Monthly Archives: December 2015

Pending Home Sales Decline Modestly in November WASHINGTON (December 30, 2015) – Pending home sales in November slightly declined for the third time in four months as buyers continue to battle both rising home prices and limited homes available for … Continue reading →

6 Stellar Reasons to Buy a Home in 2016 By Kimberly Dawn Neumann December 28, 2015 Is it really 2016 already? For those of you who happen to be planning on buying a home in the new year-or even just … Continue reading →

Classic Christmas tree bill has goodies for ordinary homeowners By Kenneth R. Harney December 23, 2015 It’s a classic Christmas tree bill, loaded with year-end giveaways for dozens of special-interest groups and easy to mock. The $620 billion “extenders” legislative … Continue reading →

U.S. Eases 35-Year-Old Real Estate Tax on Foreign Investors (FIRTA) By Hui-Yong Yu December 18, 2015 President Barack Obama signed into law a measure easing a 35-year-old tax on foreign investment in U.S. real estate, potentially opening the door to … Continue reading →

The 5 Real Estate Trends That Will Shape 2016 By Jonathan Smoke December 16, 2015 It’s almost the new year. Get ready to break out the Cristal: We had a great 2015-the best year for housing since 2007. And our … Continue reading →

Homeowners Reap Remodeling Benefits Whether Selling or Staying, Say Realtors® WASHINGTON (December 9, 2015) – Homeowners preparing to sell often make improvements, both big and small, to their homes that can help yield positive results and garner top dollar from … Continue reading →

Redfin launches a service to compete with Zillow’s valuation estimator By Kenneth R. Harney December 9, 2015 Can a machine – even one loaded with sophisticated algorithms, cloud-computing technology and real-estate market data – accurately estimate the value of your … Continue reading →

Mortgage Rates Down for Third Straight Week MCLEAN, VA–(Marketwired – Dec 3, 2015) –  Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate declining for the third … Continue reading →

DEALING WITH POWERS OF ATTORNEY By Benny L. Kass December 3, 2015 You and your spouse own your home and you would like to sell it. However, your spouse is currently unable to sign the sales contract. This is because … Continue reading →

New disclosure rules for mortgages prove to be a headache, but not for all By Kenneth R. Harney November 25, 2015