Realestate.com Blog  »  News • This Week in Real Estate

Housing Market is on the Rebound

by on May 24, 2013

New home sales are on the rise along with mortgage rates, signaling a continued recovery process for the housing industry

The housing industry continued to gather momentum in April. New home sales, an important measure for the industry’s performance, climbed 2.3 percent last month. Home prices also rose to record highs. The news comes at a significant time. Spring is a favorite season for homebuying or shopping. According to the Commerce Department, new home sales jumped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 454,000 units. That’s up 2.3 percent from March and 29 percent compared . . .

Read more about Housing Market News

{ 0 comments }

Real Estate Pro of the Week: Joshua Hunt of Denver, Colo.

by on May 20, 2013

This week

“If a home is the most prized possession in an American’s portfolio, should we not take care of it a little differently than we currently are, allowing any Tom, Dick and Harry to get their license, facilitate the deal and call themselves an expert because they had extra ink to print a business card?” says Joshua Hunt, owner/broker of Trelora in the Denver, Colo. market. . . .

Read more about Joshua Hunt

{ 0 comments }

Consumer Demand Boosts Homebuilder Confidence

by on May 17, 2013

Homebuilder confidence is up as homebuyers look toward new construction as an alternative to the low inventory of existing homes

March was a stellar month for housing starts with numbers touching an almost five-year high. Beginning construction of new homes skyrocketed to 1.4 million, making the industry dizzy with excitement. But, the momentum is slowing down a bit. That’s an expected trend and shouldn’t be a cause of worry. Housing starts fell to a 970,000 annual rate in April. Bloomberg says it’s an indication that work on apartment buildings is slowing down. . . .

Read more about Housing Market News

{ 0 comments }

Real Estate Pro of the Week: Beth Thoma Robinson, Hawaii Life

by on May 13, 2013

This week

The metamorphism from her birth in Pittsburg to a childhood spent in Colorado to her residency in a secluded enclave on the tip of the Big Island of Hawaii created not only one of the island’s leading real estate agents, but a bit of a renaissance woman as well. Beth Thoma Robinson, broker/agent with Hawaii Life, got her undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Colorado. From there she worked for the . . .

Read more about Beth Thoma Robinson

{ 1 comment }

Home Prices Rise, Late Mortgage Payments Decline

by on May 10, 2013

The average rate for a 30-year mortgage rose this week

The average rate on 30-year home loans rose slightly to 3.42 percent this week, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Last week, it was 3.35 percent. Rates on the shorter term 15-year loan also inched up to 2.61 percent. Two weeks ago, it had hit a record low. Despite the slight increase this week, rates are still at historic lows. Last November, rates on 30-year loans dropped to 3.31 percent, the lowest on record since 1971 when Freddie Mac began tracking rates. . . .

Read more about Real Estate News

{ 0 comments }

Real Estate Pro of the Week: Peggy Gatchet of St. Augustine, Fla.

by on May 6, 2013

The week

From lawyers to news anchors, real estate agents typically enter the business after finding success in another field. St. Augustine, Fla. agent Peggy Gachet worked with Delta Airlines for 16 years, starting in customer service and ending up in sales and marketing. You know how sometimes you’ll see a product prominently displayed in a TV show or movie? It was Gachet’s job to get those placements for Delta Airlines. . . .

Read more about Peggy Gatchet

{ 0 comments }

Obama Moves Left With New Housing Finance Agency Pick Mel Watt

by on May 5, 2013

President Obama has nominated Rep. Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency

President Obama has nominated longtime Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the organization responsible for administering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Watt has long been an advocate for various affordable housing initiatives in Congress. DeMarco, who had been the agency’s acting director since 2009, had been coming under increasing fire from Democrats for resisting calls to cram down mortgage balances. . . .

Read more about Housing Finance Agency Pick Mel Watt

{ 1 comment }

Cautious Optimism Reigns Despite Market Improvements

by on May 3, 2013

Mortgage rates are down and home prices are up, but Americans still say the real estate recovery has years to go

Even though things are looking up for the housing market, many believe there’s still some ways to go. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 47 percent of Americans believe it will take more than three years for prices to recover to pre-bust levels. This is the second consecutive month when numbers dipped below the 50 percent mark, but it does reflect more optimism than what was recorded in mid-2010. Of those surveyed . . .

Read more about Real Estate Market News

{ 0 comments }

A Look at the 2013 U.S. Real Estate Market

by on April 29, 2013

Zombie foreclosures will be a major problem in the U.S. real estate market in 2013

Over the last few years the real estate market has definitely been struggling on the road toward “recovery.” Although people are waiting anxiously for the real estate market to return to “normal” (aka the real estate market of 2006), more than likely this state of normal is not going to occur. . . .

Read more about The 2013 U.S. Real Estate Market

{ 0 comments }

Real Estate Pro of the Week: Robin Shapiro of Rockaway Park, NY

by on April 29, 2013

This week

October 29, 2012 is a date no Rockaway resident will ever forget. That’s the day Hurricane Sandy descended on this 11-mile sliver of peninsula in Queens. One of the storm’s hardest hit communities, whether The Rockaways will ever be the same is open to much speculation by locals. One of those working hard to ensure the community’s revival is Robin Shapiro, owner/broker of Robin Shapiro Realty. With many homes damaged beyond repair, . . .

Read more about Robin Shapiro

{ 5 comments }

← Previous Entries