National News

Boston Price Growth Points to Opportunity

The latest Case-Shiller Indices offered numerable insights into the nation’s housing market Home price growth continues to moderate in the Boston housing market, according to the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from Standard & Poor’s. The latest numbers, which track

Can You Believe It? TRID’s Impact on Markets is “Minor”

In December, existing-home sales re-found their footing, making up for the misstep in November. What did we learn? TRID was the cause of November’s slip, but it’s not a problem anymore. “Closing time metrics are showing minor effects of TRID,”

What the Consumers Don’t Know Will Hurt Them

Compared to a few years ago, the lending market is doing quite well. In fact, some institutions believe the progress of recovery is such that the market will be fully recovered by the end of this year. Now if

Are FICO Alternatives Becoming the Preferred Standard?

After years of heavy reliance on FICO scores, some lenders are now saying FICO’s view is too narrow, focusing too much on past behavior and not enough on consumers’ present circumstances. Alternative scoring systems have become a viable option,

Are Red or Blue States More Affordable for Consumers?

With the presidential primary just around the corner, ApartmentList.com recently analyzed Census data to see whether Republican- or Democratic-leaning states were more affordable for renters. While the study found that rents tend to be lower in inland states that are Rebublican-leaning,

Which National Homebuilder was Recognized as America’s Most Trusted?

According to Lifestory Research’s 2016 Home Builder Study, Taylor Morrison ranks highest in trust among national homebuilders. The study followed more than 100 builder brands in the top housing markets across the United States, and Lifestory Research accumulated 39,079

Does the Falling Stock Market Actually Help Homebuyers?

With how the chips have fallen, homebuyers may benefit from the falling stock market After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in December, there was immediate concern over whether the increase would raise the costs of housing and harm

NAHB Predicts Strong Construction Activity in 2016

According to the National Association of Home Builders, an estimated 1.26 million housing starts are expected this year, 13.4 percent more from the last year. Single-family production is estimated to reach 849,000 units. That is an 18 percent increase

Good News for Luxury Agents – the Millionaire Population is Growing, and Fast

New research finds that millionaire ranks grew strongly in 2015 There were more than 133,000 millionaire households in the Greater Boston area through the middle of 2015, up 3.1 percent from the same period in 2014. Millionaire households now account for 7.2 percent of

The Top 20 Most Unsafe Passwords for Your Real Estate Business

SplashData, a security solutions provider, released their annual list of the most commonly used passwords on the Internet. Using any of the passwords can leave people at risk from hackers getting to their information. Since 2013, the two most

4 Important Details about New Construction in 2016

What will the new construction marketplace look like in 2016? The Census Bureau released its latest report on new construction this morning, and as usual, the agency’s analysis had far-reaching implications on where the new construction markets are heading in

What You’re Missing at the NAHB International Builders’ Show

If you’re a serious builder, chances are that right now (this very moment), you’re either at the NAHB’s International Builders’ Show or want to be. If you’re among the unlucky few who weren’t able to make the trip to

When Your Clients Should Expect the Next Interest Rate Hike

The next interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve will come at its March 15-16 policy meeting, according to The Wall Street Journal. Approximately 66 percent of the economists surveyed in the Journal pointed to the March meeting as

Builder Confidence Points to Strong Home Sales in 2016

Builder’s are confident, and that bodes well for housing in the New Year Builders are starting out 2016 on confident footing, and that spells promising things for the year’s housing market. That was the central finding in the National Association

The 25 Most Powerful People in Real Estate

Richard Smith, the chairman and CEO of Realogy Holdings Corp., is the most powerful person in real estate. That is according to the Swanepoel 200 list, which ranks the 200 individuals who, in their words, “have the most power

4 Reasons Why Higher Interest Rates Should Not Concern You

Higher interest rates may not be that big of a threat to housing’s future, after all With interest rates seeing their first increase since 2008, there is concern that the hike will harm the housing market either through harming

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