National News
Lessening underwriting standards are the great white whale in housing’s recovery, and the 2012 Survey of Credit Underwriting Practices from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is making some suggestions that the tide may be turning for home
Robert J. Shiller is more than just a highly-respected professor of economist at Yale – he’s the co-creator of the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, one of the most influential readings available on the U.S. housing market. Therefore, it makes
Prepping a property for potential buyers is a multi-tiered process, one that involves a number of steps across a number of different mediums. From writing the initial Internet listing to scrubbing the home’s interiors and exteriors for showings, a
Homeownership is often seen as the ultimate realization of the “American Dream.” Though the emotions behind that sentiment are still running strong, a recent report suggests that consumer spending habits may have different priorities, and that other big purchases now take precedent over
In case you’re late to the party, allow us to bring you up to speed – various sources are saying housing is inching towards recovery. Existing-home sales were up 9.6 percent last month, new home sales 19.8 percent, and
Sales of new singe-family homes for the month of May, according to new data from the Census Bureau, rose 19.8 percent year-over-year to a two-year high. The 369,000 seasonally-adjusted annual rate was also 7.6 percent above April’s rate of
A pinball property, or pinball listing, as it’s also called, can be a real estate agent’s best friend – just as long as they’re not the ones listing the property! It’s not a new term, but pinball listings –
Today, more than ever, sites such as Google and Yahoo! are the true drivers of the Internet, transporting users to web pages based on one thing – the results of their algorithms. It’s imperative that agents learn to harness
The Federal Reserve announced earlier today that it would be extending its Operation Twist program through the end of the year to stimulate financial markets. Though it sounds like it came from the mind of Lewis Carroll, the Twist
Existing-home sales in May declined 1.5 percent from April to May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million, but were up 9.6 percent from May 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors. Median existing-home price, though,
The FHA has rescinded a highly-controversial credit dispute rule that put an untold number of mortgage applications at risk with the government lender. Drafted in March to shore up its emergency fund, the rule forced potential homebuyers with FHA
Technology is constantly changing the way we interpret real estate, and a couple of new auditory innovations are looking to overhaul our perceptions all over
Trulia today released the results of its latest American Dream survey, and it found that homeowner optimism has returned to the housing market in a major way. The survey sampled a large swath of the U.S. population, with nearly
The last six months, housing affordability has been one of the few give-ins regarding housing. With record-low interest rates and competitively-priced homes, affordability is at its highest level in more than 40 years…or is it? A new study by
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) increased one point in June to its highest level since May of 2007. That might not sound like a big deal, but every little point counts – and
Let’s face it, few things are more painful than a Facebook user who has little grasp of the medium. We’ve all seen it – posts written entirely in ALL CAPS, cheesy videos, meaningless status updates – an all with
