Houston Real Estate Blogosphere
Houston Real Estate Blogosphere brings together all the blog posts of REALTORS from the Houston area in one place
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Foreclosures & Investments
The most recently published posts in the Foreclosures & Investments category
Hawai'i home owners tend to take on the most debt in their home purchases with an average home loan amount of $677,299, according to a recent study by LendingTree.com, which revealed the average loan amounts on residential real estate purchases last year. That means the average home owner in Hawai'i would have a monthly payment of about $3,234 for a 30-year mortgage, before taxes and insurance, ac...
Read Post [Posted on 05/19/2013 By John Askins]
Bismarck, N.D., continues to boast one of the the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 3 percent. On the other hand, El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., have one of the highest unemployment rates--30.8 and 30 percent, respectively.
The following are the metros with the lowest unemployment rates, including the unemployment rate for each.
Bismarck, N.D.: 3%
Fargo, ...
Read Post [Posted on 05/19/2013 By John Askins]
Reports filed by banks flagging suspicious activity in mortgage loans
dropped for the first time in 16 years, falling nearly 30 percent last
year, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reports.
Beginning in 1996, mortgage loan fraud had been the only suspicious
activity report that saw rises each year. According to the Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network, nearly 46 percent of al...
Read Post [Posted on 05/16/2013 By John Askins]
investing in real estate is the best thing i ever did. where else can you invest in the future while living for today!
Read Post [Posted on 05/15/2013 By Michael Ramirez]
For many years,
planners have thought of linking west coast of Metro Manila to east coast of Real,
Quezon with a distance of about 80
kilometers more or less via a world class super highway like North Luzon Expressway. But no one has come forward to put the concept into a
workable strategy and create a new place like a
duplicate of Metro Manila to absorb its excess
population comprising 13% ...
Read Post [Posted on 05/15/2013 By Ricardo Fornesa Jr]
Wall Street
declared Philippines as the fifth Asian Tiger in addition to Hong Kong,
Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. The
Philippines is now the “rising tiger” of Asia as the government’s economic
initiatives and political reforms have begun to bear fruit, the World Bank
said. “The Philippines is no longer the sick man of East Asia, but
the rising tiger. There is macroeconomic stability, a...
Read Post [Posted on 05/15/2013 By Ricardo Fornesa Jr]
Foreclosure filings dropped 5 percent in April from March, with
foreclosure filings down 23 percent in April from year ago levels,
RealtyTrac reports. Nationwide foreclosure activity has reached a
74-month low or the lowest point since February 2007.
"The April numbers indicate that the pig is moving through the python
when it comes to deferred foreclosures in judicial foreclosure s...
Read Post [Posted on 05/15/2013 By John Askins]
A new report finds that borrowers who had their mortgage payments
reduced as part of the Home Affordable Modification Program are still
failing at an “alarming rate” to stay current on their mortgage. The
borrowers had their mortgage payments reduced, on average, by more than
$400 a month.
For example, 46 percent of a few thousand permanent HAMP
modifications issued in 2009 during...
Read Post [Posted on 05/13/2013 By John Askins]
Short sales and foreclosures have flooded the housing market in recent years, and buyers are often drawn to the bargain prices but may be hesitant to jump into what usually is a difficult transaction and a long process. Bankrate.com recently tackled the question of “Which to Buy: Short Sale or Foreclosure?” in an article that helps buyers weigh the pros and cons of a distressed property. Expe...
Read Post [Posted on 05/12/2013 By John Askins]
Although U.S. foreclosure activity may be declining, the problem is far from over. There have been 5 million foreclosures since 2007, reports the Center for Responsible Lending, which estimates that between 3 million and 5 million more will occur over the next couple of years.In 2003, one in 38 U.S. home owners were seriously delinquent on their mortgage payments or in foreclosure, but today those...
Read Post [Posted on 05/12/2013 By John Askins]
Housing markets with universities and colleges are often considered great buys for real estate investors, typically attracting a steady flow of renters.
“Housing demand in college towns is generally high and vacancy rates are usually low," says Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move Inc. “Combine the supply and demand ratio with rising admissions and the five percent rise in rental rates expected by the ...
Read Post [Posted on 05/12/2013 By John Askins]
The sluggish housing market has caused millions of home owners to lose their home to foreclosure, short sale, or deed in lieu of foreclosure. But once these former home owners get a better handle on their credit, how long do they have to sit on the sidelines until they can secure future financing to buy a home again? As an article in The New York Times notes “there are plenty of asterisk...
Read Post [Posted on 05/11/2013 By John Askins]
Many home buyers complain that one of the biggest hurdles they face is qualifying for financing. So what are some ways that home shoppers can ensure they qualify for a better mortgage deal — particularly one that takes advantage of the near record-breaking low mortgage rates? A recent article at Money Magazine highlighted some of the following tips when shopping for a mortgage: 1. High credit scor...
Read Post [Posted on 05/11/2013 By John Askins]
The housing recovery appears to be on track and growing stronger.
Home sales and prices are up after reaching bottom in 2010, foreclosures
and mortgage delinquencies are dropping, yet housing affordability
still remains high.
So why are some analysts and economists concerned?
At a recent Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills,
CA., panelists said that threats to ...
Read Post [Posted on 05/10/2013 By John Askins]
More investors are rehabilitating homes and looking to sell them for profit, a move known as flipping.
RealtyTrac recently evaluated more than 600 metro areas to find where
flipping single-family homes offers some of the highest returns based
on the investor’s gross profit. The top eight metros for house-flipping
are:
Orlando
Average purchase price: $103,701
Average flipped p...
Read Post [Posted on 05/10/2013 By John Askins]
