If you’ve done any research into home ownership, then you’ve undoubtedly run across the various ways that making your payment differently can impact your lifetime cost (in terms of interest), and how long it takes to pay down your mortgage. Typical schemes include making one extra payment per year, or dividing your payment in half…

Rumors have been flying fast-and-furious the last few months about when the Fed is finally going to raise interest rates. With the recent turmoil in global stock markets and China in particular, the future of Fed decisions is even more uncertain. But according to a Reuters poll, it probably doesn’t matter. The housing market is…

This blog just reported yesterday on the banner year it’s been for foreign investors in U.S. real estate, and for China in particular. Coincidentally, Sam Van Horebeek, a director at a U.S. real estate advisory firm based in China wrote about the effect of the Chinese stock market meltdown on interest in the U.S. real…

Just done reviewing the 2015 National Association of Realtors’ Profile of Home Buying Activity of International Clients. There are definitely a few interesting statistics in there. For example, while the number of units sold international slightly declined, the average purchase price was up — and at $499,600, if you’re a real estate agent who wants…

Just done reviewing the 2015 National Association of Realtors’ Profile of Home Buying Activity of International Clients. There are definitely a few interesting statistics in there. For example, while the number of units sold international slightly declined, the average purchase price was up — and at $499,600, if you’re a real estate agent who wants…

Property taxes aren’t the purview of the Feds; however, the FHA opposed plans to make solar power tax deductible because tax assessments take precedence over mortgages in the event of a default, there was general opposition to so called PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs from Fannie and Freddie in light of the 2007 recession.…

Property taxes aren’t the purview of the Feds; however, the FHA opposed plans to make solar power tax deductible because tax assessments take precedence over mortgages in the event of a default, there was general opposition to so called PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs from Fannie and Freddie in light of the 2007 recession.…

Bill Greiner makes a fairly convincing argument in Forbes that the housing market will be driving real GDP growth upwards of 3% over the next 18 months. He distinguishes between existing home sales and new home sales, and gives an explanation of key factors: employment, confidence, affordability, alternatives, and tax impact. Additionally, he looks at…

Bill Greiner makes a fairly convincing argument in Forbes that the housing market will be driving real GDP growth upwards of 3% over the next 18 months. He distinguishes between existing home sales and new home sales, and gives an explanation of key factors: employment, confidence, affordability, alternatives, and tax impact. Additionally, he looks at…

The mortgage industry has been moving towards e-closings for quite a while now (as this blog has covered before), and there are great hopes that this will streamline and simplify the process. However, before we get all the way there, things may take a step backwards. New federal disclosure rules, though designed to simplify financial…