First-time homebuyers accounted for half of all existing-home purchases during the first quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors. And those sales don’t reflect the impact of the homebuyer tax credit, which could boost sales by another 100,000 units or more this year. “Close to 455,000 buyers purchased their first home during the first [...]
If you’ve been following the housing market over the past year, you’re probably thinking home prices are getting pretty cheap, attractive even. But before you jump in, there’s something worth noting; the median home price you see plummeting is skewed. Nowadays, most of the homes selling are either distressed properties or heavily discounted, while higher-priced [...]
Real estate service provider Trulia said 27 percent of homes currently on the market have experienced at least one price cut since being listed, signaling the difficulty that remains for sellers. The average price reduction ranged from $20,000 to $295,000 nationwide, with Houston representing the lower figure and New York City the near-$300,000 discount. By [...]
Nowadays, homes are sitting on the market a lot longer than they have been in the past, mainly because it’s a buyers market. There’s simply too much supply and not enough demand, despite the record low interest rates and home price declines. Factor in lengthy underwriting turn times and the fact that financing is hard [...]
Now that the notion of purchasing a home is becoming less and less attractive, you may be considering renting as an alternative, at least until home prices fall to more affordable levels. At the same time, you may prefer to live in an urban center, but without the hefty price tag that typically goes with [...]
Nearly one in four Americans plan to buy a home in the next five years, according to a survey carried out by Move.com and the National Association of Realtors. Of those who plan to buy, more than half are first-time homebuyers, a glimmer of hope in an exceedingly bleak economic climate. At the same time, [...]
One hard-hit town in Southern California has resorted to spray painting the lawns of foreclosed homes with hope the distressed properties will be more readily scooped up. The town of Perris, located in Riverside County, a region where foreclosures run rampant, has allocated a certain amount of money to spray paint bald spots green from [...]
Well it’s a new year, so I thought I’d take a look at some of the worst housing markets for 2009, based on data from the National Association of Realtors and Moody’s Economy.com. Los Angeles is expected to be the worst housing market in 2009 with an expected median house price drop of 24.9% this [...]
With the real estate bust in full force, many might be wondering where homes are selling with the most ease, and where trying to sell a home is like watching paint dry. Well, Radar Logic, a real estate information service, put out a report with the year-over-year home sale transactions by metro area, revealing some [...]
A foreclosed home in Detroit, Michigan sold for $1, revealing the severity of the housing downturn in one of the hardest hit cities in America, the Detroit News reported. To add insult to injury, it took 19 days to sell the property, although the buyer plans to pay in cash. Back in late 2006, the [...]