When asked about life priorities, millennials name homeownership as their second-highest goal behind retirement—and before marriage and having children, according to Bank of America’s 2018 Homebuyer Insight Report. Seventy-two percent of millennials say owning a home is their top priority, while 50 percent pointed to marriage and 44 percent to having children.“Millennials are redefining life’s priorities by placing homeownership above ne
Teton County, Wyo., is the richest county in the United States, where residents earn an average income that is 10 times higher than those who live in the poorest county, Hayes County, Neb., according to a new analysis from personal finance website SmartAsset. Residents in Teton County, which is home to Grand Teton National Park, earn an average $214,800 annually, most of which comes from real estate investments.“The counties whose well-heeled,
Federal agencies have proposed a plan to reduce the number of homes that require an in-person appraisal, hoping to speed up the closing process and save money for home buyers and borrowers looking to refinance. Under the proposal, which was developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in-person appraisals would be necessary only for homes
There was a hint of smoke in the air on the morning of Nov. 8 in Paradise, Calif. Aubrey Pruis, in his first year as an association executive at the Paradise Association of REALTORS®, was at the office for a meeting with his colleagues when they spotted ember and ash falling from the sky onto the parking lot. They instantly knew this wouldn’t be an ordinary day.At the time, flames from a wildfire raging nearby hadn’t yet reached Paradise. Bu
Home buyers looking for the best deal of the year on housing may want to wait until the day after Christmas to close on a home. ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm, analyzed the best days and months for advantageous pricing at state and metro levels.Only 10 days of the year offer discounts below estimated market values—seven in December and one each in October, November, and February, according to the study.ATTOM Data Solutions“Peop
The streak of sluggish home sales finally came to an end in October. Following six consecutive months of decreases, existing-home sales reversed to post a rise last month, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. Three of the four major regions of the U.S. reported gains in October.Total existing-home sales—which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—increased 1.4 percen
Young adults who are given financial help from their parents to live independently instead of living rent-free at their parents’ home tend to do better professionally, according to a study published in August in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.Sociologist Anna Manzoni, the study’s author and an associate professor at North Carolina State University, studied about 7,500 young adults between the ages of 18 to 28. College graduates who rec
Inflated home appraisals are partly responsible for what the Federal Housing Administration expects to be a $14.4 billion loss in mortgage insurance over the next few years—a cost that likely will be passed on to borrowers, according to an agency analysis. If the losses continue, the FHA may be forced to raise insurance premiums on its mortgages, The Wall Street Journal reports. The FHA insures about 11 percent of single-family residential mo
Homeowners appear to be spending more on property improvements while waiting for the right time to sell. In October, expenditures on existing homes, including renovations, additions, and alterations, rose 2.9 percent year over year, according to a new report from BuildFax, a firm that provides property condition and history data.Home prices are outpacing wage growth significantly, and along with rising mortgage rates, more homeowners are feeling
Millennials who put off homeownership may be severely curtailing their ability to build wealth over their lifetimes, warns a new report from the Urban Institute. Buying a home at an early age offers a “big bang for their housing buck,” concludes the report’s authors, Hyun Choi and Laurie Goodman.Researchers tracked individuals since 1968 to identify those who reached age 60 between 2003 and 2015 and how homeownership has affected their fina
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