QUALIFYING FOR A MORTGAGE MAY BE EASIER IN 2022
Interest Rates Are Rising—but the Fed’s Actions Could Make It Easier To Get a Mortgage This week’s increase to the benchmark mortgage rate is likely just the beginning. The Federal Reserve is scaling back its stimulus activities at a q...
HOW INFLATION IS AFFECTING THE HOUSING MARKET
Inflation is a red-hot topic right now, and for good reason: In October, the annual inflation rate rose to an alarming 6.2%. That’s the highest it’s hit since November 1990, over 30 years ago, and a steep uptick from the manageable 2% that ...
HOMEBUYER BIDDING WARS DROP TO 2021 LOW
In September, 58.9% of home offers faced competition—a record low for 2021. That’s down from a revised rate of 60.8% in August and a peak of 74.3% in April. September marked the 5th straight month of declines, putting the bidding-war rat...
WHY BUYING A SECOND HOME IS REAL ESTATE’S NEWEST TREND
Low interest rates, pandemic-era savings and a hybrid-work revolution are making it more feasible for people to split their time. In the Before Times, people had to make a choice: Squeeze into the chaos and energy of the city, or l...
CALIFORNIA’S NEW LAW ENDS SINGLE-FAMILY ZONING RESTRICTIONS
Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed a pair of bills into law that effectively put an end to traditional single-family zoning restrictions in most neighborhoods statewide. Senate Bills 9 and 10, which take effect Jan. 1, 2022, will make it eas...
WALL STREET IS BUYING UP SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES
Housing markets are hotter than ever, and big money is getting in on the act. Pension funds, investment firms and Wall Street banks are snapping up family homes in Europe and the United States at a rapid pace as prices rocket higher, ...
WILL THE HOUSING MARKET COOL OFF BY FALL? HERE’S WHAT EXPERTS PREDICT
Today’s hot housing market is one of the peculiar outcrops of the pandemic. Housing supply was already low before Covid-19, but it was further hampered as lockdowns took place and people began looking for new homes, driven by a host of reason...
ALL CASH U.S. HOME PURCHASES IN 2021 HIT 30%
Cash purchases are on the rise as Americans reap the benefits of a strong stock market. The S&P 500 Index has gained 36% in the past 12 months alone. “I’ve never seen more cash in Boise's housing market than I’ve seen in the past ...
WHAT CHANGES ARE PLANNED FOR 1031 EXCHANGES?
Last month the government revealed several tax proposals that could affect real estate investors. The most talked about involves curtailing 1031 exchanges, a long-standing and regularly used strategy for deferring capital gains taxes of income ...