National News

As Apartment Building Falls, So Does the New Construction Marketplace

October provided yet more evidence of how integral multifamily building is to the current new construction economy October was a rough month for new construction, with housing starts falling 11 percent from September and 1.8 percent from Oct. 2014

Are America’s Large Homes Bad for Energy Efficiency?

Is our love for large homes nullifying the progress in energy efficiency? Thanks to new technological advances in water use, insulation, heating and cooling and household appliances, today’s homes are more energy efficient than ever before. Yet new research

FHA Announces Changes to Condo Policies

Last Thursday, Federal Housing Administration Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Ed Golding and National Association of Realtors President Chris Polychron announced changes to FHA condominium policies at the NAR national conference in San Diego. The changes, Golding explained, will change

Disproportionately High Rents Spoil Homeownership Dream

Many want to own a house, but the finances are only feasible for an increasingly select few It is a truth universally acknowledged that the vast majority of renters in America aspire to homeownership. Indeed, according to a recent

NAHB: Builder Confidence Slips in November

After some very positive months, builder confidence took a step back in November Builder confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes slipped three points to 62 from October to November in the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo

5 Things You Need to Know About NAR’s Upstream Initiative

NAR and RPR push forward with Upstream initiative The National Association of Realtors and Realtors Property Resource have made an agreement with UpstreamRE LLC to develop a cross-industry platform for real estate data entry, collection and distribution for real

The 6 Characteristics of Homebuyers in 2015

What does the typical homebuyer look like in 2015? Earlier this week, we reported on first-time homebuyers, and how they are now at their lowest market share since 1987. That information came courtesy of the 2015 Profile of Home Buyers

Black Mortgage Applicants Denied at Twice the Normal Rate in Boston

Mortgage markets have improved, but the inequities are still pronounced Black mortgage applicants in the Greater Boston area are denied at more than twice the rate of all applicants, according to new research from Zillow. All Applicants (2013) Black Applicants (2013)

The 5 Most Expensive Areas in Boston

Coldwell Banker released their 2015 Home Listing Report, which details the highest and lowest average price for four-bedroom, two-bathroom houses in markets across the United States. Here are the top five most expensive areas in Massachusetts, along with the

6 Important Facts about First-Time Homebuyers

First-time homebuyers continue to lose market share in today’s housing market First-time homebuyer share has dropped to its lowest level in 27 years, with just 32 percent of all existing-home sales going to first-time buyers in 2015. That was one

4 Big Trends in the U.S. Job Market

October was more of the same for the U.S. job market, but was it enough to sway Fed policy? The U.S. economy added 271,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate held firm at 5.0 percent, according to the

MBA: Mortgage Applications Slightly Decrease

According to the new Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications decreased 0.8 percent from the week prior. Refinancing activity decreased by 1 percent, while purchase mortgages rose by 20 percent. Refinancing comprised 59.5 percent of all

TRID Remains Lenders’ No. 1 Regulatory Concern

It’s been more than a month since the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) guidelines came into effect, and so far, the industry hasn’t devolved into total chaos. But that doesn’t mean lenders still aren’t worried. Financial services company Wolters Kluwer

Cuban Real Estate Rush: Too Much Too Soon?

There’s been a lot of political posturing as of late, with partisan pundits and presidential candidates butting heads over everything from tax strategies to affordable housing, but one issue that, surprisingly, has remained largely left out of the conversation is

Fannie Mae to No Longer Require Pay Stubs

Fannie Mae opts to use database for those without credit score Fannie Mae will no longer require physical pay stubs and tax data to verify a borrowers’ ability to handle a loan, according to The Wall Street Journal. Instead, Fannie

Freddie Mac CEO: Expect More Low Down Payment Mortgages

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and Freddie Mac are ready to uphold their pledge from last year to extend lending to borrowers who do not qualify for traditional loans. Freddie even hinted that more low down-payment loan programs could possibly

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