National Real Estate Blog

The Secondary Market Facility for Residential Mortgage Act of 2011, also known as H.R. 2413, is a bill that was introduced this week by Reps. Gary Miller and Carolyn McCarthy. This bill is offering a strategy for reforming the secondary mortgage market by continuing federal government participation [Read More]

According to the 2011 National Housing Pulse Survey that was released recently by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 72% of renters said that owning a home is a priority for them in the future. The survey also revealed that 7 in 10 Americans agree that purchasing a home is a good financial [Read More]

One of the big questions in the real estate market today is "How much down payment should a buyer have to purchase a home?" Some lawmakers and regulators are saying it should be 20% or 10%, however The Center for Responsible Lending is arguing that the requirements are too high and that it could tak [Read More]

Due to the extreme rise in gas prices, the IRS announced that they have decided to increase the standard business mileage rate from .51 cents per mile to .555 cents per mile. This increased deduction can only be applied to miles that were driven between July 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. The first [Read More]

For the first time in 8 month, home prices in major cities across the US have shown an incline during the spring months, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index.April's report showed a rise in 13 of the 20 cities that were tracked with Washington D.C in the lead, followed by San [Read More]

Rising 0.8% in a monthly comparison, Aprils home prices saw an incline for the first time in over a year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The FHFA Monthly Index is calculated by using the purchase price of homes that are either sold to or guaranteed by mortgage giant, Freddie [Read More]

Across the nation, the rate of foreclosures has dropped in an annual comparison. This is due, in part, to the huge backlog of foreclosures in the court system, especially in states where the courts must review each foreclosure.In New York alone, LPS Applied Analytics, a real estate data firm, estima [Read More]

During the next decade the population across the nation is expected to increase by 8.9% (27.7 million) people, according to ProximityOne, a demographic resource firm.The data collected by ProximityOne has determined which counties are expected to get the largest population boosts with the highest pe [Read More]

New rules are being enacted at Fannie Mae in regards to delinquent loans in an effort to force lenders to act quickly in aiding troubled homeowners avoid the foreclosure process.Lenders will be required to contact homeowners verbally and in writing within 120 days after a mortgage becomes delinquent [Read More]

With the low home prices as bait, investors have been biting! According to a study performed by Move, Inc., investors are expected to outnumber homebuyers 3-1 in the next couple of years.An analysis of hundreds of real estate markets by Inman News has determined the top markets for real estate inves [Read More]