Category: US Real Estate

Many Americans Lack Basic Knowledge About Home Ownership: Survey

Many Americans lack knowledge of basic concepts about home ownership, including misconceptions about mortgage terms and knowledge about home buying, maintenance, and renovation, as well as home building, a new study has revealed. The study was conducted in May by Lombardo Homes, a Midwest home builder specializing in new construction in Michigan and Missouri, which surveyed…


US Mortgage Rates Fall in Biggest Decline Since March

U.S. mortgage rates dropped from an eight-month high, after nearing 7 percent last week, as inflation slows ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed’s aggressive interest-rate hike policy sent mortgage rates well above 7 percent last year, causing the once booming housing market to crash. Rates have been slow to decline from the nearly two-decade high,…


Eviction Notices Rise in Several US Cities

Eviction filings are rising in several American cities, according to recent data collected by the Princeton University Eviction Lab. Princeton’s Eviction Tracking System has been keeping track of eviction filings across the United States since 2000 when the lab started to publish its findings. The findings are based on (pdf) tens of millions of public records from state and county…


Housing Starts Tumble Despite Signs of an Improving Home Sales Market

The number of housing starts tumbled last month, despite signs that the home sales market is heating up again after falling. Housing starts take into account the change in the number of new residential buildings beginning construction. New single-family home construction fell 8 percent from May to June, according to July 19 report from the U.S. Census…


New York Federal Reserve Reports Surge in Credit Application Rejections

The New York Federal Reserve Bank said more Americans had their credit applications rejected last month at levels not seen in years. The New York Fed reported on July 16 added that fewer people across the country also sought to borrow. The report was part of the bank’s monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations, which is taken every four…


Home Prices Hit Record High As Housing Supply Shortage Worsens

Home prices hit a record high again in May, amid a worsening supply shortage in the housing market. The sharp jump in mortgage interest rates in last year caused an overheated housing market to slow down, but the slump did not last long. The cost for a home, which has been rising since the start…


Mortgage Rates Soar to Highest Level for the Year

U.S. home mortgage rates soared towards 7 percent this week, pushing away many potential home buyers as affordability pressures for some pushed home ownership further out of reach. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage hit 7.22 percent on July 6, reaching its highest point since November, according data published by to Mortgage News…


IN-DEPTH: Bank Branch Closures Leave Vacant Buildings, Inconvenienced Customers

When Pamela Bigelow, a lifelong resident of Duncan, Arizona, goes to the bank, she must make a day of it. Duncan, population 677, lost its last bank branch about six years ago. Now, when Duncan residents need cash, a cashier’s check, or to get a loan, they must travel 40 miles to the copper mining…


Listings for Lake Homes and Lots Jump Nearly $6 Billion Since Winter

A new report from Lake Homes Realty in Hoover, Alabama, shows that lake home and lot listings have escalated to $5.9 billion since February of this year. Over the past five months, lake properties have been flooding the market with a total of almost 74,000 currently for sale in 34 states across the nation. The…


DOJ Argues Florida Law Restricting Chinese Land Ownership Violates Constitution

The Department of Justice on Tuesday challenged a Florida law that bars Chinese citizens from owning land, asserting it violates federal housing law and the 14th Amendment. The department filed a statement of interest (pdf) in a case challenging the provision, arguing the Florida law restricting Chinese land ownership by U.S. military installations and major…