Real estate consumer news and advice from RISMedia.com

• Exceeding Expectations, Pending Home Sales Rise 5.2% September 2, 2010
  RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—Following a sharp drop in the months immediately after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, pending home sales have modestly risen, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking…
• HUD Announces First Look Program to Help Communities Stabilize Neighborhoods Hard-Hit by Foreclosure September 2, 2010
  RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced an unprecedented agreement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders to offer selected state and local governments, and nonprofit organizations a “first look” or right of first…
• Simple Tips to Update Your Home and Create a Relaxing Sanctuary September 2, 2010
  RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010—(MCT)—Some rooms scream “Help!” Others say nothing, and that’s a problem, too. Take the typical bedroom. Michael Payne has seen thousands. “The bedroom tends to get forgotten—you spend all your money elsewhere in the house,” said…
• FHA Gives Home Buyers One Month Window to Lock in Low Insurance Premium September 1, 2010
  RISMEDIA, September 2, 2010—“The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is giving homeowners and buyers until October 4, 2010 to lock in a low monthly insurance premium,” said Gibran Nicholas, chairman of the CMPS Institute, an organization that trains and certifies…
• Real Estate Veteran Offers Cure for Home Seller’s Blues August 31, 2010
  RISMEDIA, September 1, 2010—With existing U.S. home sales diving to 15-year lows and millions of homes stagnant on the market, home sellers are suffering increasing anxiety, uncertainty and financial stress. To address these symptoms, motivational author Joan Gale Frank…
• Home Buyers Are Ready to Move from the Sidelines: Survey August 29, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 30, 2010—Are more Americans positioning themselves for home purchase? Although May’s data showed that home sales were down 26.8% as the home buyer tax credit concluded, a new survey conducted by Relocation.com suggests some families are opting for…
• Weekly Mortgage Rate Report: Rates Fall to New Lows August 18, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 19, 2010—Mortgage rates fell to new lows this week, according to the LendingTree Weekly Mortgage Rate Pulse, a snapshot of the lowest and average mortgage rates available within the LendingTree network of lenders. On August 17, lenders…
• Housing Starts Rise 1.7 Percent in July August 17, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 18, 2010—Nationwide housing starts inched up 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 units in July from a downwardly revised figure in the previous month, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures released today. The…
• The Real Estate Book Introduces New Search Tool for House Hunters on the Go, Launches App for iPhone, iTouch, iPad August 17, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 18, 2010—More Americans are relying on their mobile devices to access information, quickly and easily. The number of people who sought local information on their smart phones grew 51% last year, with the fastest growing method of…
• What State Has Highest Closing Costs? Bankrate.com Releases 2010 Closing Costs Survey August 16, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 17, 2010—A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. reveals that the costs associated with buying a home may are on the rise. Bankrate’s 2010 Closing Costs Survey reveals that the average origination and title fees on a $200,000…
• Government to Spend $3 Billion to Help Homeowners August 16, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 17, 2010—The White House said recently it would spend an additional $3 billion to help distressed homeowners in the states with the highest jobless rates to pay their mortgages. The latest round of funding pushes the total…
• More and Better Predatory Loan Servicing Fraud August 16, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 17, 2010—As the vast majority of applicants for loan modification have learned, HAMP, the Home Affordable Modification Program, is little more than a thinly disguised mechanism through which to conclude the foreclosure process on behalf of financial…
• Tax Credits Lead to Area Home Sales Bump August 16, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 17, 2010—(MCT)—Home sales during the second quarter of this year increased — in some cases significantly — in all but one of 12 west-central Wisconsin counties compared with the same period last year. But that doesn’t mean good…
• Nearly Half of the Homes on the Market in July 2010 Had Prices Cut, According to ZipRealty August 15, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 16, 2010—The number of price-reduced homes on the market increased 5.3% in July 2010 as compared to June, according to a monthly review of MLS-listed properties within 26 of the country’s largest housing markets conducted by the national
• Beware of Foundation Problems When Getting Your Home Ready for the Market August 14, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 14, 2010—Selling a house isn’t easy these days. There are a huge number of homes on the market, and buyers are easily scared off if they encounter problems that may negatively impact resale value. Among the many issues…
• Broad Stabilization in Second Quarter Metro Area Home Prices with Strong Sales August 12, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 13, 2010—The real estate trend in firming home prices solidified in the second quarter with more metropolitan areas showing increases from a year ago, aided by a surge in home sales driven by the home buyer tax credit,…
• Obama Administration Announces Additional Support for Targeted Foreclosure-Prevention Programs to Help Homeowners Struggling with Unemployment August 12, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 13, 2010—The Obama Administration recently announced additional support to help homeowners struggling with unemployment through two targeted foreclosure-prevention programs. Through the existing Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets (the Hardest…
• Negative Equity Falls in Second Quarter 2010; National Home Values Update August 9, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 9, 2010—Home values in the United States continued to decline in the second quarter of 2010, with the Zillow Home Value Index falling 3.2% year-over-year and 0.6% from the first quarter to $182,500. The national rate of decline…
• How Important Changes to Mortgage Underwriting May Affect Many Buyers August 8, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 9, 2010—The real estate industry and especially the mortgage industry have been overwhelmed with changes, regulations and consolidations recently. In the last couple of months, many transactions nationally have experienced delayed closings or worse as a result of…
• How to Answer 5 Common Questions Homeowners Have about Default August 8, 2010
  RISMEDIA, August 9, 2010—With so many homeowners facing tough decisions about their mortgages in or approaching default, questions abound about how to best handle the complex situation with the bank lenders they’re indebted to. To help clarify such confusion…