What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – March 27, 2023

Last week’s financial and economic reporting included readings on sales of new and previously-owned homes, along with weekly data on mortgage rates and jobless claims. Single-Family Home Sales Rise in February Year-over-year sales of previously owned homes rose 14.5 percent to a seasonally-adjusted pace of 4.58 million sales. Analysts expected 4.20 million sales of pre-owned homes as compared to January’s year-over-year reading of 4.0 million sales. February’s increased sales halted 12 months of falling sales of previously-owned homes. February’s reading marked the highest pace of sales since July 2020, when sales of pre-owned homes rose by 22.40 percent. The National…
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – July 5, 2021

Last week’s economic reports included readings from S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices and data on pending home sales. Readings on job growth and und unemployment were also released along with weekly reports on mortgage rates and jobless claims. S&P Case-Shiller: April Home Price Gains Reach Record Highs Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of investment strategy for S&P Dow Jones Indices, said that April’s year-over-year national home price growth rate of 14.60 percent was “ truly extraordinary.” All cities included in the 20-City Home Price Index posted higher home prices;  five cities including Charlotte, North Carolina, Cleveland, Ohio, and…
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – June 28, 2021

Last week’s economic reports included readings on sales of new and previously-owned homes.  Weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims were also released. New Home Sales Fall in May New home sales dropped to their lowest reading in a year in May with 769,000 new single-family homes sold on a  seasonally adjusted annual basis.  May’s reading was 5.90 percent lower than April’s reading of 817,000 sales but was 9.20 percent higher year-over-year. May’s decline in new home sales was caused by a 14.50 percent decrease in sales in the South; Sales rose by 33 percent in the Northeast and…
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – September 28, 2020

  Last week’s economic news included readings on new and existing home sales and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony on changing the Fed’s business loan policy. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims were also released. Sales of New and Pre-Owned Homes Rise In August New homes sold at a seasonally-adjusted annual pace of 1.01 million sales; analysts expected the sales pace to fall to 900,000 sales from July’s reading of 965,000 new home sales. Homebuyers turned to new homes as the supply of pre-owned homes dwindled. Homeowners stayed put as fears over COVID-19 contagion limited sales. Pre-owned homes…
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Six Key Questions to Ask when Hiring a Real Estate Agent to Market and Sell Your Home

The work of a real estate agent can make or break how a prospective buyer feels about the property. Now that it's time to sell your home, you want to find the right agent to market it. How do you find someone you can trust who will make you feel confident they can sell your home quickly for the best price possible? Here are the questions you should be asking. Are They Licensed? This one is the easy one. You should be working with a member of the National Association of Realtors®. It is also important that you check whether…
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Three Key Tips for Assessing Value To Find Out How Much Your Home Worth in Today’s Market

If you're thinking about putting the house on the market, or are simply curious about its value in the current economic atmosphere, it's essential to get an honest assessment of its value. An overly inflated figure won't hold up and will only turn potential buyers away. It's best to get a fair assessment in order to ask a reasonable price or avoid over-extending oneself when it comes to taking out a home equity loan. Consider these three key tips to get a true assessment of a home's value. Identify Positive Features About The Home And Property When seeking an appraisal…
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Considering a Major Home Addition? Why a Detached Garage Can Drastically Improve Your Resale Price

Before you make a major structural change to your property, it is important to consider how this will affect your resale value. While there are many steps that you can take to improve your property, the addition of a detached garage may be beneficial to you and may drastically improve your resale price when you are ready to sell. You can contact a trusted real estate agent today to obtain customized information about how the addition of a detached garage may affect your property's value. Adding Square Footage to Your Home As a property owner, you may be well aware…
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How To Stage A House For A Faster Sale At A Higher Price

"Staging" a house means to prepare it for sale in ways that make it more attractive to potential buyers. Homeowners can do much of this staging work themselves and should get suggestions from their real estate agent. They can also hire a professional to do the staging work for them. Value-Added Staging A study of 4,200 sold homes, conducted by Home Staging Resource (HSR), found that 85% of the staged homes sold for 6% to 25% more than a home that was not staged. Forbes reports that 95% of staged homes sell in 11 days or less. This is 87%…
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