Let’s Shake on It

The handshake gesture has been used by many cultures over the years and is depicted in Greek carving dating from the 5th century BC. The handshake is traditionally used by people around More »

NAR Collaborates with U.S. Treasury on Short Sale ‘Help for Homeowners’

A new National Association of REALTORS® collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Treasury will help REALTORS® better assist homeowners who are struggling to sell their homes in a short sale. REALTORS® More »

Housing Bright Spot: Pending Home Sales Rise, Market on Uptrend

Pending home sales are on an upward trend, which has been uneven but meaningful since reaching a cyclical low last April, and are well above a year ago, according to the National More »

Let’s Shake on It

The handshake gesture has been used by many cultures over the years and is depicted in Greek carving dating from the 5th century BC. The handshake is traditionally used by people around the planet as a gesture of greeting, departure, offering congratulations, or finalizing a business transition. In sports, a handshake after the game between [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

NAR Collaborates with U.S. Treasury on Short Sale ‘Help for Homeowners’

A new National Association of REALTORS® collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Treasury will help REALTORS® better assist homeowners who are struggling to sell their homes in a short sale. REALTORS® who attend upcoming Making Home Affordable “Help for Homeowners” outreach events, sponsored by the Treasury Department, will learn insights to help them navigate [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

Housing Bright Spot: Pending Home Sales Rise, Market on Uptrend

Pending home sales are on an upward trend, which has been uneven but meaningful since reaching a cyclical low last April, and are well above a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 2.0 percent to 97.0 in January from [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

More Previous Homeowners are Looking to Rent in 2012

Increasingly more people are looking to renting as an affordable, flexible lifestyle option, causing apartment vacancies to fall to their lowest point in 10 years. Reis reported that the apartment vacancy rate dropped to 5.2 percent in Q4 of 2011, down from their reports of 5.6 percent in Q3 of 2011. This higher demand for [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

Existing-Home Sales Rise Again in January, Inventory Down

Existing-home sales rose in January, marking three gains in the past four months, while inventories continued to improve, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 4.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million in January from [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

Deadline to Request Mortgage Review Extended to July 31

People seeking a review of their mortgage foreclosures under the Federal banking agencies’ Independent Foreclosure Review now have until July 31, 2012, to submit their requests. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) announced yesterday that the deadline for submitting requests [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

CAP Proposes Plan to Put Americans Back to Work

Recently, as lawmakers continue to debate infrastructure bills, a new report released by the Center for American Progress proposes a plan to enable significant progress in bringing America’s infrastructure up to par. In addition to proposing a new level of federal investment and how to pay for it, the report outlines a set of critical [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

The Real Estate Book Releases Android App to Reach More Home Shoppers On the Go

Finding a new place to live just became easier for consumers—who can now browse homes on their smartphones. The Real Estate Book recently launched an additional mobile tool—a free Android app to make looking through photos, maps, and more information a better experience for home shoppers. Consumers may download the app for free from the [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

Housing Expected to Add to GDP for First Time in 7 Years

The 2012 outlook is improving modestly from a disappointing 2011. Economic growth picked up in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 2.8 percent and is expected to come in at 2.3 percent for 2012, up from 1.6 percent growth for all of last year, according to Fannie Mae’s (FNMA/OTC) Economic & Strategic Research Group. However, [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice

Mortgages Improve, Delinquencies Rise

While delinquencies and defaults slowly improve in the housing economy as a whole, FHA’s portfolio has not shared the same good fortune, creating increased pressure on the agency to reduce risk and increase costs to its borrowers, most of whom are first-time buyers. In December, about one out of every 10 FHA mortgages, 9.73 percent, [...]
RISMedia » Consumer News and Advice