More households are increasingly being headed by older adults—50 or older--and that requires different types of housing to meet this aging group’s needs and preferences, according to “Housing America’s Older Adults 2018,” a new report released by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. The report found that more than half of the nation’s households—some 65 million--are now headed by someone at least 50 years of age
For the past five quarters, the majority of Americans said their housing markets were overheating. Now, in the fourth quarter, 75 percent of Americans say their local housing market is starting to cool, according to ValueInsured’s Q4 2018 Modern Homebuyer Survey. Homeowners in California, Colorado, Texas, and Washington are most likely to say their local market is starting to cool off.The survey “revealed some concerning evidence about the ch
After a yearlong search, Amazon has chosen two East Coast cities—Crystal City, Va., and Long Island City, N.Y.—to house its new headquarters. The online retail giant is expected to announce its decision on Tuesday that it’s coming to Long Island City, a neighborhood of Queens, and Crystal City, an area within Arlington, Va., just outside of Washington, D.C.The two real estate markets have already seen their housing markets rising in anticip
Quicken Loans ranks highest in customer satisfaction for the ninth consecutive year, according to the newly released 2018 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Survey. Customers overall are happier with their mortgage lender this year compared to last year, and a lot of that is attributed to lenders’ use of mixing in more digital interactions in the process, according to the survey, which is based on responses from more than 5,000 cust
The number of For Sale by Owner transactions fell to a record low of 7 percent of all home sales in 2018, down from 8 percent last year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2018 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. FSBOs—homeowners who try to sell their properties themselves without a real estate agent—have decreased dramatically since 1981, when they accounted for 15 percent of all home sales.Today, consumers rely heavily
Mortgage rates were on the rise this week, and as a result, home buyers faced higher borrowing costs. The 30-year fixed rate rose to its highest average in seven years, averaging 4.94 percent this week, Freddie Mac reports.“The economy continued to show resilience as strong business activity and the growth in employment” drove mortgage rates higher, says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Higher mortgage rates have led to a slowd
The Federal Reserve voted on Thursday to keep its key interest rate on hold, but signaled that rate hikes and tightened borrowing costs are likely on the horizon.The Fed kept its benchmark target for rates unchanged in the 2 percent to 2.25 percent range. The Fed’s rate does not directly influence mortgage rates but does tend to have an effect.“The labor market has continued to strengthen and … economic activity has been rising at a strong
Credit scores often take about 11 months to fully recover after a consumer purchases a home, according to a new study by LendingTree, an online loan marketplace.After a buyer purchases a home, their credit scores fall by an average of 15 points, but it takes 160 days—or slightly over five months—for the full impact to take effect.The analysis showed that after the full drop, recovery takes an average of another five months. For most borrowers
Wells Fargo blamed a calculation error for resulting in foreclosures on hundreds of homeowners who instead should have been helped by the bank. The finance giant acknowledged this week that it had improperly foreclosed on 545 distressed homeowners after they had requested assistance with their mortgages.In total, Wells Fargo said 870 homeowners were wrongly denied help. More than half of that total ended up losing their homes.An internal review
The real estate industry is being increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. A new report from the cybersecurity firm eSentire shows that real estate was the second highest industry hit with malware events in the second quarter of 2018.The real estate–related attacks usually center around internet communications and insecure connectivity to the internet. Real estate also sees a high volume of attacks aimed at D-Link home routers. If a hacker ta
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