Tagged : Home sales

money.cnn.com - With the real estate market heating up, it appears that American homeowners are ready to start remodeling again.

After years of decline, home-improvement spending increased 9% in 2012, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, which predicts a double-digit surge for 2013.

Planning to get in on the renovation revival with a project of your own? You'll want to utilize a tool that some home appraisers say was too often neglected during the last housing rush: a budget.

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realtytimes.com - Anticipate potential problems, include these contingencies in your offer and, whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned homebuyer, you'll save yourself some headaches.

A contingency is a clause, a contractual requirement that must be fulfilled before the home sale transaction can close.

Contingencies to purchase offers also give you an out, the opportunity to cancel the contract without financial penalty should certain undesired scenarios play out.

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money.cnn.com - In a dramatic about-face for the housing market, sellers are now calling the shots.

A survey of more than 2,000 Americans found that 33% of the 365 who were searching for a home have been on the hunt for more than a year and many were willing to make compromises on where they live or the type of home they would buy in order to close the deal, Century 21 Real Estate reported Wednesday.

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nbcnews.com - U.S. home resales rose in April to the highest level in nearly 3-1/2 years as surging prices lured sellers back into market, which should support the housing sector and the overall economic recovery.

The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales advanced 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 4.97 million units, the highest level since November 2009.

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Home sales continued to climb in April, according to the latest reading on the housing recovery from an industry trade group.

The National Association of Realtors reported home sales edged up 0.6% to an annual pace of just under 5 million homes. Compared to a year ago, the pace of sales was up nearly 10%.

The pace of sales would have exceeded that level were it not for tight credit and insufficient houses for sale to meet rising demand, the group said.

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Consider this one more sign that the housing market is heating up: Appraisers are putting higher values on homes again, allowing for more deals to go through.

During the housing bust, sales were often derailed by low-ball appraisals that fell far shy of a home's selling price.

For example, if a home cost $500,000 and required a 20% down payment of $100,000, the buyer would need to finance $400,000. But if the appraiser valued the home at $450,000, the buyer would only be eligible for a $360,000 loan -- making the home too costly for some buyers.

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nbcnews.com - U.S. home-builder confidence in the market for single family homes rose in May amid rising home prices despite increasing building materials costs, an index showed on Wednesday.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index edged up three points to 44, from a downwardly revised 41 in April. Economists in a Reuters survey were expecting a reading of 43. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

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After nearing historic or near-historic lows over the past month, key fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans rose across the board this week.

The average rate of a 30-year fixed mortgage ticked slightly upward to 3.42% up from 3.35% last week according to the latest survey by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Previously, the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan had come within 0.04% of the historic low, 3.31%, achieved in November.

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The first thing Niamh Cahill did after she signed a contract to buy her new home in New Jersey was to map out a moving checklist.

"I had to break it down, to think small at first," she said. "If I thought about the whole move, I would have been completely overwhelmed." So she called the movers, set a date, and then started planning.

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for counting down to moving day. The important thing is to make a plan, says Audrey Dickson, quotation analyst with U-Pack, a national moving company based in Fort Smith, Ark.

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If recent trends are any indication, it’s going to be a big summer for the mortgage and real estate industries. The U.S. housing market continues to improve in many areas. Demand is rising while inventories are shrinking. Low mortgage rates are hovering at or near record lows, enticing home buyers into the market.

Here’s a rundown of the recent trends we are following: More Homes Being Built, Mortgage Rates Near Historic Lows, Home Sale Returning To Normal, and Home Prices Are Rising.

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