MarketWatch reports that 30-day delinquencies reached a 16-year low in March. Overall delinquencies in March were at their lowest since 2007. And, the number of homes in foreclosure was at its lowest since October 2007. Data provider Black Knight provided the numbers, and the article can be found here.
Yahoo Finance has an article about the top 1% of housing markets in the U.S., and how those markets have leveled off. They cover The Hamptons, NY, and Greenwich, CT, Aspen, CO, and the Westside and Downtown Los Angeles, CA are all covered. Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel said, “The last four or five years have all been about the luxury market. Now we’re leveling off a bit.” Read more here.
BusinessInsider.com has an interesting piece about how the Japanese are affecting U.S. real estate rates. Insurance companies are coming to the U.S. to find investments that make quality returns, because of the high number of payouts due to the aging of Japan’s population. The article has a good overview of the crisis, and how it may affect us, going forward.
After the necessary tightening following the financial collapse, mortgages are now becoming easier to obtain. As always, stellar credit allows for the best options, but 66% of refinances applied for are approved these days—as opposed to 51% in 2014. Money magazine has an article detailing just how much things have changed lately.
Virtual reality, or VR, allows the user an immersive visual experience. When applied to home buying, it offers a prospective shopper—who could be in another country—the ability to tour the home from anywhere, and at any time. 3D photography was a big technological leap for the industry, and with the addition of VR over the coming years, will completely change the buying process. The Tennessean, an offshoot of USA Today, has a worthwhile piece here.
ValueInsured, based in Dallas, has created a new insurance product protecting down-payments. Diana Olick at CNBC published an article examining the new protection plan. The product, +Plus, insures your down-payment investment for 7 years, and is only available for owner-occupied homes. There are a few ambiguities within the product worth exploring in Diana’s piece.
Economists at Moody’s Analytics gave MONEY magazine home price projections for the next 5 years. While the projections are limited to the 20 biggest metropolitan areas in the country, the information is still useful if you live elsewhere. In short, the economists think that prices will continue to grow, at least for the next couple years. There’s an interactive map included in the article detailing the predictions.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that mortgage application volume grew 10% last week. This is the 2nd-best level of growth for purchase applications since May of 2010. A number of analysts share the opinion that rates could reach a new all-time low in the coming months. CNBC has a full break-down here.
The Center For Opportunity Urbanism (COU), has authored a new study about the effects of the recent housing shortage. In an interview with COU’s executive director, Joel Kotkin, Builder magazine explores the results of the report, and some ideas for improvement.
Stephen Kaufman at Entrepreneur has a recent article about the rise of crowdfunding in real estate investment. Crowdfunding potentially offers a higher rate of returns, ease of access, and limited liability, while helping to stabilize and diversify investments. The fact that it’s more affordable than traditional investing makes it particularly compelling.
