National News
The presidential election is mere months away, and so far the conversation on the campaign trail seems to be limited to wages, terrorism, crime and bickering. But what about housing? Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential pick, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, has
The statistics are hardly encouraging: student debt has more than tripled in the last 10 years; its serious delinquency rate is higher than any other form of debt, including mortgages and credit cards; it now totals $1.37 trillion, and
There are four major fears keeping Millennials from buying a home, according to a recent survey from NerdWallet: the fear of committing to a partner; the fear of inevitable home repairs; the fear of not having money for other
Realtor.com and Yelp have partnered to give consumers easier access to neighborhood trend data – and agents could benefit. “Deciding on a potential neighborhood is often the first step in the home buying process,” says Ryan O’Hara, chief executive officer
JD Power today named its annual home buyer/seller satisfaction award recipients, and in all four real estate consumer categories – first-time buyers, first-time sellers, repeat buyers, repeat sellers – Century 21 was the top pick; though, the brokerage tied once with
Fannie Mae introduced its HomeReady mortgage last year as an inexpensive lending option that allows borrowers to come in with as little as 3 percent down. Now it’s making “enhancements” to that option, and that could mean more affordable financing
President Obama recently signed into law the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016, a bipartisan bill loaded with fixes to existing HUD programs. In February, the bill, which amended the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (among other HUD-modifying
On June 23, 2016, citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. In the wake of the decision, the British pound fell to a 31-year low against the U.S. dollar, the euro dropped one percent, and U.S.
Americans are deeply pessimistic about economic mobility. By an overwhelming margin, they believe it is harder today to secure a middle-class lifestyle than it was for past generations. And a large majority continue to see the housing market in
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today proposed new updates to TRID intended to formalize guidance in the rule, and provide clarity and certainty. The point is to help facilitate compliance within the mortgage industry. “The Bureau’s rules are designed
By the end of 2016, the Department of Energy estimates 1 million homes will be equipped with a solar energy system. And still there is no definitive way to value those systems in appraisals. A new report from the
At 75 million strong, the Baby Boomer generation comprises just over a quarter of the U.S. population, and as such, it wields considerable sway on the direction of the country’s economy – particularly in the area of housing. Indeed,
In January, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a division of the Treasury Department, announced two Geographic Targeting Orders, or GTOs, to monitor all cash luxury transactions in both Manhattan and Miami. The purpose was to help authorities identify possible
Real estate is a people business, and unfortunately, dealing with people can be dangerous. Agents need to make their safety a priority, because not every brokerage will do it for them. According to a report from the National Association
Home price growth in Greater Boston was stronger than the national average, according to the new Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from Standard & Poor’s. The leading home price metric in housing, the Case-Shiller, found that Boston home prices rose 5.6 percent year-over-year in May,
Lots of exciting things happened this week in the world of real estate. Notable news this week included reports on Massachusetts’ strong job market, the saga of Millennium Tower, and more. If you missed any news this week, be