Rising Flood Insurance Rates Sinking Sales in Florida
A big hike in flood insurance rates has forced home buyers to recede from the market in some areas, drastically hampering home sales, according to...
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Rising Flood Insurance Rates Sinking Sales in Florida
Friday, December 20, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Max Nasab's invitation is awaiting your response
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Monday, December 9, 2013
Home competition down nationwide, up in Seattle
Competition to buy homes declined last month in most areas, but not Seattle.
In fact, Seattle posted the biggest increase out of 22 U.S. markets in the share of listings attracting multiple offers, from 49.2 percent in August to 57 percent in September, Seattle-based online real estate firm Redfin reported. That said, Seattle is still behind San Francisco, Orange County, Los Angeles and Boston for the overall percentage of listings with competition.
Across all 22 markets, the share of homes with multiple offers was 58.3 percent in September, down from 60.5 percent in August and 62.7 percent a year earlier. Competition peaked at 76 percent of listings in March.
"The bargaining power that sellers had earlier this year is gone," Marshall Park, Redfin's Washington, D.C., market manager, said in the report.
Homes sold for an average of 0.4 percent below asking price, but 1.4 percent above asking price in the Seattle area. San Francisco was the only other market where sales prices topped asking prices.
The report also showed the varying ways people make their offers more enticing in different areas. Waiving the financing contingency, for instance, is relatively popular in San Francisco but unseen in Seattle, where winning bidders are more likely to include a personal cover letter to sellers. Pre-inspections are common in Seattle and San Francisco, but not elsewhere.
Click through the gallery above to see more details on the most competitive markets.
Read more real estate news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Invitation to connect on LinkedIn
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Monday, December 2, 2013
Fannie and Freddie Overhaul Mortgage Insurance Master Policy Requirements
by Jann Swanson
Fannie and Freddie Overhaul Mortgage Insurance Master Policy Requirements
Dec 2 2013, 12:22PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed a major overhaul of their master policy requirements for private mortgage insurance the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today. The changes meet one of FHFA's 2013 Conservatorship Scorecard goals for the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), aligning their individual policy requirements. The changes are the first made to the master policies in many years FHFA said
Private mortgage insurance is required of borrowers who provide less than a 20 percent downpayment on a home purchase. While the premiums are paid by the borrower, the insurance covers losses for the lender or the loan's owner should the homeowner default on payments. Mortgage insurance master policies specify the terms of business interaction between seller-servicers and mortgage insurers. FHFA said the GSEs have worked with the mortgage insurance industry to identify and fix gaps in the existing master policies and the new policies will, among other things, facilitate timely and consistent claims processing.
The changes include a requirement that the master policies support various loss mitigation strategies that were developed during the housing crisis to help troubled homeowners and establishes specific timelines for processing claims, including requests of additional documentation. The changes also seek to address a frequent source of complaints from homeowners, setting standards for determining when and under what circumstances the mortgage insurance must be maintained or can be terminated. The changes are also designed to promote better communication among insurers, servicers, and the GSEs.
"Updating the mortgage insurance master policy requirements is a significant accomplishment for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco. "The new standards update and clarify the responsibilities of insurers, originators and servicers and they enhance the insurance protection provided to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which ultimately benefits taxpayers."
The changes will be incorporated by mortgage insurance companies into new master policies which will be filed with state insurance regulations for review and approval. FHFA said it expects the master policies will go into effect in 2014.
Andrew Bon Salle, Fannie Mae's Executive Vice President, Single-Family Underwriting, Pricing, and Capital Markets said of the changes, "Mortgage insurers are an important part of the mortgage finance system and these changes help lay the foundation for a stronger system going forward. These updates will help us better manage our credit risk, which we believe will ultimately benefit Fannie Mae, mortgage insurers, homeowners and taxpayers."
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Seattle-area home supply slowly increasing
There were a few more homes for sale in the Seattle area last month than in July, although the situation remained tight.
Seattle had 1.6 months worth of homes for sale at the current sales pace in August, up from 1.5 months of inventory in July. King County had 1.9 months of inventory, up from 1.7 months.
But both were down from more than two months of supply a year earlier and well below the four to six months generally considered balanced between supply and demand.
"What these numbers tell us loud and clear is that buyer demand in the Puget Sound region is still incredibly strong," Windermere Real Estate President OB Jacobi said in a listing service news release.
The median price of a house that sold in August was $457,000 in Seattle and $430,000 countywide. That was up 11 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, but down 1.7 percent and 0.9 percent from July.
The median condo price was $297,500 in Seattle and $255,000 countywide. That was up 19 percent in the city and 31 percent in the county from a year earlier, and 5.5 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively, from July.
In the listing service news release, Prudential Northwest Realty Associates President and CEO Mike Gain said rising prices and interest rates are not deterring sales because "homes are still more affordable than they have been in decades."
Read more real estate news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Become A Real Estate Professional
Real Estate training is vital for the
individuals who need to turn into an excellent Real Estate professional. It
helps them to study all about Real Estate. The Real Estate business requires
some opportunity, some fundamental information of the business and expertise to
perform all transactions. The Real Estate business will be one of the great opportunities
for a determined individual. The Real Estate business allows every one of them
the ability to accomplish their objectives.
Licensing is the fundamental necessity to turn
into a Real Estate agent. Indeed, it is a fundamental thing to lead the Real
Estate business. Real Estate on the Internet is the best choice to join the Real
Estate business. A few states give internet instructional classes that will
help you to finish prelicense prerequisites. When joining Real Estate you may
as well fulfill some prelicense necessities. They should be of no less than 19
years, be supervised while taking a delegated exam, have secondary school
certificate or some comparable to it, pass a state exam, have finished a
slightest sanction course.
Usually Real Estate class gives a few
guidelines to comprehend some Real Estate fundamentals. They can effortlessly
research possession exchange, Real Estate law and math with the assistance of Real
Estate training. They are taught how to arrange Real Estate transactions
throughout their course. Real Estate preparation empowers them to comprehend
the tips and traps of the Real Estate contracts. Individuals who need to go
along with some state sanction courses might as well have get their license.
Anybody might be a fruitful Real Estate Broker
in the wake of finishing Real Estate preparation. They can run a fruitful
business just assuming that they have incredible expert propensities, great
salesmanship and the eagerness to study more about Real Estate. Real Estate
business requires an extraordinary work ethic.
Individuals can research Real Estate business
with some identified books. They can additionally go along with some online
courses that give data through the Internet. These days numerous individuals
are profiting in the Real Estate business. Real Estate brokers ought to be
benevolent, educated, productive and additionally reliable. They need the
expertise how to acquire more clients.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
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