Total mortgage applications – including for refinances and home purchases – were essentially flat last week, rising just 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, despite mortgage rates at their lowest averages in a month. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday that applications are now 14 percent lower than a year ago.Refinance applications have been falling significantly over the last few weeks as interest rates have edged hi
For prime investment locations, it may be time to look South. Forbes teamed up with Local Market Monitor, a company that tracks more than 300 housing markets, to uncover the top cities for investors in the new year. The markets that dominate this year’s list reflect two major benefits: affordability and growth.“If you are planning on making an investment, either by buying a home or by buying a rental property, these are really good markets,
Taylor Morrison is the most trusted among national home builders, according to the results from Lifestory Research America’s Most Trusted 2017 Home Builder Study. The study tracks more than 100 builder brands in the 35 largest U.S. housing markets, and collects the perceptions of trust in home-builder brands as expressed by more than 31,000 would-be buyers."When a brand attains the trust of people, the brand stands apart from all others," says
Homeownership rates are down across the board, but they're dropping most among millennials, who saw rates plunge from 40 percent in 2006 to 32 percent in 2015.However, in a few American cities, millennials are bucking the trend, opting to buy over rent, according to a recently released analysis by SmartAsset.com that looked at homeownership rates among household heads who were less than 35 years old.Researchers found that in some cities the homeo
Police have discovered and identified the remains of a Kingman, Ariz., real estate professional who has been missing for the past two years. Sidney Cranston Jr., 40, was last seen showing a property in June 2015 to an unknown client. He had been missing ever since.Kingman police say authorities discovered the body buried in the foothills east of Kingman. Upon examination, the Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be a gun s
Technology is reshaping the real estate industry in more ways than one. Brokers looking to attract new, tech-savvy agents and staff should take note of some workplace trends and tools that are becoming more commonplace — even expected, according to Allison & Taylor, a Michigan-based company that offers reference and background check services.New Internal Communications Tools. Overflowing email inboxes and the rise of text messaging has ushe
In many markets, there are just not enough homes for sale to meet buyer demand.“More than two-thirds of the markets are seeing less inventory now compared to a year ago,” says Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Tight credit and limited new construction are clearly at play.”Realtor.com®’s research team scoured the data to find the locales facing the most severe housing crunch. Of the 150 largest markets, realtor.com®
Referrals can be a big source of a real estate agent’s business and can be key to keeping your business flowing year-round.About 40 percent of the real estate agents recently surveyed by the ReferralExchange and the Council of Residential Specialists say they receive about one to five referrals per year. Another 20 percent say they receive six to 10.Inbound referrals tend to result in a closed transaction the most. The highest rate of success i
Top real estate executives at firms from all sizes say agent recruitment and retention are going to be their paramount focus in 2017, according to the latest Imprev Thought Leader survey. The survey reflects the responses of nearly 240 real estate leaders representing brokerages responsible for more than half of all U.S. residential real estate transactions last year.Eighty-five percent of respondents agree that recruiting more agents is their mo
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