Homeowners struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic have received another extension for their mortgage payments. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Thursday it is providing an additional three months of forbearance to borrowers with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, bringing forbearance up to 18 months total.To qualify, borrowers must be enrolled in a COVID-19 forbearance plan as of Feb. 28.The FHFA also announced a
Pending home sales dropped in January as inventory challenges continued to persist. Eager buyers are finding a lack of homes for sale. Contract signing fell 2.8% in January from December 2020, but is still 13% higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings, surged to a reading of 122.8 last month—
Sales of newly built, single-family homes in January moved 19% higher than a year ago, as home buyers sought more options under a lean number of existing homes for sale.Newly built single-family home sales increased 4.3% last month over December 2020, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday.“Historically low mortgage rates and solid dem
Home maintenance affects value over the long run. Yet, homeowners admit they know very little when it comes to how to properly maintain a lot of the appliances and systems in their home.Sears Home Services recently surveyed more than 1,000 homeowners nationwide on home maintenance. The survey found that the microwave is the most neglected appliance in the home with only 33% of respondents performing routine maintenance on it. About one in four ho
As inventories remain tight, home buyers may be drawn to new-home construction. But what determines whether they will pay more for buying new than for an existing home?If the buyer takes steps to limit construction costs and omits custom finishes, building a house may be about $7,000 cheaper than buying an existing home, according to a new analysis from Bankrate.com.Prices also depend on location and the options the buyer selects.The median sales
FHA-insured financing used to be a big draw for first-time home buyers with its offerings of lower down payments. But more first-time buyers lately are opting for conventional mortgages instead, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog.Fifty-nine percent of first-time buyers obtained conventional conforming loans in January, whereas 24% obtained FHA-insured mortgages, according to the REALTORS® Confidence In
In states that have recently legalized cannabis, investors are moving quickly to buy warehouses and retail properties to open related businesses.Voters in Arizona, New Jersey, Montana, and South Dakota approved recreational cannabis in November 2020. Other states that have legalized it have also seen increased interest in similar properties shortly after bills were enacted into law.However, some commercial property owners may be hesitant to work
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No home is perfect. About 86% of home inspections will find something that needs to be fixed, according to a study on home inspections from Porch.com, a home improvement website.A home inspection can cost around $300 to $500, but studies estimate it could save the buyer an average of $14,000. A home inspector will evaluate the roof, ceilings, walls, floors, windows, doors, major appliances, heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing and elect
Double-digit annual price increases are occurring in housing markets across the country as buyer demand soars. But which housing markets are showing the strongest performance?U.S. News & World Report examined 96 metro areas to identify the top housing markets for 2021. They factored in year-over-year gains in median home sales prices, the markets with some of the lowest drops in inventory (meaning more supply is available), median days o
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