Housing News

Wartime economy boosts real estate near bases

Nov 15th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News

By   Gregory Arzumanov
Nov. 14, 2008 - Sometimes Tim Wells felt like the only man left on his street.
Thousands of soldiers were deployed out of Fort Campbell, Ky., just a few miles away, and homes in Wells’ subdivision were sitting empty. But a few months later the soldiers began to return and, one by [...]



Baltimore housing sales, prices fell in October, dashing any hopes for quick rebound

Nov 11th, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: South Region

Home sales and prices in the Baltimore area fell in October, and experts said rising joblessness and tighter credit markets could further dampen sales in the months ahead.
The statistics released yesterday dashed hopes that a recovery had begun in Baltimore’s housing market, experts said.
Sales of previously owned homes in metropolitan Baltimore decreased nearly 15 percent [...]



5 real estate markets most likely to rebound

Nov 10th, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: Housing News

If you’re a homeowner seeing property values plummet, look to the commercial real estate market for solace. It might tell you which areas will recover fastest - and which will likely remain weak.
The Urban Land Institute recently asked 700 real estate professionals to name the best (and worst) places to invest in commercial real estate [...]



Grand Rapids realtors: 63% of homes on market in foreclosure

Nov 10th, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: Midwest Region

The first snowy day in West Michigan means several things, including the home buying season is coming to a close.
Last month the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors released its latest numbers.
They reflect that banks are taking the worst hit.
The association is reporting 63% of all homes on the market are either short-sale, or in foreclosure.
The [...]



Election gives Staten Island housing market a jolt

Nov 10th, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: Northeast Region

Hope is quietly spreading across the lifeless Staten Island real estate market following the Obama victory that the new president will take immediate action to help homeowners.
Trudy Scafiddi, who is trying hard to save her Huguenot home, symbolizes the kind of troubled constituent President-elect Barack Obama will face when he takes office in January.
She and [...]



Pending home sales down on tight credit and economic slowdown

Nov 8th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: South Region

ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 7, 2008 – Pending home sales fell on the heels of a strong gain a month earlier as credit tightened and economic conditions deteriorated, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in September, declined 4.6 percent to 89.2 from [...]



Seattle area faces bleak real estate forecast

Nov 8th, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: West Region

There was no denying the Seattle-area’s real estate funk at Williams Marketing’s annual forecast breakfast Friday.
Kicking off the event, Williams President Leslie Williams noted that area real estate professionals were feeling good a year ago about how the market was holding up much better than others.
“Now Seattle’s getting their butt kicked, too,” she said.
Seattle has [...]



‘Underwater’ need not mean foreclosure

Nov 5th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, Northeast Region

NEW YORK - Nov. 5, 2008 - What does being “underwater” in your house really mean? Probably not that you’re drowning.
The number of underwater homeowners - those who owe more on their mortgages than their home is now worth - has been growing sharply since 2006 as real-estate prices have tumbled. By some estimates, between [...]



Americans want more government involvement in lending

Nov 4th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News

WASHINGTON - Nov. 4, 2008 - With an unstable American economy and slowdowns in the housing market, most consumers are open to the federal government taking a more active role in overseeing mortgage and lending practices, according to the 2008 National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual survey released today by the National Association of Realtors®.
The [...]



Rent prices on the rise in Boston

Oct 29th, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: Northeast Region

Rising rents in the Boston area are forcing families to spend a higher portion of their income on housing costs, according to the Boston Foundation’s Housing Report Card, which was released yesterday.
Globe reporter Kimberly Blanton writes about the foundation report and rent prices in the city in today’s Business section.
At the same time, renter incomes [...]