Principal mortgage reductions, home prices, first time buyers, going green paying off, foreclosures drop & much more. Here are the real estate headlines you may have missed this week:
Principal relief for stressed homeowners (via San Francisco Chronicle)
A limited number of underwater homeowners in California will soon be able to get principal reductions of up to $100,000 apiece on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans through the federally funded Keep Your Home California program. Read Full Story
Home prices rise for fifth month in a row (via CNNMoney)
The housing market picked up more momentum in August, as the average home price for 20 major cities jump 0.9 percent, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. Read Full Story
Foreclosure victims buying homes again (via Mercury News)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make people wait seven years after a foreclosure to approve a new home loan, but the Federal Housing Administration will approve loans after three years, providing the buyer has established good credit and the ability to pay the mortgage. Read Full Story
Report: 32 percent of home buyers are first-timers (via San Diego Union Tribune)
Nearly one in three home buyers in September were first-timers to the housing market, reported the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® on Wednesday in its REALTORS® Confidence Index. Read Full Story
Homeowners make green upgrades that pay for themselves (via Orange County Register)
A recent University of California study found that green-certified homes sell for about 9 percent more than similar homes that aren’t green. Read Full Story
State use of homeowner fund not the norm (via Sacramento Bee)
Of the $410.6 million in direct payments designated to mitigate the damage done in California, very little is going to where it was intended. Instead, it’s helping to plug the state’s budget gap. Read Full Story
Foreclosures fall in 62 percent of U.S. cities (via CNNMoney)
Foreclosures fell in nearly two-thirds of the nation’s largest metro areas during the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac. Read Full Story
Consumer confidence at 4-year high (via CNNMoney)
Consumer confidence, which measures how Americans feel about the economy, edged higher
to a reading of 72.2 in October. 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.
