Pending home sales fall, green homes sell for more and much more. Here are the real estate headlines you may have missed this week:
Pending home sales in California decline (via Los Angeles Times)
The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported this week that contracts signed for previously owned homes in California took a dip in June. The decline in pending sales can be attributed to a lack of housing inventory. Read Full Story
Home values rise for first time in 5 years (via CNNMoney)
Nationwide, home values rose 0.2 percent year-over-year to a median $149,300 during the second quarter, the first annual increase since 2007, real estate listing site Zillow reported. Prices were up 2.1 percent from the first quarter. Read Full Story
Green-certified homes sell for 9 percent more, study in California finds (via Los Angeles Times)
A new study of homes sold in California between 2007 and early 2012 has documented that, holding all other variables constant, a green certification label on a house adds an average 9 percent to its selling value. Read Full Story
Report raises questions over racial lending disparities (via The Wall Street Journal)
Seven consumer advocacy groups say their analysis of mortgage data raises questions about whether lenders are steering minority borrowers into government-backed loans that are slightly more expensive than conventional mortgages. Read Full Story
Easing home equity standards (via The New York Times)
A report published in June by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency noted that one in five lenders nationwide loosened up underwriting standards on home equity loans, while another 68 percent kept them unchanged from a year ago. Read Full Story
Insurance deductibles soar (via The Wall Street Journal)
Overall, both auto and homeowner’s deductibles have been climbing in recent years. While auto deductibles are now often $500 to $1,000, homeowners have moved toward $1,000 to $2,500 a claim from the $250 or $500 that once was common. Read Full Story
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About Daniel Di Matteo
THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS HAS LESS TO DO ABOUT SELLING PROPERTIES AND EVERYTHING TO DO ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE.
