Foreclosures for sale: Big supply, low prices

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — There’s a three-year inventory of homes in foreclosure for sale, and that’s devastating home prices. Las Vegas has so many foreclosures that 53% of all the homes sold in Nevada are in some stage of foreclosure, according to a report from RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosed properties. Foreclosures represent 45% [...]

74.6 percent of homes affordable to median-income households, trade group finds

Housing affordability hit a new high in the first quarter, surpassing the previous high set in fourth-quarter 2010, according to the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo. The Housing Opportunity Index found that 74.6 percent of new and existing homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median [...]

Commercial Real Estate Slowly Turning Around

Sales and leasing volumes in commercial real estate have turned a corner and are heading up, but because the past few years have been so difficult, the upturn barely feels like one. However, the sector is expected to strengthen more over the next couple of years, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told commercial real estate [...]

Improving job market ignites sharp rise in apartment rents

Apartment rents are rising at their fastest pace in years as the U.S. economy creates jobs and spurs demand for rental housing. Nationwide, rents started edging up last year after several years of little growth or even declines, market researcher Reis says. It predicts apartment rents will jump 4.3% this year, marking the biggest annual [...]

In Time for Buying Season, Rates Reach Yearly Lows

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, a popular choice among buyers, sank even lower this week, matching its yearly low of 4.71 percent from January, reports Freddie Mac in its weekly mortgage market survey. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5 percent. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed-rate hit a new yearly low of 3.89 [...]

Gov’t Looks to Reduce Real Estate Inventory

The Obama administration is looking to get rid of 14,000 surplus properties that the federal government owns around the country and is costing taxpayers money to maintain. The surplus properties include everything from unused roads and empty lots to warehouses and office buildings. “The government can no longer foot the bill for vacant buildings,” says [...]

Contracts for home sales rose 5.1% in March; mortgage rates drop

WASHINGTON — More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March, but sales were uneven across the country and were not strong enough to signal a rebound in housing. Sales agreements for homes rose 5.1% last month to a reading of 94.1, according to the National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index, released Thursday. [...]

New-Home Sales Gain Momentum

After three straight months of declines, sales of new homes got a boost last month, jumping 11 percent, according to the Commerce Department’s latest new-home sales report released Monday. New-home sales rose in March to a seasonally adjusted rate of 300,000 homes, up from February’s 250,000. However, the number is still far from what economists [...]

Analysts Say Housing Is on the Way Up

Analysts at both Standard & Poor’s and Barclays Capital agree that the uptick in home resales last month is a favorable sign of things to come. Because pending home sales — an indicator of future activity — were up in February, S&P believes transaction volume will rise for April. Barclays, meanwhile, says March’s 3.7 percent [...]

Property-tax deadline looms; need some help?

With the first installment of property taxes due May 2, Barbara Alsheikh has her work cut out for her. “For many people, it is the first time they have really looked at the property-tax bill,” says Alsheikh, supervisor for the King County Tax Advisor Office. “And before writing the check, they have questions about the [...]