Real Estate Blog

More affordable to Buy then Rent

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 at 11:59am. 311 Views, 0 Comments.

Volatile markets and low home sales are colluding to force mortgage rates to historic lows and sellers to mark off home prices, making actual home purchases less expensive than renting in cities across the United States. Buying a home fell below renting costs in 74 percent of the country’s 50 largest cities over July, with 12 percent of cities seeing higher price tags for apartments than for houses, according to real estate Web site Trulia.

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"Virtually" Choose Your Colors... Paint Your Room

Thursday, June 16th, 2011 at 4:10pm. 450 Views, 0 Comments.

A fresh coat of paint is a powerful and affordable enhancement to any room. The next time you’re looking for color inspiration, check out Olympic Paint’s free ColorClix software for Windows or OS X, or download the app to your iPhone. With ColorClix, you can grab a color from the gallery or upload your own photo; the app will select paint samples that most closely match the colors in the image. The app will also display complementary colors, with a full spectrum of hues and shades. Add notes and tag colors as favorites. Or create specific room projects and save selected colors to the project folder. Free. PPG Industries; Pittsburgh; 800-441-9695; www.olympic.com/colorclix.

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Disasters Spike Home Sales

Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 5:58pm. 357 Views, 0 Comments.

Cities that have been torn apart by recent tornadoes and floods are now seeing a big increase in home sales.

Real estate agent Barb Maxon with Century 21 ProLink in Sioux City, Iowa, told the Des Moines Register that she’s made six sales in one week alone to Iowa families who have been displaced by the Missouri River floods.

The Missouri river is expected to rise to near-record levels this week, where it's expected to remain for weeks, causing flooding along cities near it and displacing families.

Residents, for example, from Dakota Dunes, Iowa, where hundreds of homes have been evacuated for more than a week, are starting to look elsewhere for housing. Nearby Sioux City is getting a flood of its residents inquiring about new housing options, real estate…

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Top 6 Housing Markets

Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 5:56pm. 246 Views, 0 Comments.

Several real estate markets are starting to show signs of improvement with home prices in the last quarter as the industry demonstrates more signs of stabilizing, according to Clear Capital's latest monthly Home Data Index Market Report.

REO saturation rates have improved in the majority of the country’s largest markets. However, many areas are still battling year-over-year price declines. Clear Capital’s index reports that quarter-over-quarter home price declines were 2.3 percent in the latest quarter, which is less than half compared to the previous month.

“The latest market report results through May suggest that home prices are starting to ease back from the heavy declines seen over the winter,” says Alex Villacorta, director of research and…

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20% Down Rule Stirs Debate

Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 5:48pm. 233 Views, 0 Comments.

A proposed rule by bank regulators that would require 20% down payment for buyers would lop off almost 30% of home sales according to a recent study.  What's more important, is that the requirement would only improve loan performance by a scant 1.6%.

The NAR opposes the rule and has been meeting with lawmakers to make the case that this wasn't what congress intended when it passed legislation last year creating QRM (qualified residential mortgage) loans.  The NAR has made this one of their top priorities in Washington 2 weeks ago.

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Residents Itching for a Better Night's Sleep

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 5:26pm. 142 Views, 0 Comments.

A Chicago condo board is suing the resident of a North Side high-rise because it claims she is being uncooperative in its efforts to eradicate more than 500 bedbugs in her unit, according to Crain's Chicago Business. The suit said her failure to cooperate has hampered efforts to keep the bugs from finding their way to other residences in the building. Eeeeeek!

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Follow HGTV's Green Home

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 5:23pm. 146 Views, 0 Comments.

For those of you that are addicted to HGTV, no comment is needed.  But for the rest of you... check out the videos and register to win the 2011 Green Home!

HGTV Green Home 2011 recently received a Platinum LEED certification, the highest rating a home can earn within the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. In addition, the home also received an Energy Star certification which acknowledges its energy efficiency.

The LEED certification signifies that HGTV Green Home, with approximately 2400 square feet of finished space, meets rigorous standards for sustainable site development, water conservation, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality, proximity to transit and existing infrastructure and innovative…

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Home Sales Rise Again

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 5:05pm. 137 Views, 0 Comments.

March saw another increase in pending home sales, with contract activity rising unevenly in six of the past nine months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,  a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.1 percent to 94.1 in March from a downwardly revised 89.5 in February. The index is 11.4 percent below 106.2 in March 2010; however, activity was at elevated levels in March and April of 2010 to meet the contract deadline for the home buyer tax credit.

The data reflects contracts but not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales activity has shown an uneven but notable improvement. “Since reaching a…

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