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Pending Home Sales Reach Highest Mark In 9 Years!

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released their Pending Home Sales Index Report and revealed that it is at its highest level since April 2006. The Pending Home Sales Index is “a forward-looking indicator based on contract signin...
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Buy vs Rent: What Really Creates Family Wealth?

There has been recent press regarding whether or not it makes better financial sense to rent rather than buy in today’s housing market. As an example, the recently released June Summary of the BH&J Buy vs. Rent Index reported: “…as of the end of...
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First-Time Homebuyers Lead the Way in May

The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) latest Existing Home Sales Report revealed that first time homebuyers made up 32% of all sales in the month of May; marking the highest share since September 2012 and up from 27% the same time last year....
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4 Reasons to Buy NOW!

Summer is here! The temperature isn't the only thing heating up right now, so too is the housing market! Here are four great reasons to consider buying a home today instead of waiting....
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Do I Need Perfect Credit to Buy a Home? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Do I Need Perfect Credit to Buy a Home? [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market
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How Will Mortgage Rate Hikes Impact Home Sales?

When mortgage interest rates begin to climb, experts immediately begin to discuss home affordability indexes. They calculate how an increase in rates will slow home purchases as more and more potential buyers are priced out of the market. Today, with...
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Mortgage Rates Just Jumped Over 4%. Now What?

Last week, mortgage interest rates jumped over the 4% mark for the first time this year according to Freddie Mac’s Mortgage Market Survey....
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Home Values Compared to the Peak… Is Another Bubble Forming?

After the housing market bust we experienced across the country in 2008, many experts have been quick to warn that a new bubble may be forming in some areas of the country....
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217,726 Reasons to Buy a Home Now!

The inaugural Opportunity Cost Report was released recently by realtor.com. The report explained that “with interest rates and home prices expected to climb in the next year, the financial penalties of delaying or forgoing a home purchase in today's ...
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2 Out of 3 Renters Want to Own. What’s Stopping Them?

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently released the 2015 SCE Housing Survey. The survey revealed that most current renters would prefer owning and that 61.9% of them plan to buy a home within the next five years....
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Where Will Mortgage Rates Be in 12 Months?

One of the biggest questions plaguing the current housing market is where mortgage interest rates will be at this time next year. Over the last two months, rates have begun to creep up (see chart)....
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The #1 Reason to Buy Right Now – THE MONEY!!

People often ask whether they should buy a home now or wait. Recently released data suggests that waiting may not make sense as prices seem to again be on the rise. Let’s take a look at some of the data and commentary on the subject: ...
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Guess Where Residential Rents are Heading?

Each month, many people are faced with the decision of renewing their rental lease for another year or purchasing their first home. One of the questions that must be answered before they make a decision is – “Where are rents headed?” ...

Today Kicks Off National Homeownership Month!

National Homeownership Month actually started as a week-long celebration of homeownership during the Clinton administration in 1995. In 2002, President George W. Bush proclaimed June as the National Homeownership Month. Here is an excerpt from hi...
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Buyer Demand Exceeds Housing Supply [INFOGRAPHIC]

Buyer Demand Exceeds Buyer Demand [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • Inventory Levels are still below the 6.0 month level necessary for a normal market
  • Home Prices have experienced year-over-year gains for 38 straight months
  • Home sold faster than any time since June 2013, in just 39 days
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“Lagging Supply” Leads to Slowdown in Sales

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released the results of their Existing Home Sales Report. Despite the fact that properties are selling faster than they have at any other time since July of 2013, existing home sales declined 3.3% f...
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More Home Buyers Putting Less Down

A recent post by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that in the months of December 2014 through February 2015, there was an increase in the number of first-time buyers making a down payment of 6% or less as compared to last year: ...
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Where Are Prices Headed In The Next 5 Years?

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey. ...
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Buying a Home is 35% Less Expensive than Renting!

In the latest Rent vs. Buy Report from Trulia, they explained that homeownership remains cheaper than renting with a traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage throughout the 100 largest metro areas in the United States. The updated numbers actually ...
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The Difference Your Interest Rate Makes [INFOGRAPHIC]

The Difference Your Interest Rate Makes [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market
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Housing Update: Demand Up, Supply Down, Prices Increasing

Earlier this week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their latest quarterly report. The report covered three important aspects of the housing market: Buyer Demand Supply of Housing Inventory Single Family Residential Prices ...
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You Want to Raise My Rent How Much?

We recently reported that investment purchases in 2014 fell 7.4% for the year, that combined with a diminished supply of distressed inventory allowing for big profits, has real estate investors looking for a new way to make more money in 2015. So ...
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The Truth About Rising Prices & Family Wealth

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released a report revealing that the growing wealth gap in this country has been impacted by the recent increases in real estate values coupled with the drop in homeownership rates. The report discl...
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Attaining the American Dream: The 5 Financial Reasons to Buy

We have reported many times that the American Dream of homeownership is alive and well. The personal reasons to own differ for each buyer, with many basic similarities. Eric Belsky, the Managing Director of the Joint Center of Housing Studies at H...