This last week's plunge in mortgage applications was at least partially triggered by a large drop in government-insured loans. Overall applications for FHA loans dove 13 percent last week, after the Trump administration's first housing policy move. The Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended the reduction in Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance premiums set to take effect Jan. 27.The quarter-percentage point reduction i
Your clients have a lot to think about on moving day, but it's important that they have more than just organizing and unpacking on their to-do list, according to The Red Cross. The group recently featured several items home buyers should think about when settling in to a new house.Create fire escape plans and meeting places.The plan should include two ways to exit the home and set two different meeting places for family members. One might be a me
Women may on average earn less than their male counterparts, but single females are buying up homes at more than twice the rate of their male counterparts.Single women accounted for 17 percent of home buyers in the U.S. last year, compared to just 7 percent of single men, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. This housing gender gap has existed for awhile but it continues to widen for a variety of reasons, according to Jessica L
Wellness-minded design is gaining traction in the construction world as younger generations demand healthier environments in their workplaces and homes. That means developers are devoting more attention to the air quality, potential toxins, and impact of lighting in their projects. The resulting shifts affect everything from the numbers of particulates in water to even the kind of food being sold in a building's vending machines.Offices have be
Americans love their personal space. A new study by Point2 Homes finds that U.S. homes provide the most space per person when considering house sizes across countries. Americans enjoy 45 percent more personal space than the Brits or the French and 70 percent more space than homeowners living in Spain.However, Australia still nudges out America when it comes to actual home size. Americans have the second largest homes among the nine countries stud
Internet users don't tend to have a lot of patience. For example, 79 percent of users will search for another site to complete a task if your website is not optimized, according to an ExperienceDynamics' study. A broken link or even the slightest delay could be enough to get them to move on.A great website can help draw more business to you; a bad one could be costing you business. Better Homes and Garden Real Estate's blog, Clean Slate, recently
The percentage of U.S. households who find their water bill unaffordable could triple over the next five years, growing from 11.9 percent to 35.6 percent, according to a new study by the Michigan State University.Further complicating the issue, water utility companies may face a surge in defaulting bills that will make it more difficult for them to cover their own costs, which will lead to even higher bills to customers then.Water costs have surg
Pests are a homeowner's nemesis, no matter where you live. But some cities are seeing a big increase in pest infestations.For example, in New York, complaints about rats rose 7 percent from 2015 to 2016 and rose by 16 percent in Boston, according to the newly released American Housing Survey by the Census Bureau. In 2015, 11 percent of households encountered rats or mice and 12 percent spotted cockroaches, according to the survey. Bedbugs are on
Pending home sales bounced back in December, despite ongoing inventory challenges and mortgage rate increases. Solid gains in contract signings in the South and West last month offset weakening activity in the Northeast and Midwest, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Tuesday.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index – a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings – rose 1.6 percent to 109 in December over November’s reading. Th
Keith Strong wasn't about to give up in his battle over a mailbox feud with his neighborhood's homeowners association. It was a battle that took seven years to resolve in court, but he has no regrets. He believes he took a stand for property rights.Strong purchased a $35 wooden mailbox in 2009 for his home, which is in a golf community in the Washington suburbs that features million-dollar homes. But two months after Strong installed the mailbox,
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