HouseHunt Real Estate Blog » Top News

Take a Look at Your Credit Score Before Looking at Houses

HouseHunt — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:13:01 +0000

Give yourself some credit, or at least make sure it’s in good shape before embarking on the loan process if buying a house is on your wish list. More than ever, having a healthy credit score is important and could mean the difference between securing a home loan or not. Interest rates are at historic lows and expected to stay that way for at least another year, so don’t let old habits or debts prevent you from taking advantage of this market. That’s something HouseHunt agent Wanda Hardee has seen happening in northwest South Carolina where she and her husband have an office in Anderson. “The biggest obstacle recently is people having trouble getting financing,” she said. “People want to buy, but many have minor blemishes on their credit preventing them from even getting the process started. That’s a big problem for us right now.”

Real estate leader expects home prices to gradually increase for the next few years

HouseHunt — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:32:23 +0000

A leading real estate specialist is predicting that U.S. home prices will gradually start to increase in 2012. National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun is forecasting that the small uptick next year will be part of a gradual improvement that will continue through 2014. Although he believes the U.S. economy would “be teetering …

Report says drastically reduced interest rates will start going back up in about two years

HouseHunt — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:13:12 +0000

If you’ve been thinking about buying a home recently, you’ve likely heard that historically low mortgage rates won’t last forever. That’s correct, of course, but what exactly does “forever” mean. According to a recent UCLA Anderson Forecast, about two more years. The college’s report predicts that effective mortgage rates in the U.S. will continue to …

Foreclosure backlogs in some states could take more than a decade to clear off the books

HouseHunt — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:44:35 +0000

It will take more than eight years in half of the states in the country to clear out backlogs of foreclosures at the current pace, according to research from LPS Applied Analytics shows. And that doesn’t include foreclosures that must go through the court system. In New York and New Jersey alone, it might take …

Some homeowners who were foreclosed upon might have a chance to get cases reviewed

HouseHunt — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:48:14 +0000

About 4 million homeowners who might have been improperly foreclosed upon in 2009 and 2010 are getting an opportunity to have their cases reviewed. Whether they will be reimbursed is up to the same lenders who are accused of moving too swiftly to seize their homes. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said …

Third-quarter survey shows an increase in buyer activity, but prices mostly stay flat

HouseHunt — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:40:36 +0000

Homebuyers pumped up the volume in the third quarter of 2011 but only a few areas of the country made any noise when it came to an increase in selling price. With mortgage rates at record lows and a drastic reduction in home prices the past few years, many potential buyers on the fence appear …

Existing-home sales up across all regions in August

HouseHunt — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:43:54 +0000

Existing-home sales increased in August, providing some good news for the struggling housing market. Monthly gains were seen in all regions, according to the National Association of Realtors. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops, rose 7.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million in …

Foreclosure filings up in August, down from a year ago

HouseHunt — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:09:15 +0000

Foreclosure filings rose in August, as more homebuyers fell behind on their mortgage payments. Filings were up 7 percent compared to July, but were still 33 percent lower than a year ago, marking the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year declines. According to a report by Realty Trac, 228,098 homes in the U.S. received some kind …

Despite low rates, mortgage applications hit another low

HouseHunt — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:09:22 +0000

Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell last week to a 15-year low, despite the lowest mortgage rates in decades. Many potential buyers are holding off because they are worried about job security and fear the U.S. economy could slip back into another recession. The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday that an index measuring mortgage …

Some cities bucking trend with steady rise of home values

HouseHunt — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:22:27 +0000

A smattering of cities has managed to buck the sluggish housing trend by seeing modest gains in home values over the past several months. Those cities were highlighted by Forbes Magazine in its list of recession-resistant cities. The compilation reflects the 25 cities welcoming steady home price gains since the start of 2011. Despite a …