HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — The smiling couple barreling ahead on the cover of Liberty magazine in 1926 knew exactly where to go. “Florida or Bust,” said the white paint on the car doors. “Four wheels, no brakes.”
So it has been for a century, as Florida welcomed thousands of newcomers every week, year after year, becoming the nation’s [...]
Home prices are falling everywhere, but homeowners hoping for lower property taxes may find themselves disappointed when the bill arrives.
If you think your home’s assessed value is too high, you can appeal the tax assessor’s verdict — either on your own or with the help of a third party who will handle the grievance process [...]
Dear Dr. Don,
I would like to replace my mortgage with a home equity line of credit. How would I go about putting the HELOC in the first lien holder’s position if I owe $79,000 on a house that is appraised out at $95,000? Is there a bank that will replace my first with a HELOC?
– [...]
Toll Brothers says it lost $472.3 million in its fiscal third quarter, as the luxury homebuilder took a large tax hit.
But while Toll Brothers’ results were worse than analysts expected, the company is seeing signs of improvement in many markets. Nationally, new home sales have risen for four months in a row.
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CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Few words sting like the ones that inform you that you’re being laid off — especially today, with jobs so hard to come by. If you’re a homeowner, the blow of a job loss can be even worse.
In households with more than one wage earner, halving the monthly income can severely stretch [...]
With summer in full swing, Americans head to the coast to take in the sun. How better to experience the sun and sand than at your own beach home?
Recently, TopTenRealEstateDeals.com compiled a list of America’s Ten Coolest Beach Homes, all of which have more amenities than most primary homes.
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Use any metaphor you want: the ticking clock, sands running through the hourglass or pages falling away from the calendar. The fact is, time is running out to claim the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit.
Passed earlier this year as part of the economic stimulus package, the credit is good for up to [...]
When Harvey Clavon took out an exotic mortgage to refinance his home in Santa Clarita, Calif., three years ago, he thought he knew what he was doing.
Mr. Clavon, 63, was planning to sell the home in a few years and retire to Palm Springs. So he got a loan called an option adjustable rate mortgage, [...]
Today’s relatively good news from the National Association of Realtors only added to the posse of positives in housing data.
Sales are up for the third straight month, prices, while down, are not as far down as last month, and housing starts rose unexpectedly in June afte
builder confidence posted a gain as well.
So what’s bothering me?
Inventory.
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Prices of U.S. single-family homes rose for the second consecutive month in June, exceeding expectations and adding to evidence that the three-year housing slump is easing, Standard & Poor’s reported on Tuesday.
The S&P/Case-Shiller composite indexes of 10 and 20 metropolitan areas both rose 1.4 percent in June from May, almost three times the 0.5 percent [...]
For the first time in three years, theS&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index rosequarter to quarter, 2.9 percent, although it’s still down nearly 15 percent year over year. While all the news headlines were screaming total recovery in the housing market, the two guys who know the numbers most, David Blitzer of Standard and Poors and Robert [...]
Recent increases in housing prices are encouraging signs that the market is rebounding, but there remains a strong level of caution about whether the recovery is real.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller composite indexes show housing price increases for both May and June. The gains are part of a positive second-quarter story that showed prices 2.9 percent [...]
A tsunami of home foreclosures is set to hit the US as banks are unable to keep bailing out tenants that can’t afford their rent and struggling home owners show their anger at the financial crisis by giving up on their mortgage, David Karsbøl, chief economist at Saxo Bank, told CNBC.
“I believe we are about [...]
During the housing boom, rental agents bemoaned the quick and easy money that allowed so many would-be renters to become homeowners; so you would think now that the mortgage market is tighter than San Quentin, that rental agents would be a bit more positive.
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Wall Street may have discovered a way out from under the bad debt and risky mortgages that have clogged the financial markets. The would-be solution probably sounds familiar: It’s a lot like what got banks in trouble in the first place.
In recent months investment banks have been repackaging old mortgage securities and offering to sell [...]
Existing home sales rose for the fourth straight month in a row, now to the highest pace in two years. Excellent news that buyers are getting off the fence, but they’re only getting off at a certain price point. Just like in retail, where the big bargain stores are showing gains, only the low end of [...]
How much is walkability worth? An intriguing new study suggests that people are willing to pay considerable premiums for houses in neighborhoods that are highly walkable — that is, where you can actually get to nearby stores, schools, and parks without having to hop in the car.
The study, conducted by a group called CEOs for Cities, [...]
Existing home sales may have crossed the 5 million mark in July, as buyers are coming back to the market, analysts from ING bank said in a market research note Friday.
Lower mortgage rates, steep price drops and a large selection of homes to choose from are among the factors which would contribute to a higher [...]
U.S. commercial real estate activity in the second quarter slowed to its lowest level in 15 years as demand for office and retail space collapsed amid the severe recession, a real estate trade group said Wednesday.
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