National News

Zillow: Younger Americans more likely to use money for down payment over renovations

Two-thirds of homeowners would prefer to renovate their current home rather than make a down payment on a new one, according to a new report from Zillow. Overall, it seems that homeowners are happy with their current homes, with

Rising home values can help homeowners, but it may cost them

Thanks to rising home values, more American homeowners are looking to tap into home equity that continues to grow, according to a recent survey conducted by Bankrate.com and research firm GfK f. But even though leveraging home equity into

Real Estate in Brief: Zillow lawsuit tossed, Trump tax evasion, and more

After almost five years of record-low inventory and record-high prices, prospective homebuyers are finally experiencing some relief. Realtor.com released their September housing report which revealed that new listings to the housing market saw an 8 percent increase over this time last year. With 465,000

Hugh Frater announced as Fannie Mae interim CEO beginning next week

Fannie Mae named Hugh Frater as the interim CEO as Tim Mayopoulos announced he will step down Oct. 15. In July, Mayopoulos announced he would be leaving his position at the end of this year. Frater will serve as

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What keeps buyers from choosing new construction?

New construction homes continue to attract buyers, with an estimated 38 percent of all buyers considering a newly constructed home over the past year, according to a report released by Zillow Group. However, only 11 percent purchased one. Zillow

Real Estate in Brief: Reverse mortgages, annoying neighbors and more

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued this Friday a new policy that will be implemented on Oct. 1, requiring second property appraisal on loans previously indicated by the FHA as potentially having inflated property valuation from reverse mortgage lenders.

Realogy, Keller Williams are latest to test iBuyer service

More national brokerages have announced plans to join other real estate firms like Zillow and Opendoor in piloting an instant-offer home listing service, often known as iBuying. On Sept. 25, Realogy, which owns major residential brokerages like Coldwell Banker,

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NAR names new marketing, government affairs leaders

The National Association of Realtors announced new additions to the senior leadership staff of its marketing and government affairs divisions. According to an Oct. 2 press release, the association named Victoria Gillespie as chief marketing and communications officer, effective immediately,

Fewer homes selling above list price since June

As home price growth slows, the percentage of homes that are going for above their asking price is decreasing. For the four weeks ending on September 23, Redfin found that only 22.9 percent of the homes sold for more than their asking

Report: Gender and racial inequality continues to impact housing affordability

While housing is still affordable on a national level, growth in household income is decelerating while gender and racial gaps persists. A new study by Free and Clear looked at data provided by the Census Bureau’s 2017 household income report

Homeowners feeling more confident in the economy, ready to sell

As home prices continue to rise across the country, homeowners appear ready to sell their homes. A record 77 percent of Americans believe that now is a good time to sell their home, according to the National Association of

Real Estate In Brief: Rising interest rates, the smart home market and more

The Federal Reserve attempts to regulate accelerated inflation by raising interest rates for the third time this year, as reported by HousingWire. The Fed’s key rates have increased by .25 percent, to a current total of 2.25 percent. This rate hike is now the eighth since 2015, as

Sen. Warren introduces $450 billion bill to fund housing affordability

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced an expansive bill to Congress Sept. 26 that would fund a wide spectrum of initiatives to bolster housing finance and enable more Americans to become homeowners. Called the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act

What homebuyers, sellers with children are looking for from their agent

There is no one-size-fits-all way to help people buy and sell homes. Depending on what stage of life they are in, the needs and preferences of the client will change entirely. Buying or selling a home can be a

Pending home sales continue to see declines

Pending home sales fell for the eighth straight month on an annual basis, according to the August report from the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index dropped 1.8 percent from July’s 106.1 to 104.2 in August,

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South Florida agent sues NAR, Move Inc. over unsolicited text messages

A South Florida agent is suing NAR and Move, Inc. because of unsolicited text messages that she received through Realtor.com. In the class action lawsuit, Courtney Silverman alleges that “in their persistent efforts to advertise and solicit business, defendants,

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