Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey released Thursday showed increases in 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) rates, 15-year FRMs and 1-year Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) rates. (This differs a bit from yesterday’s Mortgage Bankers Association report.) The 30-year FRM is 6.15% up from 5.64 percent for the same week in 2004. According to Freddie
Attorney and Money Show host Rick Shaffer takes on the question of whether you should try selling your home without the assistance of a real estate broker. He lists several advantages of using a broker including: Comparables research MLS listings Buyer prequalification Time saving Aside from these, he concludes that you should use a broker because your net gain,
Faced with the prospect of another year of increasing heating oil and natural gas prices, many homeowners are considering ways to improve their home’s energy effficiency. Waiting until January 1 may add a few more dollars to the equation, as the Energy Tax Incentive Act of 2005 takes effect. The act will provide
The Credit Union National Association today launched the HLPR (”Helper”) loan program to assist low-to-moderate income first time buyers to achieve homeownership. The loans will be at a below market interest rate for the first 3 years after which they will begin adjusting towards market rates, with no more than 1 percent a year
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is teaming with David Bach, the author of the Finish Rich series and The Automatic Millionaire : A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich, to sponsor the launch of his new book, The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner. “I believe that the single most important investment a person will ever
The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly mortgage survey showed a decline in the Purchase Index, which measures new mortgage applications for home purchases, and the Refinance Index, which measures new refinance mortgage applications, for the week ending October 28. On a seasonally adjusted basis, new purchase mortgage applications were down 4.8 percent from the previous
If you own a home with leaky polybutylene (PB) pipes, you may qualify to have your plumbing replaced free under a class action settlement. The Consumer Plumbing Recovery Center (CPRC) was established under the $1 billion plus settlement to assist homeowners with plumbing replacement. PB systems are distinguished by flexible, gray plastic pipes joined
The latest weekly Freddie Mac mortgage survey, for the week ending November 3, 2005, showed increases in 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) rates, 15-year FRM rates and 1-year Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) rates. The biggest increase came in 1-year ARMs which increased 0.18 percent and all three rates increased by more than 0.1
The Federal Reserve reported Monday that demand for mortgages to purchase homes decreased over the three months from August to October, with almost 1/4 of domestic bank senior loan officers reporting a decrease in demand. The survey of senior loan officers revealed little change in credit standards for home mortgages. The survey also asked banks
Luxury home builder Toll Brothers expects fiscal 2006 home sale to be between 9,500 and 10,200 homes, instead of the earlier project of 10,200 to 10,600, because of regulatory issues and softening demand in some markets. Either figure substantially exceeds 8,769 fiscal year 2005 sales. Toll Brothers also reported that backlogs increased 36 percent
With unbeatable property value, wonderful weather, scenic beauty and a low cost of living, Northern Cyprus is fast becoming a prime hotspot for overseas property investors.
With reports that Britney Spears' new baby is called Preston, Michael or Sean Preston, how successfully have celebrities picked property hot-spots when naming their children?
The Cypriot government has announced a long term plan to target inward property investment and finance, with the ambition of transforming itself into the main trade, finance, services and tourism centre in the east Mediterranean.
According to DTZ's eighth annual Global Office Occupancy Costs (GOOC) survey, London's West End has retained its title as the world's most expensive office location.
The property investment boom in Cyprus is experiencing a sharp slowdown as jet to let prices on the island achieve parity with equivalent property in Spain.
Properties near football grounds are less popular with home buyers, while those near tennis and cricket grounds attract premium valuations, according to a survey by Propertyfinder.com.
The Parisian property investment market, for much of the last few years the subject of giddy speculation and rocketing demand, is following the trend of much of western Europe and beginning to cool say French estate agents.
Spanish property price inflation has begun to soften, the Spanish Ministry of Housing has claimed, with prices over the country as a whole increasing by 13.4 per cent through 2005 - the lowest rise for three years.
With house prices back on the rise, deposit upon exchange falling back to just 5% and excellent developer discounts, the UK buy to let market is attracting British investors back from abroad reports property investment firm Assetz.
A new trend is emerging in Europe, with an increasing number of property purchasers keen to buy second homes on golf courses, according to property investment firm Assetz.
If you want to get the most house for the money, start your legwork now. Come spring, you'll have more competition for the best deals.
These remodeling hints might help you to enjoy living in your house longer -- and could raise its resale value when it's time to move.
Celebrities are getting another shopping break: a real-estate discount. Call it housing aid for the A-List: Builders are offering price cuts or sweetened deals to famous faces in hopes of attracting full-price buyers in the condominium market.
If you're concerned about buying in an area where prices have risen sharply, these steps may help you invest in a hot market without getting burned.
We take a look at what's driving demand in locales across the country. Here are snapshots of buying-and-selling activity throughout the U.S.
