

Mortgages are now taking an average of nearly two months to close as lenders face a surge in business spurred by low mortgage rates and high demand. The average time it took a mortgage to close in November was 55 days, according to Ellie Mae’s Origination Insight Report. The 55-day average wait is proving problematic for…

An increasing number of homeowners’ mortgages are in forbearance as more owners take advantage of COVID-19 relief assistance from lenders before the end of the year. About 37,000 more mortgages were added to forbearance during the week ending Dec. 15, bringing the total to 2.787 million loans. That represents about 5.3% of the nation’s 53…

More Americans are taking out mortgages this year, the level of which is on pace to top that of the housing boom in the 2000s. And borrowers are saving hundreds of dollars per month by locking in the lowest mortgage rates in history. In the first nine months of 2020, lenders issued $2.8 trillion in mortgage…

Some real estate pros are having their best year ever for home sales, despite the pandemic. Existing-home sales in November climbed 25.8% compared to last year, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Tuesday. Existing-home sales—completed transactions on single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—did dip down by 2.5% in November compared to October’s unseasonably high levels,…

Many renters have transitioned into homeownership during the pandemic, and rental demand and prices are dropping in major cities like New York and San Francisco, ApartmentList reports. “The pandemic is likely to change the expectations and behaviors of renters for an extended period, as people grew accustomed to conducting virtual real estate tours and finalizing…

More consumers are being drawn to new-home construction and home builders are rapidly filling orders. But they’re struggling to keep pace as challenges within the industry mount. Single-family starts flattened in November as builders struggled to meet demand, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. Overall housing starts rose 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual…

The Federal Reserve left borrowing costs at record lows on Wednesday, while acknowledging there’s still a long way to go as the nation’s economy heals from the COVID-19 outbreak. The key rate acts as a benchmark for borrowing and savings. Interest rates will remain at 0% to 0.25%, which they have since March. The Fed’s…

In the wake of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, many households are struggling to make their rent payments, especially in Florida. The economic impact has been unevenly distributed across the country, based upon varying levels of infection and differing regulations on local businesses and economic activity. The Sunshine State ranked No. 2 for the…

Netflix wants to help end systemic racism in real estate. The streaming giant announced Monday it was donating $25 million to a national effort to combat housing discrimination. Their funds are going to Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit group that for over the past four decades has been building and financing affordable housing. Netflix has…

Homeowners are building wealth as property appreciation surges to its highest level since 2014. In the third quarter, the average homeowner had gained about $17,000 in equity year over year, according to CoreLogic’s latest Home Equity Report. Owners in Washington State saw the largest annual increase in home equity at $35,800, followed by California at $34,000.…

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate averaged 2.71% this week, holding at the all-time low first set last week, Freddie Mac reported. The ultra-low mortgage rates are making homebuying more attractive and boosting sales activity to the highest level since 2006, economists said at the National Association of REALTORS®’ virtual Real Estate Forecast Summit on Thursday. While home…

Consumers crave digital connection from small businesses, including from real estate firms, a new study finds. The COVID-19 outbreak has sparked a greater reliance on digital and mobile tech to do jobs and complete transactions. Moxtra, a firm that offers digital solutions, recently surveyed 1,500 small business personnel and 1,500 small business customers across industries,…

Unfazed by the recession, wealthy Americans are looking to upsize their homes in the pandemic. Demand for million-dollar homes is climbing faster than any other price point, Bloomberg reports. Applications for mortgages larger than $766,000 increased 59% year over year in September, the largest uptick of all price segments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.…

More than 40% of company CEOs believe business conditions will recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, according to a new quarterly survey from the Business Roundtable. The CEOs of the nation’s largest companies—which employ some 15 million people—expect their firms to hire more employees and invest more over the next six months. The CEOs expect the…

The housing markets expected to be the strongest in 2021 are tech hubs with strong job creation, state capitals where home shoppers may get more square footage for their money, and smaller cities with greater affordability, according to a new analysis from realtor.com®. But none of these areas boast the cheapest home prices in the…

Best Ways to collect Rent: Collect rent online: One way to accept rental payments is online.Paypal and Venmo are other options for collecting rental payments. Venmo allows instant payment but requires you to be friends on social media. Pay Pal is a free service.  Collect Rent By Mail: You can choose to allow tenants to send…

Home sales are booming across Central Florida, but only a couple of markets are among the most affordable and stable in the state, according to a recent study.  Melbourne and The Villages rank among Florida’s top 10 healthiest housing markets, according to a report by New York-based finance tech firm SmartAsset. That means these communities offer…

The single greatest benefit investors are made privy to by working with property management companies is time. By enlisting the services of a good property management company, investors won’t be forced to manage the property themselves; they’ll be free to take on other responsibilities. For most investors, the added time will help them find and…

Occupancy levels are at a 30-year high,” Don Walker, managing principal and chief financial officer for John Burns Real Estate Consulting, told the National Real Estate Investor. Rental single-family homes in the suburbs are particularly appealing to younger generations. As remote work grows, more households are less tied to a city commute and are looking…

The cost of property management is a valid argument, especially when you consider detracting from your bottom line, but I can assure you it’s doing anything but. Yes, a property management company will indeed cost additional money to hire, but I like to think of it as an investment, as opposed to a cost. You…

In Orlando For Instance we have: 1. Booming home sales; Homebuying activity is at its highest level since 2006. Defying high unemployment and an economic recession, the housing market has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. Record low mortgage rates; Home buyers are locking in some of the lowest mortgage rates ever in history. 3.…

WE at Bull Property Management Will Help YOU If: 1)You Can’t Do It All Yourself; We will do it for You 2)Your Properties are Far Away; IF in orldando we will take care of them 3)Housing Laws and Regulations Keep Changing; we are always up to date 4)You Have a Large Number of Properties; we…

“Although we don’t necessarily see the direct impact of 5G on real estate yet, there are ancillary applications that will rely heavily on 5G, such as IoT (Internet of Things) sensors, autonomous vehicles, smart cities and others that will potentially change where and how people live,” said Dan Weisman, NAR’s director of emerging technology. Credit…