Homeowners will have to reach deeper in their pockets to afford a real Christmas tree this year because of lower supplies that are contributing to a 10 percent hike in prices over last year, The New York Times reports. “We’re not going to be short; everybody looking for a real tree will be able to get one,” says Doug Hundley, a spokesman for the National Christmas Tree Association. “But it is a tight market, and prices will rise.”Whi
In an outpouring of letters to their elected representatives, REALTORS® were influential in spurring Congress to make key changes in the House and Senate tax reform plans, says Elizabeth Mendenhall, president of the National Association of REALTORS®. But as lawmakers prepare to reconcile the two proposals into one bill, more work needs to be done to protect the country’s middle-class homeowners.“REALTORS® support tax cuts when done in a fi
Seventy-three percent of home sales closed on time in October, but 25 percent of REALTORS® report a delay in getting to the settlement table, according to the latest REALTORS® Confidence Index, a survey based on responses from more than 3,500 real estate professionals. Only 2 percent say a contract was terminated completely.What are the main problems encountered with delayed settlements? Real estate pros report the following: Issues related to
A New York–based rental platform for landlords and tenants has announced that it will start accepting bitcoin for monthly rental payments through its mobile app early next year. The platform, ManageGo, will then convert the bitcoin to dollars using Coinbase, a digital cryptocurrency broker. Landlords will ultimately receive rental payments in dollars.But the value of bitcoin can be volatile, so ManageGo says the value of the currency will be lo
During the Great Recession, home values dropped an average of 30 percent in several metros. Now, nearly a decade later, how are those markets faring?SmartAsset, a personal finance resource, sought to pinpoint the metros that have recovered the most since the recession. They factored in several metrics, including the unemployment rate, poverty rate, change in median household income, and the change in median home values.Four of the top 10 cities t
Many renters say saving for the down payment is a major obstacle that is preventing them from purchasing a home. A new mortgage offering says it wants to help remove some of that burden for renters.Home Partners of America, a rent-to-own firm, is touting its new mortgage product that allows tenants to apply some of the appreciation in their home’s value during the time they live there to reducing the down payment. In some cases, it could reduce
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is averaging lower than it did a year ago, and remains well below the 4 percent threshold this week.“The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell two basis points to 3.9 percent in this week’s survey, but we closed our survey prior to a surge in long-term interest rates following an upward revision to third quarter U.S. Real GDP growth and comments by Federal Reserve Chair Yellen touting a broad-based economic expansio
Some home sellers would need a sale contract inked before the end of 2017 in order to avoid a big tax bill that would be imposed if the GOP tax reform proposals become law. Both the House and Senate bills would require sellers to have lived in their residence for a longer period of time before qualifying for the capital gains tax exclusion on the sale of a primary home. They would have to live in their house at least five years out of the last ei
A new consumer credit union will soon allow consumers in all 50 states to take out loans for going green, such as installing solar panels, making energy-efficient retrofits, or even purchasing an electric car. Clean Energy Credit Union is set to open by the end of the year.The credit union is being touted as the first of its kind for clean energy lending.Clean energy retrofits are gaining popularity among homeowners. The U.S. solar market alone
Following three consecutive months of declines, pending home sales rebounded strongly in October. But contract signings are still sliding behind levels from a year ago as potential home buyers continue to get frustrated at the lack of inventory.The National Association of REALTORS® reported that its Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 3.5 percent to a reading of 109.3 in October. The index
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