Uncategorized

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…