A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE HOUSING INDUSTRY are shaking their heads over the historically low percentage of households that own their homes. The U.S. Census Bureau says in the first quarter of 2015 the percentage of households that own homes dropped to just 63.8 percent, the lowest homeownership rate since 1988. Rates have been […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: The appraisal
IF THERE IS ONE THING in a real estate transaction that almost always causes some anxiety, it is the appraisal. This has been a topic of many conversations between me and borrowers and their Realtors. In my opinion, the cause of much of the anxiety is fear of the unknown — not to mention a […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Market gaining steam
THE CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE MARKET continues to gather steam: pending home sales rose again in April for the fifth straight month. According to a recently published report from the California Association of Realtors, pending home sales in April were up 13.6 percent when compared to April 2014. April sales were off slightly when compared to […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: With CFPB, change is coming
THE CONSUMER FINANCE PROTECTION BUREAU is a federal agency formed to create and enforce regulations pertaining to the financial services industry. According to its website, consumerfinance.gov, the CFPB is a “21st-century agency that helps consumer finance work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: When should you refinance?
IT SEEMS A DAY NEVER GOES BY that I don’t receive some kind of refinance solicitation, either in the form of those pesky popup ads that seem to track my every move on the Internet, or in the mail from folks who claim they can save me thousands of dollars. And based on conversations I […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Taking an interest in rates
WILL INTEREST RATES GO UP, or will they go down? Will home values continue to improve, or will they stall at current levels or even decline? Almost everyone I talk to in the housing industry has a close eye on the Federal Reserve, trying to anticipate the Fed’s next move — for the simple reason […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Credit invisibles
I LEARNED A NEW TERM LAST WEEK: CREDIT INVISIBLES. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report that found nearly 1 in 10 adults — nearly 26 million consumers in the United States — are credit invisibles. What is a credit invisible, you ask? Credit invisibles are consumers who do not have a credit […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Vote
IN THIS COLUMN A FEW WEEKS AGO, I wrote about a proposed regulation that would force homeowners to upgrade their fireplaces upon the sale of their homes. This column generated more reader feedback than most. I typically stay as far away as possible from political discussions, but one reader’s comment has stuck with me and […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Lingering issues
IT HAS BEEN NEARLY A DECADE SINCE the beginning of the foreclosure crisis. Ten years ago the real estate market was still hot and home values were still rising; but the first cracks in what would become the biggest housing crisis in history were beginning to show, and mortgage loan delinquencies were beginning to rise. […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Making $ense in Solano
IS SOLANO COUNTY POISED for explosive growth in home values? According to Realtor.com, the county is presently the seventh hottest market in the nation. “We are now firmly in the time of the year when peak demand and peak inventory levels typically occur, through spring and early summer,” wrote Jonathan Smoke, Realtor.com chief economist. “Buyers […]