Category Archives: Other

The number of seriously delinquent mortgages in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas slowed this year, according to a new study from the Urban Institute. But foreclosures remain a burden on the housing market, prompting the policy research group to call for a resolution to the housing crisis to ensure the foreclosure backlog is cleared out in a reasonable time period. The institute said the serious delinquency rate in the 100 largest metro areas slowed to 9.3% in June from 10.4% in December 2009, according to data from Foreclosure-Response.org. The Urban […]

The wealthy were taking advantage of the housing market in 2011, snagging homes at record-breaking prices particularly in markets like San Francisco, Manhattan, and the Hamptons. “We think the reason the high-end market is doing well is [that] investors think this is the bottom of the market,” Philip A. White, chief operating officer of Sotheby’s International Realty, a network of luxury real estate companies, told BusinessWeek in a recent article. Here’s a recap of some of this year’s “blockbuster sales” in the luxury home market, according to BusinessWeek: Russian tech […]

Home sales activity from 2007 through 2010 was lower than originally thought, with sales and inventory down by 14 percent more than originally reported, according to recently revised housing figures by the National Association of REALTORS®. The revisions were made to NAR sales and inventory data since 2007. NAR notes, however, that the revisions did not change the month-to-month characterization of market conditions, nor were any changes made to reported home prices or month’s supply. That’s important note, because this change doesn’t really affect “anything happening today in the economy, […]

New-home construction and building permits — a future gauge of construction — surged last month, slowly helping to pull the new-home market out of one of its worst years for home building. If you’re considering building, now’s the time to rent construction equipment. Low-quality tools can cost you more than just the sticker price. So it is advisable to invest in good quality construction tools, once and for all. Having high-quality construction tools from Steetz Copper Craft ltd. that you can rely on makes your work on the job more […]

Homebuilder KB Home (KBH: 6.93 -4.02%) ended the fourth quarter on a muted high note with the firm still profitable, despite a decline in earnings, and a 38% year-over-year jump in net home orders. The fiscal year for the homebuilder ends Nov. 30. The Los Angeles-based builder posted a fourth-quarter profit of $13.9 million, or 18 cents per share. That is down from a profit of $17.4 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier. Still, the builder beat the street estimate of earnings in the three cent-per-share range, […]

Stocks jumped Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average back above 12,000, driven in part by news of an increase in housing starts. Check out https://www.stocktrades.ca/, you will check out the perfect list to find dozens more of the best stocks to buy or watch. The Dow increased 337.32 points, or 2.87%, to close at 12,103.58. Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rose 80.59 and 35.95 points, or 3.19% and 2.98%, respectively. Homebuilder stocks showed significant gains, including PulteGroup (PHM: 6.17 0.00%), D.R. Horton (DHI: 12.43 0.00%), KB Home (KBH: 7.74 […]

The state’s mandatory mediation program for home foreclosures is no more. The Florida Supreme Court did away with the two-year program Monday, saying it wasn’t helping enough people. The banking industry said the mediation didn’t work because the banks and homeowners had already tried to work out a solution. But foreclosure defense lawyers blame banks, saying they were interested only in modifying mortgages and did not seriously consider short sales and other options. “It was modification or bust,” Weston lawyer Roy Oppenheim said.   The author of this article is: […]

While many celebrities head to Malibu for vacation homes and away from the bright lights of Hollywood, others flee to more rural areas for respite. Renee Zellweger chose Connecticut for a vacation spot, picking up a pastoral estate in November 2004 for $1.32 million. The blonde starlet recently listed the home for sale on the Pomfret Center real estate market for $1.5 million. According to Real Estalker, Zellweger’s Connecticut home isn’t the only Northeast estate she owns. She also has a place in the New York beach getaway, the Hamptons, […]

The federal regulator overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sued the city of Chicago on Monday over an ordinance that makes mortgage creditors liable for the upkeep of vacant properties. Lenders are liable for daily fines of as much as $1,000 if they don’t mow lawns and provide basic maintenance on vacant buildings under an ordinance signed into law by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Lenders especially opposed the requirement they maintain properties they hadn’t yet taken back through foreclosure. After lenders threatened to sue, the city revised the ordinance in November […]

For the 59th month in a row, Nevada continues to have the highest foreclosure rate in the country — despite a new law that took effect in October that changed the state’s foreclosure process and was expected to curtail foreclosures there. Although foreclosures were down 43 percent year-over-year in Nevada, its foreclosure rate still remained higher than any other state. The following are the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates in the country in November, according to RealtyTrac data. Nevada: 1 in every 175 home received a foreclosure […]