Dynamic 'Nsurance

News

D.C. Housing Market Off to a Good Start in 2015

DC

The Washington Post reported some encouraging news on Tuesday: The housing market in D.C. is off to a good start in 2015, despite the winter’s less-than-favorable weather conditions.

According to the paper, which analyzed a brand new set of data released by RealEstate Business Intelligence, home sales increased 0.7 percent in February from the same period in 2014, making it the third month in a row that the area has seen sales increase year-over-year.

With this news, Post reporter Kathy Orton says it’s “an encouraging sign heading into the busy spring season.”

Image via flickr/www.GlynLowe.com

Continue to original source.

News

All-Cash Home Sales Continue to Decline

cash

CoreLogic reported on Monday that the number of all-cash home sales has now fallen for 24 straight months.

With the numbers from December 2014 going public this week, CoreLogic was able to confirm that 35.5 percent of total home sales during that period were all cash. That number is down from 38.5 percent in December 2013 and 0.5 percent lower than the month before (Nov. 2014).

Two states in particular, however, had higher-than average cash sales. Alabama clocked in with 52.2 percent all cash sales, while Florida wasn’t far behind with 50.3 percent.

Image via flickr/stopnlook

Continue to original source.

Tips & Advice

Report: Remodeling Not Always the Answer in Trying to Sell Your Home

CNBC released a new report on Friday, warning homeowners that remodeling their homes may not always be the best idea when trying to sell because not all renovations pay for themselves in added value.

“Pretend you’re the buyer,” suggested Cheryl Reed, a spokeswoman for review site Angie’s List. “Walk around your house and think about things you would reject in a home.”

According to Reed, things like peeling paint, a leaky faucet, messy landscaping and crumbling front steps would be worth the fixes. Anything else, she warned, may be better to leave as is.

Image via flickr/JD Hancock

Continue to original source.

All About Insurance

Report: Home Equity Loans Face New Risk

loans

CNBC’s “Reality Check” writer Diana Olick reported on Thursday that many homeowners are beginning to feel the pinch leftover from taking out a home equity line of credit (HELOC), which was popular between 2005 and 2008 when the financial crisis hit.

According to Olick, after 10 years, the initial low interest rates can reset to higher interest rates. And now, many homeowners still owe more on their mortgages than what their home is worth.

“Homes purchased or refinanced near the peak of the housing bubble between 2005 and 2008 are much more likely to still be underwater despite the strong recovery in home prices over the last three years,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Furthermore, many homeowners with HELOCs who have positive equity likely already refinanced to mitigate the payment shock from a resetting HELOC – and option not readily available for homeowners still underwater.”

Image via flickr/GotCredit

Continue to original source.

News

Bank of America Mortgage Bond Settlement Upheld

boa

A New York state appeals court ruled on Thursday that it has approved, in its entirety, Bank of America Corp.’s $8.5 billion settlement with mortgage securities investors.

With the ruling, Manhattan’s Appellate Division has most likely resolved one of the bank’s last and largest legal liabilities stemming from the 2008 financial crisis.

As Reuters points out, this settlement is separate from Bank of America’s $16.5 billion mortgage settlement last year with federal and state authorities.

Image via flickr/Mike Mozart

Continue to original source.

Tips & Advice

CNBC Reveals Three Housing Market Hot Spots

Screen Shot 2015-03-04 at 5.49.32 PM

David Goldberg, UBS analyst, appeared on CNBC’s Power Lunch on Wednesday to explain why Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta are currently the country’s three biggest housing hot spots.

According to Goldberg, all three cities boast good job growth, easy comps and an inventory of available new homes.

“We’ve got some job growth, the mortgage market is opening up incrementally, and that’s going to move housing forward,” Goldberg said.

Image via flickr/Joe Wolf

Continue to original source.

News

Consumer Spending Expected to Pick Up in Coming Months

Screen Shot 2015-03-03 at 6.19.46 PM

According to a new report by CNBC, economists on Wall Street and at the Federal Reserve tend to agree that consumer spending is likely to increase at a more rapid pace in the coming months.

As reporter Michael K. Farr pointed out, “This expectation is based upon several factors, but the two most commonly cited are the improvements in the labor market and the drop in energy prices.”

If the experts are correct, then retailers should begin benefitting from the phenomenon any day now, with stores like Wal-Mart, Target and dollar stores likely to see the earliest signs of spending.

Image via flickr/401(K) 2012

Continue to original source.

Auto Insurance

Wells Fargo Caps Subprime Auto Loans

Screen Shot 2015-03-03 at 10.25.36 AM

Wells Fargo announced on Monday that it has put a cap on the amount of money it will loan to subprime borrowers.

As reported by CNBC, according to execs, the San Francisco-based banking giant “is limiting the dollar volume of its subprime auto originations to 10 percent of its overall auto loan originations.”

Last year, that number was $29.9 billion. The new ruling will affect borrowers with credit scores of 640 or lower.

Image via flickr/Mike Mozart

Continue to original source.

All About Insurance

February Mortgage Rates End Bad Month on Good Note

image

February was a less-than-stellar month as far as mortgage interest rates go, but as it drew to a close over the weekend, consumers saw modest gains.

By Friday afternoon, rates slipped to as low as 3.75 percent for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, though 3.85 percent has been commonly quoted as well.

“Rate markets enjoyed a sedate Friday to end the month, with minor pricing improvements on my rate sheets,” said Ted Rood, a senior originator. “While we’re still closer to the rate highs for February than the lows seen early in the month, at least we’ve regained some ground, and appear to be in a ‘wait and see’ mode at the moment.”

Image via flickr/Simon Cunningham

Continue to original source.

News

FHA Publishes Its Middle Class Promise

houses

Biniam T. Gebre, the Acting Federal Housing Administration Commissioner and Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing, took to the FHA’s blog on Thursday to share an impassioned note about the organization’s recent decision to decrease its PMI premiums.

In a piece titled “FHA’s Middle Class Promise,” Gebre goes on to explain that it’s all good news – there is no catch – and that there is no reason to believe the lessened fees will lead to another housing market crash.

“We believe it’s time to reduce our prices to make it possible for nearly quarter of a million credit-worthy families to purchase their first home in the next three years,” he wrote. “Still, there are some who don’t want us to reduce our annual insurance premiums. These critics claim this is somehow a return to the days of subprime lending when loans were approved for borrowers who had no business buying a home and set the nation on a path to ruin. This reduction doesn’t change who qualifies for an FHA loan; it only changes the price someone pays for an FHA loan. Let me be clear – FHA has never, is not, and will never engage in the sorts of lending practices that triggered the housing crisis. Unless one is trying to make a distinction, using the words ‘subprime’ and ‘FHA’ in the same sentence is not factual. The borrowers that FHA serves are not subprime. They are in fact the prime example of families pursuing the American dream.”

Image via flickr/woodleywonderworks

Continue to original source.