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Rising Home Prices Deterring Would-Be Buyers

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Potential homebuyers have found themselves up against a serious roadblock recently, as the median sale price of used homes soared 7.5 percent over the last year to $202,600 in February.

Meanwhile, as Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, pointed out, wages have only risen about 2 percent.

So while rising home prices are potentially good news for homeowners looking to sell, Yun warns that “for people who want to buy a home it is becoming more difficult.”

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News

Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones: Wealth Inequality Is ‘Off the Charts’

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Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones spoke at a press conference late last week and warned that wealth inequality in America is “off the charts.”

“The gap between the one percent and the rest of America cannot and will not persist,” he said.

So when will we see things start to even out? According to Jones, this sort of thing usually ends in one of three ways: war, revolution or higher taxes.

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Tips & Advice

8 Tips for Selling Your Home This Spring

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CNBC released a new video on Thursday, listing the top eight tips for selling your home this spring.

As reporter Diana Olick points out, de-personalization and small improvements are key.

Up first, remove personal photos and replace them with faceless artwork. Next, a new front door typically produces a great return on investment. In the kitchen and bathrooms, small improvements go a long way. Clean and de-clutter surfaces in every room. Consider staging some of the main rooms in the home if you’ve already moved your furniture out. Keep rooms cool. Fix cracks in any major or minor structural area. And last but not least, update your curb appeal.

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All About Insurance

Lenders Predicting Increased Demand, Higher Profits in 2015

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Fannie Mae found in its most recent quarterly survey of lenders’ sentiments that there is lots of optimism surrounding the state of the mortgage industry as we continue to move further into 2015.

The report found that, compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, the lenders surveyed expect “both mortgage demand and their profit margins to grow over the next three months,” according to Mortgage News Daily.

Additionally, more than 60 percent of lenders interviewed said they expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, at an average estimated increase of 2.4 percent.

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News

Middle-Class Families on the Decline

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A husband and wife, 2.5 kids, a dog and a white picket fence – it’s been the middle class American dream for generations. Until now.

According to a new report by CNBC, middle class families are on the decline in the U.S., and it’s all thanks to the current state of the economy.

“The economy has not been supportive of marriage,” said Isabel Sawhill, co-director of the Center on Children and Families and the author of the book Generation Unbound. “As marriage has disappeared and other lifestyles – single and unmarried parenthood – have become more prevalent, these family structures have gained a staying power that’s not easily reversed simply by changing the economic environment.”

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News

U.S. Dollar Rises at Fastest Rate in 40 Years

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Although the U.S. dollar has become incredibly strong once again, CNN is reporting that no one in the industry really expected its value to shoot up quite so quickly.

Still, Citibank revealed on Monday that, over the last eight months, the U.S. dollar has strengthened so drastically that it is now enjoying its fastest rise in 40 years.

And to top it off, Bank of America Merrill Lynch does not expect the value of the dollar to drop back down any time soon.

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News

Lack of Inventory Draws Record Crowd to Boston-Area Open House

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As employment rates improve and the cost of renting continues to soar, the housing market is beginning to see serious demand in many areas of the country.

There was so much demand in one Boston-area suburb recently, in fact, that the cops were called to shut down an open house because it had generated so much traffic to the usually quiet neighborhood.

“We got shut down! I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and it’s never happened before,” agent Catherine Luther told CNBC. “It’s just that we’re lacking inventory. We really need more inventory. Prices are going up, and we just don’t have enough property to sell.”

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News

January, February Data Suggest Strong New Home Sales in 2015

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A newly released set of housing data comparing January and February home sales suggests that 2015 should be a strong year for the sale of newly-constructed homes.

As reported by Mortgage News Daily, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced on Thursday that applications for mortgages to purchase newly constructed homes jumped 12 percent from January to February, and the organization estimates that sales of newly constructed single-family homes are running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 487,000 units.

“An increase in mortgage applications to builders in February over strong January numbers bodes well for new home purchases this year,” said Lynn Fisher, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics. “Applications in both January and February were up on a year over year basis.”

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News

Spring Surge Starting Early in Seattle Housing Market

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The spring surge has already begun in the Seattle housing market, with temperatures rising and potential homebuyers ready to strike.

Like the rest of the country, however, the city has very few listings up for sale – down 19 percent from a year ago – which means lots of competition on the offer front.

“They will probably make several offers before one is accepted, they just need to expect to be competing with others,” Frank Wilson, director of Seattle’s MLS told CNBC. “Listings are flying off the shelf faster than allergy medicine in this early spring market.”

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News

Fannie Mae Housing Survey Shows Positive Trend

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For the first time in five years, the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey revealed on Monday that more respondents believe the economy is on the right track than the wrong track.

According to February’s numbers, a survey high of 47 percent of respondents believe the economy is moving in the right direction, while 45 percent believe we’re still not there yet.

“Continuing improvements in consumer attitudes in this month’s National Housing Survey lend support to our expectation that 2015 will be a year of the economy dragging housing upward,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “We continue to see strength in attitudes about the current home buying and selling environment and consistently high shares of consumers saying they expect to buy a home on their next move. At the same time, we still need to see further growth in consumer optimism toward personal finances and income for more robust improvement in housing market attitudes.”

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