By ~ Dimitri Otis   May 6, 2021 The U.S. housing market is on a hot streak with double-digit annual gains in home prices, bidding wars, and surging buyer demand. That type of soaring housing market is prompting more “bubble” fears in some corners, but economists ay the housing market isn’t getting overflated. “We have

By ~ Kerry Smith The Qualified Mortgage (QM) final rule, which would generally make it more difficult for some buyers to get a home loan, was pushed back from its July 1, 2021, date. WASHINGTON- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) formally postponed its mandatory compliance date for the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) final rule

By ~ Erica Plemmons Florida Realtors economist: Economists predict there will be an additional 1.4 million Floridians by 2025 – a good omen for real estate. However, not all of the state’s counties will see equal growth over the coming years. ORLANDO, Fla. – What will Florida’s population be in 2025? Estimates from both Florida’s

By – Kerry Smith Realtors can call or text a marketing message from their cellphone, providing it doesn’t have the ability to store or dial numbers automatically using a number generator. WASHINGTON – It’s official: Real estate professionals can use their cell phones to make marketing calls and send marketing text messages. In a unanimous

By ~ Kerry Smith Study: April is the best month to sell a home – more buyer interest, less competition, higher list prices and faster sales and given market conditions right now that strongly favor sellers, there may never be a better time for homeowners to post a for-sale in their yard. SANTA CLARA –

By ~ Dana George Teachers, firefighters, EMTs and police can buy HUD homes at half price within seven days of posting. Few exist now, but the number will likely grow post-foreclosure ban. NEW YORK – The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Good Neighbor Next Door Program serves a dual purpose: To provide homes

By Kerry Smith The fiscal year 2022 “Discretionary Funding Request” is a wish list, but it indicates priorities. The latest requests $68.7B for HUD, an increase of $9B over last year. WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris Administration submitted its “Discretionary Funding Request (https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/FY-2022-Discretionary-Request/)” to Congress, which is essentially a wish list of funding preferences it hopes

By ~ Jessica Menton JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon calls robust consumer savings and a $2T infrastructure plan the economic “Goldilocks scenario” for fast and sustained growth into 2023. NEW YORK -JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy is headed for a boom that could run well into 2023. In his annual letter

Pandemic-era demand has risen for pools and hot tubs. Zillow says “pool” was last year’s most common search term, and pool homes tend to get about 1% more than expected. NEW YORK -Last year, Zillow’s most frequently searched keyword was “pool,” which tends to be particularly common in the second home market. In addition to

For owners in forbearance, a possible foreclosure is closely tied to whether or not they’re working again. This spring, about 800K owners in forbearance – out of a total of 2.6 million homeowners hit the 12 – month mark, though a six-month extension may still be possible. LONGVIEW, Texas – Millions of U.S. homeowners facing