National News

National median home sales price hit record highs, NAR reports

The median sales price hit a new high while the median days on market hit a new low, according to the National Association of Realtors. Total existing home sales increased 1.1 percent from April to a seasonally adjusted annual

Sales speed, competition hit record highs in May

Last month’s buyers faced one of the most competitive markets to date, according to Redfin’s May 2017 housing market report. As homes flew off the market and supply continued to decrease, speed of home sales and buyer competition hit

Nationwide, 4.6 million new apartments needed by 2030 to keep up with demand

Apartment demand is already tight in many cities across the country, and without an increase of inventory, it may become more difficult to find affordable market-based housing options. A new study from the Hoyt Advisory Services and commissioned by

Fannie Mae raises debt-to-income level to benefit more potential borrowers

Fannie Mae has made home purchasing easier for a number of people – including Millennials – by raising its debt-to-income (DTI) threshold. According to the Washington Post, Fannie Mae’s DTI ceiling will be raised from 45 percent to 50 percent

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The 10 issues impacting agents the most this year, according to CRE

Real estate agents are concerned that political uncertainty and the disruptive nature of new technology will affect their business this year, according to the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE). CRE unveiled its 2017-2018 Top Ten Issues Affect Real Estate

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The McMansion is falling out of favor with homebuyers

As Millennials increasingly warm to the idea of homeownership and Baby Boomers begin thinking about selling their homes, one wrinkle in the homebuying cycle has appeared: no one wants to buy McMansions. What is now a staple of suburban

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Mortgage delinquencies hit 10-year low

The number of people who are late or behind on their mortgage is at the lowest rate in 10 years. According to CoreLogic’s monthly Loan Performance Insights Report released Tuesday, 4.4 percent of mortgages nationwide were delinquent, compared with 5.2

Here’s how long it takes Chicago homeowners to break even on their purchase

Now more than ever, residents of large American cities face a conundrum when deciding whether to rent or buy. Renting is increasingly popular in major markets as housing prices in these desirable areas keep creeping up. Now, Zillow has

5 reasons for a declining homeownership rate

Rosen Consulting Group (RCG) partnered with the National Association of Realtors and found five reasons for the United States’ declining homeownership rate, according to research released recently. RCG found post-foreclosure stress disorder, mortgage availability, student loan debt, single-family housing

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Home flipping hits two-year low as profits dip, study says

Despite a slight increase in recent months, home flipping has now hit a two-year low, and home flippers are seeing lower returns on their investment, according to the Q1 2017 U.S. Home Flipping Report by ATTOM Data Solutions. Home

Consumers believe it is a seller’s market, survey says

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) saw a slight drop of .05 percentage points to 86.2, according to the National Housing Survey report for May 2017. This drop is due to decreases in three categories being larger on-net

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Chicago named sixth most walkable city

Chicago is the sixth most walkable city in the U.S., according to Walk Score’s 2017 Report. The report, released in May, only considers cities with populations over 300,000 and factors distance from amenities, density of population, block length and pedestrian

Home prices forecasted to continue rising through next year

Home prices continue to rise on both a year-over-year and monthly basis, and will continue to do so through the next year, according to CoreLogic’s latest report. CoreLogic’s April Home Price Index (HPI) found that home prices have increased

Zillow’s ‘Instant Offers’ disrupts real estate community

A newly launched Zillow feature called Instant Offers is causing concern with some agents who worry the company is pushing them out of the homeselling equation. Instant Offers is a completely online approach to selling homes that has launched

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World hires new vice chairman

The chairman and chief executive of a leading New York real estate firm will become the vice chairman of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, the organization announced Thursday. Diane M. Ramirez, CEO of Halstead Real Estate, has

Cool, neutral paint colors may help increase home sales, study says

Choosing the right paint colors can make a major difference when it comes to home sales, according to a Zillow study. Zillow conducted its 2017 Paint Color Analysis of more than 32,000 photos of U.S. homes sold between 2010

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