The number of real estate transactions involving cryptocurrency—like bitcoin and ethereum—have been on the rise, but real estate brokerage Culture Estate in Scotch Plains, N.J., wants to take digital transactions one step further. One of its agents, Manuela Londono-Osorio, recently accepted her commission check from the brokerage in the form of cryptocurrency.Manuela Londono-OsorioBroker Luis Leiva with Culture Estate says this is just the ne
Investors can see big returns on real estate, but the most successful tend to have a strong understanding of how to evaluate their options before purchasing. Forbes.com recently highlighted some winning strategies for profitable real estate investing: Focus on potential income, not personal like and dislikes. Purchasing an investment property is different than buying residential real estate. Investments need to center on the numbers—the combin
Home prices in most U.S. housing markets are reaching their peak, but there’s no need to fear a repeat housing bust, according to a new joint analysis by Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. Throughout the majority of the country, home prices have been rising steadily since 2012, and there are signs the runup may be starting to slow.“Housing markets are slowing, suggesting that we are nearing a peak in housing mar
Rising mortgage rates could have a big impact on the direction your buyers choose when shopping for real estate, economists warn. “Every time the interest rates go up, you eliminate a group of people who can no longer afford to buy a house,” Don Frommeyer, a mortgage broker at Marine Bank in Indianapolis, told realtor.com®. “Some people may have to rent for a period of time until they make more money—or buy a smaller house.”To avoid f
Americans are feeling richer. Household net worth neared $100 trillion in the final quarter of last year, falling into record territory, according to new data released by the Federal Reserve on Thursday. Rising stock markets and property prices were attributed to the jolt in the fourth quarter. (Household net worth is the value of all of a consumer’s assets, like stocks and real estate, minus any liabilities like mortgage and credit card debt.)
The housing market may not be as robust this spring as some originally predicted, and real estate professionals are pointing to the main culprits as rising mortgage rates, a new tax law, and growing affordability problems among first-time buyers.The spring market will be the true judge of whether the housing market has hit a slowdown. About 40 percent of the year’s sales tend to occur from March through June, according to the National Associa
Borrowers were once again faced with rising mortgage rates this week. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continues to be at its highest average in four years.“The 10-year Treasury yield has been bouncing around in a narrow 15 basis point range for the last month,” explains Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While the yield on the 10-year Treasury is currently below the high of 2.95 percent reached two weeks ago, mortgage rates are u
Higher home prices don’t seem to be spooking investors from buying up properties to flip. About 207,088 U.S. single-family homes and condos were flipped in 2017, the highest level since 2006, ATTOM Data Solutions reports in its U.S. Home Flipping Report. That compromises nearly 6 percent of all single-family home and condo sales during last year. ATTOM Data Solutions defines a “home flip” as a transaction for a single-family home or condo t
Investors are once again being lured to student housing properties. Purchases of student housing properties slowed considerably in 2017 after a record high in 2016, but the sector is showing another rebound in 2018.“Now, we are busy like we were in 2016,” says Travis Prince, executive managing director of Colliers International, a student housing real estate services firm.Student housing properties are particularly gaining traction among inve
Foreclosures are surging in some locales, and some housing experts view that as a good thing for the housing market this spring. Foreclosures tend to be priced lower, and many markets are starved for inventory in the lower end of the market.Bank repossessions across the U.S. may have plunged to an 11-year low in 2017, but that hasn’t been the case in every market. New Jersey saw the opposite, with bank repossession hitting an 11-year high in 20
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