Existing Home Sales Explode!

Existing-homes sales surged to their highest annual rate in 18 months, showing a promising beginning to the spring homebuying season, the latest report from the National Association of Relators said. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33640-existing-home-sales-explode-as-spring-homebuying-season-officially-arrives
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Renting vs Buying
Barry Habib says:  housing will have 4-5% appreciation this year and buying is a better deal than renting.  Find the details on the link below.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/rent-vs-buy-in-2015/?
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Shared by Uros Kralj, taken by Barbara McLean, Athens

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Quicken Loans is suing the DOJ and HUD.  Wish them luck!  If they win, it will benefit all of us.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/quicken-sues-feds-and-we-love-it/?
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Sales of new single-family houses in March 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 11.4 percent (±18.6%)* below the revised February rate of 543,000, but is 19.4 percent (±21.8%)* above the March 2014 estimate of 403,000.
-- Department of Commerce
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Shared and taken by Squid McFinnigan, tiny church in Cork, Ireland, called Gougane Barra.

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Lucas, the Star Wars creator is offering his own property in west Marin County off Lucas Valley Road near Novato for the project, with plans for a community of 224 homes right where neighbors said no to his studio expansion. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33589-george-lucas-to-create-massive-affordable-housing-project
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The drought in the West will impact the housing market.  The deep reservoir water level is dropping.  Stringent water use restrictions are in place throughout the West, not just in California.  It is hard to live without water!
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Shared and taken by Luis Armando Oyarzun, Teatro Colon. Comparable a La Scala de Milán, a la Ópera Estatal de Viena, a la Ópera Semper de Dresde y la Ópera de París.

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Fannie Mae announced Tuesday the HomePath Ready Buyer program, under which qualifying first-time homebuyers can receive up to 3% of the purchase price of the subject property in closing cost assistance toward the purchase of a HomePath property. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33555-fannie-mae-launches-major-first-time-homebuyer-assistance-program
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Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,039,000. This is 5.7 percent (±2.0%) below the revised February rate of 1,102,000, but is 2.9 percent (±0.9%) above the March 2014 estimate of 1,010,000. Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 636,000; this is 2.1 percent (±0.9%) above.  - Department of Commerce
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Shared by Juwai, Apartment building in Melbourne, Australia.

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MoveTube, Are You Interested?

MoveTube on Roku, an internet based platform for buyers, sellers, lenders and agents to connect.  Check it out.  http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/movetube-on-fox-news/?
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Home equity lines of credit taken during big housing bubble just before the crash may hit the millions of homeowners with home equity lines of credit with a dramatic spike in their payments. 

This comes at a time when even economic bulls are seeing a systemic weakness in the economy.  -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33535-trouble-ahead-tidal-wave-of-heloc-resets-about-to-hit

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Shared and taken by James Harrison, Mont St Michelle

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Zillow in Trouble
On Friday, HousingWire reported that the letter in question submitted in the case “appears to confirm” the contention by Move that Samuelson, now the chief industry development officer for Zillow, took multiple documents and entire databases from his former employer.    
Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33559-court-seals-letter-from-anonymous-whistleblower-in-zillow-lawsuit
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
H.R. 685 will allow more low income buyers to buy homes.  It fixes something that Dodd-Frank broke.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/12562/?

House members from both parties voted 286-140 to pass H.R. 685, the Mortgage Choice Act of 2015, which was reintroduced earlier this year after dying in the last Congress despite bipartisan support. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33560-houses-passes-mortgage-choice-act-of-2015-by-286-140

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Shared by Gia Au Huy Duong, Tokyo

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Following a slight uptick last week, mortgage applications decreased 2.3% on a weekly basis, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 10, 2015. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33562-mortgage-applications-down-23-led-by-drop-in-purchases
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Another salient bill passed Tuesday was H.R. 650, thePreserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act, which supporters say ensures consumers – especially low and moderate-income consumers – can continue to have access to affordable manufactured housing.  This bipartisan legislation continues existing consumer protections, including protections that prohibit steering consumers to predatory loans.

It passed the House on April 14 by a vote of 263-162. (Manufactured housing is more than mobile homes, it is anything built off site and assembled on site.) -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33566-mortgage-lending-and-finance-industry-get-boost-in-housing-regulatory-reform-bills

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Shared and taken by Mirjana Jensensek, France

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Fannie Mae announced Tuesday the HomePath Ready Buyer program, under which qualifying first-time homebuyers can receive up to 3% of the purchase price of the subject property in closing cost assistance toward the purchase of a HomePath property.

On a $150,000 home, this could result in up to $4,500 in savings for the buyer, Fannie said. In addition, Fannie Mae will reimburse the $75 cost of the homebuyer education course at the time of closing. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33555-fannie-mae-launches-mayor-first-time-homebuyer-assistance-program

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Smaller credit unions got a boost with the passage of H.R. 299, the Capital Access for Small Community Financial Institutions Act, which allows privately insured state chartered credit unions to apply for membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, which would help them better serve the financial needs of consumers. 

Rural lenders benefit from H.R. 1259, the Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act, which provides a petition process for areas to be designated as rural for the purpose of federal consumer financial laws, which could enable more loans to rural borrowers to qualify for special treatment under CFPB rules. 

H.R. 1259 passed the House on April 13 by a vote of 401-1. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33566-mortgage-lending-and-finance-industry-get-boost-in-housing-regulatory-reform-bills

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Shared and taken by Luis Armando Oyarzun,  Nocturna Buenos Aires. Cabildo  con Torre iluminada

Property Taxes. Where Does Your State Rank?

...which states pack the biggest property tax punch and what should residents keep in mind when it comes to meeting and ultimately minimizing their obligations? In search of answers, we analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of real estate and vehicle property taxes. We also consulted a panel of leading property tax experts for insights both practical and political.
http://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-property-taxes/11585/
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
An ex FDIC heavy weight says that the Government has treated the GSE’s illegally and wants it fixed.  We say – FINALLY!
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/fannie-and-freddie-get-a-new-fan/?
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Shared by James Harrison, taken by Trey Radcliff.  The "Egg" in Beijing.

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The December 2014 international trade deficit increased 17.1 percent from November, to $46.6 billion. Exports decreased 0.8 percent to $194.9 billion, and imports increased 2.2 percent to $241.4 billion.

For the full year 2014, the trade deficit grew 6 percent to $505b. Exports rose 2.9 percent, to $2.3 trillion, and imports increased 3.4 percent, to $2.9 trillion.  Bureau of Economics and Statistics

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
HUD is thinking about lowering their credit standards to get more buyers in the market.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/fha-alternative-credit-scoring-coming-soon/?
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Shared and taken by Norbert Metz.  Corsica

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Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 17% relative to the previous month, the MarchMortgage Bankers Association’s Builder Application Survey said. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33508-mba-new-home-purchases-jump-17-in-march
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Cash sales made up 38.9% of total home sales in January 2015, down from 41.4% in January 2014, and from the peak of 46.5% in January 2011, according to CoreLogic (CLGX). -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33507-cash-home-sales-share-drops-to-389-in-january-2015
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Shared by Mirjana Jensensek, Holy Toledo! (Spain)

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Buying cheaper than renting in 3 of 4 housing markets

RealtyTrac: Other factors keeping renters on the sidelines

Trey Garrison in HousingWire

“As wage growth continues to stagnate, those consumers choosing to rent will see more and more of their net wages being devoted to increased housing costs in the future,” Mahon added.

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33502-buying-cheaper-than-renting-in-3-of-4-housing-markets

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Failing oil prices will dampen growth in areas where the local economies are heavily based on the production of oil, HouseCanary said in the study. On the other hand, there are many areas that will see economic stimulation from low oil prices, which will fuel demand and housing price growth, the study showed. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33504-how-will-todays-low-oil-prices-affect-home-values

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Shared by James Harrison, taken by Patricia Pomerleau.  Balloons over Myanmar

Solar Panels and Selling Your House

Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Solar panels are great unless you are leasing them and want to sell your house.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/solar-panels-are-killing-real-estate-deals/?
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This is quite the tale.  Follow the link to read the whole disasterous story.

Comcast sent technicians to Seth's house and over the span of multiple trips spanning over four months, they couldn't get it set up correctly. According to BGR:

Each time they got there, they quickly discovered that there was no infrastructure on site and promptly left. It literally took four consecutive weeks of failed attempts before Comcast recognized it would have to do more than send out a technician with cable boxes to fulfill its promise......

http://www.komando.com/happening-now/301505/this-guy-has-to-sell-his-brand-new-house-because-comcast-is-terrible?

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Shared by Uros Kralj, taken by Lilia Fernandez.  Dinamarca.

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Home prices are growing much faster than wages for a majority of the country, a new report by RealtyTrac shows. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33351-realtytrac-home-prices-outpacing-wage-growth-in-76-of-us
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Now the the CFPB is allowing consumers to make un-vetted complaints, lenders should be bracing for the fake complaints that are sure to come.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/lenders-brace-for-fake-complaints/?
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Shared and taken by James Harrison, traditional French architecture.

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Barry Habib says that Realty Trac's numbers are okay, but the understanding of those numbers is missing something. As long as the mortgage rates stay low, home prices are still affordable. If home prices decrease and interest rates go up, then there is a problem.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/barry-habib-sheds-light-on-recent-housing-data/?
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Expected FICO changes to aid risky borrowers

The new score will include a new variety of financial variables, including consumers’ payment history with their cable, cellphone, electric and gas bills, as well as how often they change addresses and other factors.

The newer credit scoring models put less emphasis on the impact of unpaid medical bills, and the effect of missed payments on debts that have subsequently been paid off is eliminated. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33432-expected-fico-changes-to-aid-risky-borrowers

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Shared by Mirjana Jensensek, Manchu Pichu

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PERSONAL INCOME AND OUTLAYS: FEBRUARY 2015 Personal income increased $58.6 billion, or 0.4 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $54.2 billion, or 0.4 percent, in February, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $11.8 billion, or 0.1 percent. In January, personal income increased $61.8 billion, or 0.4 percent, DPI increased $61.5 billion, or 0.5 percent, and PCE decreased $28.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, based on revised estimates. -- US Bureau of Economic Analysis
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Home prices are growing 13 times faster than income nation wide.  (at the 3.50 minute mark)
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/warning-home-values-outpace-wages/?
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Shared by Gia Huy Duong, Ho Chi Minh City