The sale of your home can depend on the local housing market or the national housing market. Check here for more information and updates about the state of the housing market, and advice on how to buy or sell in any kind of market.
Real Estate Market: Improvement Through Employment, Refinancing, And Avoiding Foreclosure
What steps can we take with the economy to improve the real estate market? Keeping people employed, changing refinancing rules and encouraging people to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure are some possibilities to improve the real estate market. If you have suggestions for how to improve the real estate market, send Ilyce an email.
Mistakes Home Buyers Make
In my best-selling book, 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask, I include a list of 10 mistake home buyers often make. I should probabl...
1031 Exchange: Real Estate Market Conditions Affect Deadlines
A 1031 exchange allows you to buy and sell investment property including real estate and defer paying taxes to the IRS. Real estate market conditions may make it harder to sell the old property and potentially prevent a successful 1031 exchange. Learn how real estate market conditions can affect a 1031 tax exchange or Starker exchange and why a reverse exchange may be effective in this housing market.
NAR’s Index Of Pending Home Sales Rises In August
The National Association of Realtors announced yesterday that pending sales of existing homes rose in August to 93.4, up from 87.0 in July. That's a 7...
What Mortgage Lenders Require Of Borrowers In A Declining Market
Qualifying for mortgage loans has changed completely over the last year. In a declining market, what do mortgage lenders require? Listen to what one southern California expert says about appraisals, mortgage loans and today's real estate market in this Expert Real Estate Tips segment.
Online Property Value Sites & Accuracy
Real estate information Web sites such as Zillow and Cyberhomes can be good tools for home buyers. However, the online property value listed may be inaccurate. View this Expert Real Estate Tips segment on how to navigate these sites and to learn tips to get a full picture of a property's value.
Consumer Bankruptcies Rise Nearly 30 Percent
The number of consumer bankruptcies filed in September rose 28.6 percent compared with a a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. M...
Housing Market Affects Steps To Sell Home
A home seller worries about her real estate agent changing her approach to selling a home. The real estate agent first said the home "shows well" and is now asking her to declutter her house. The housing market likely changes the approach the real estate agent takes. A good agent may change tactics, such as including staging, as housing market conditions shift.
Refinance ARM And HELOC Into Fixed Rate Loan
Should you combine an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and a home equity line of credit (HELOC) into a 30 year fixed rate mortgage? If the interest rates are low enough should you refinance the ARM and HELOC into a fixed rate mortgage loan? You should look at the terms of your loan and compare that with market conditions such as the value of her home.
Watch Mortgage Interest Rates To Gauge Refinance
Monitoring mortgage interest rates as opposed to all the economic indicators will help homeowners determine a good time to refinance their homes. For mortgage interest rates to drop the interest rate spread between what banks pay for funds and what you, as a homeowner, will pay the bank must narrow. That's why mortgage interest rates dropped immediately by a third of a percentage point recently after the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.