Federal aid intended to subsidize housing costs for Puerto Ricans who were displaced by Hurricane Maria is set to expire Friday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is still paying for hotel rooms for about 2,436 Puerto Ricans who fled to the U.S. mainland. Unless a federal court intervenes, they may be left with nowhere to go by the end of the week.The aid program has been extended several times. If it lapses Friday, the U.S. government will
Colorado may offer buyers the best prospects for steady home appreciation over the long term, according to a new analysis from SmartAsset, a personal finance website. Three Colorado metros landed in SmartAsset’s 2018 list of the top 10 places for growth and stability in housing. (The city of Boulder ranked number one.) Colorado’s northern neighbor, Wyoming, also saw several housing markets in this year’s rankings. Researchers note that half
Hurricane Lane is spiraling through Hawaii, with some areas of the Big Island already reporting more than two feet of rain as of early Friday. About 48,617 homes in Hawaii may be at extreme or very high risk of hurricane-driven flood damage from the hurricane, with a total reconstruction cost value of about $8 billion, according to a report from CoreLogic, a real estate data firm.The Category 3 storm hit Hawaii’s Big Island on Friday morning. O
Borrowers continued to get relief with mortgage rates this week, as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage sank lower for the third consecutive week. Mortgage rates are now at their lowest level since mid-April.“Backed by very strong consumer spending, the economy is red-hot this month, which is, in turn, rippling through the financial markets and driving equities higher,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Unfortunately, the same
Millennials could stand to make some improvements to their credit files. Only 39 percent of millennials without a mortgage have a prime or better score, and the majority are facing higher delinquency rates on personal loans, shows a newly released study from Experian, an information services company.Eighty-six percent of millennials recently surveyed say they believe that buying a house is a good financial investment, according to the National As
The shortage of homes for-sale continues to depress sales. Sales of newly built, single-family homes dropped last month and are now at the lowest level since last October, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. This follows on the heels of the National Association of REALTORS®’ report earlier this week that showed existing-home sales also dipped in July, reaching their sluggish pace in more than two years.“A lack of overall housing in
Large-balance mortgage loans called “jumbo” loans are becoming less expensive than conforming loans. Traditionally, jumbo loans have carried higher interest rates, but since mid-2013 that has been gradually changing. Jumbo loan rates have been less expensive to borrow than a conforming mortgage loan by an average of 33 basis points during the first quarter, according to CoreLogic, a real estate data firm, on its Insights Blog.In response, jum
Existing-home sales slowed for the fourth consecutive month in July, reaching their most sluggish pace in more than two years, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. The West was the only major U.S. region to see an increase in sales last month.Total existing-home sales, which include completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops, fell 0.7 percent month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.
In a victory for REALTORS®, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are ending pilot programs they’ve been operating for the last several years to help institutional investors in the purchase of single-family homes for rental properties. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the two companies as well as the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, announced the action Tuesday. “What we learned as a result of the pilots is that the larger single-fami
Compass, a fast-growing New York-based real estate firm, plans to buy Pacific Union International as it focuses on expanding in California, according to news reports. Compass plans to make a formal public announcement about the acquisition Thursday, the reports say.Pacific Union is the nation’s fifth-largest residential real estate firm based on transaction volume; Compass is the sixth, according to real estate news site REAL Trends. Combined,
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