Market & Trends
The world of real estate investing moves quickly. Catch the must-know news, market information, and trends for the industry here.
Back To: All Topics
Market & Trends
The world of real estate investing moves quickly. Catch the must-know news, market information, and trends for the industry here.
Back To: All Topics
Why Mortgage Applications Have to Change
Ah, the continued plight of the American mortgage system. While each year millions of homeowners finance and refinance real estate with few problems, the system is increasingly fraught with new complexities and potential pitfalls. Updates are constantly needed to keep up with a number of outside factors and trends. Without ...
Think Realty Housing News Report June/July 2019
+ WHAT'S INSIDE Think Realty | News & Events • Think Realty Supplier: Motili Investor Stories | Loan Turned to Own •Why Mortgage Applications Have to Change Fundamentals | How Wholesaling Can Work for You • Operation Safety • Mind the Gap • "It Depends"• A Legal View Strategy | ...
GSE Reform: Housing Finance Savior or Looming Disaster?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in play and with them the financial heart of the real estate marketplace. As they evolve – if they evolve – transactions worth trillions of dollars are at stake as well as billions of dollars in potential profits. The battle for Fannie Mae and ...
The New Solar Economy: A Hazy Path Toward Harnessing the Power of the Sun
With the ongoing certainty of sunrise, the use of renewable energy is becoming cheaper, more attractive, and more common. The promise of free fuel coupled with better technology is changing the energy economy by reducing our need for oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power. Every Tesla and Prius you ...
Zillow: Monthly Home Values Drop for First Time in Seven Years
All good things must come to an end, and that includes nearly a decade of growth for home values. Month-over-month home values have increased steadily since 2012, according to Zillow. But in April, however, the median home value fell 0.1 percent from March, which is the first time the market ...
The current economic expansion is set to complete its tenth year this fall, surpassing the 120-month expansion of the 1990s for the longest in U.S. history, dating back to the mid-1800s. However, despite a low unemployment rate and robust job growth, several forward-looking indicators have started flashing warning signs causing ...
Report: Springtime Homebuyers Face Far Less Competition
Prospective homebuyers are enjoying more than just warmer weather this Spring. Home shoppers are also facing less competition, as only 15 percent of offers faced competition in April, according to a recent report by real estate brokerage Redfin. The rate is a whopping 60 percent drop when compared to April ...
In April, Think Realty launched an initiative to start a meaningful dialogue with legislators in a one-day event called Think Realty’s Day on the Hill. The goal was to inform legislators on the real estate investment industry, how it functions, and how investors can help solve issues in affordable housing ...
More States Legalize Digital Home Closing Process
Iowa is the latest state to allow buyers to electronically close on a home, continuing a shift across the country to make mortgage transactions more efficient. To close out April, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law that enables digital closings for mortgage transactions, digitizing a time consuming and paper-intensive ...
Federal Reserve Votes to Keep Interest Rates Steady
For the time being, the U.S. Federal Reserve is planning to keep borrowing costs steady, the central bank said in a recent announcement. Despite calls from President Trump to lower its rates, the Fed on Wednesday voted unanimously to be “patient” and keep interest rates at its current range of ...
Think Realty Housing News Report May 2019
+ WHAT'S INSIDE Housing News Report | FEATURED ARTICLE: THE NEW SOLAR ECONOMY: A HAZY PATH TOWARD HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE SUN •MY TAKE: WHAT IS REAL ESTATE DATA AS A SERVICE? •DATA IN ACTION: MARKETS WITH THE GREATEST HOME SELLER GAINS IN 2018 • MARKET SPOTLIGHT: PHOENIX IS ...
Think Realty Magazine May/June 2019
+ WHAT'S INSIDE Think Realty | News & Events •Think Realty Benefits: Sherwin-Williams Investor Stories | Flying High •Renters Warehouse Design Point | Renovation Rockstar •Design Guide: Warm Classic Kitchen Fundamentals | What is Real Estate Data as a Service? • Taking Low-Value Property to New Heights • Investor ...
Report: Tax Law Changes Affecting Home Sales
According to a new study by the New York Federal Reserve, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, an overhaul of the U.S. tax code that was enacted in 2017 and puts a cap on some deductions for homeowners, has “negatively impacted the housing market” by lowering sales volume. The new ...
Top Markets with Greatest Seller Gains Q1 2019
According to a recent Q1 2019 Home Sales Report released by ATTOM Data Solutions, U.S. homeowners who sold their homes in the first quarter of 2019 realized an average home price gain since purchase of $57,500, down from an average gain of $60,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018, but ...
Report: Despite Winter Dip, Real Estate Investors Still Enjoy Nice Profits
Real estate investors across the United States reaped solid dividends from steady price appreciation this Winter, according to a recent report. Home sellers who sold in the first quarter realized an average price gain of $57,500 since purchase — an average 31.5 percent return on the purchase price, real estate ...
Millennial Movers: Here’s Where Young People Want a Home
Millennials are eyeing the middle of the United States for their homes, a recent report found. Millennials are looking at the Midwest not just for its affordable housing, but also strong job markets, according to the National Association of Realtors’ “Most Popular Areas for Millennials: Where They Move and Stay” ...
Bolstered by Low Rates, Economists Offer Cheery Housing Forecast
Lower mortgage rates are spurring some economists to more positively forecast the housing market. Economists with Realtor.com are predicting mortgage rates to average at 4.5 percent by year’s end, which is nearly a percentage point down from their original forecast. And as mortgage rates dip, investors can expect to see ...
Report: Homes with Open Houses Sell for More and Spend Less Time Market
According to a recent analysis of 2018 home sales and open houses, Redfin found that houses for sale that had an open house in their first week on the market sold for up to $9,046 more. They also discovered that those homes spent seven fewer days on the market versus ...
A Look at March’s 20 Hottest Housing Markets
Spring home sales may be in a funk, but there are still plenty of cities where homes are selling fast. Spring is typically the most active season in real estate, however, the broader housing market showed signs of slowing in March compared to a year ago despite some “unexpected hot ...
Despite Rate Dip, These Counties Lead Foreclosure Starts
While mortgage delinquency rates continue to decline around the U.S., there are still a handful of counties seeing relatively high rates of foreclosure starts. For the first quarter of 2019, a total of 161,875 U.S. properties began the foreclosure process, which is a drop of 23 percent from the previous ...
U.S. News Unveils Familiar Cities on Best Places to Live
National rankings continue to love the Lone Star State’s capital city. For three years running, Austin, Texas, topped U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Places to Live in the USA” list, lauding the city’s vibrant music scene and booming economy. “People are drawn to the Texas capital's music, outdoor ...
Report: Homes with Solar Power Enjoy Solid Value Bump
As the cost of sustainably powering homes continues to decrease around the U.S., more landlords and homeowners are exploring the value of installing solar panels. In addition to curbing emissions, Zillow Research found that within the last year, homes with solar-energy systems sold for 4.1 percent more on average than ...
Flipping Back: New Investor Approach Increases Rate of Home Flips
Real estate investors are fixing and flipping more homes in hopes of quickly turning a profit, according to a recent report. The rate of home flipping has increased on a year-over-year basis for a dozen consecutive quarters, however, investors are going about the process differently since 2002, real estate analytics ...
Report Ranks Homeowners Most Costly DIY Mistakes
In their efforts to save money, some homeowners end up making far more costly DIY mistakes as they try to revamp their properties, a recent report found. In a survey of 1,187 homeowners, Porch.com found a variety of expensive — and avoidable — mishaps that homeowners make as they attempt to ...
Report: Climate Change Will Devastate Unprepared Real Estate Investors
Real estate investors that aren’t preparing their properties for climate change and increasingly extreme weather may face steep costs, according to a recent report from the Urban Land Institute. In 2017, insurers around the world paid out a record-breaking $135 billion for damage to real estate caused by storms and ...
