Home prices and mortgage rates have fallen so far that the monthly cost of owning a home is more affordable than at any point in the past 15 years and is less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities. The Wall Street Journal’s third-quarter survey of housing-market conditions in 28 of the nation’s …
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Condos: Buyers needing FHA loans shut out of buildings
Sellers of South Florida condominiums, buffeted by the devastating housing downturn, are bracing for another blow caused by prospective buyers’ problems getting mortgages. Buyers who want loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration are being shut out of buildings that no longer qualify for FHA financing. That likely will slow the region’s recovering condo market …
Continue reading “Condos: Buyers needing FHA loans shut out of buildings”
Farmers, outside investors bid up local ag land
Kern farmland has become one of the county’s hottest investments, due in part to broadly higher commodity prices and growing demand for land with vested water rights.People in the industry say large farming companies are taking advantage of low interest rates and bidding against institutional investors with few other attractive options for earning income.While some …
Continue reading “Farmers, outside investors bid up local ag land”
One Antidote to Foreclosures: Good Schools – Developments – WSJ
Highly ranked school districts may have been spared the worst of the foreclosure crisis, according to a new analysis, showing that the housing crash was akin to a tornado that tore through wide swaths, but hit with particular force in certain areas. The analysis, conducted for Developments by Location Inc., a Worcester, Mass.-based company that …
Continue reading “One Antidote to Foreclosures: Good Schools – Developments – WSJ”
South Florida attracts domestic home buyers, too
New Yorkers, Washingtonians and Atlantans are logging more and more internet searches for South Florida real estate, a sign that the region’s troubled housing market could receive even more outside investment in the future. In the wake of a severe housing bust, Florida has become one of the most popular locales for Americans seeking low-priced …
Continue reading “South Florida attracts domestic home buyers, too”
The Benefits Of Buying A Home With Cash – Forbes
When a 62-year-old financial advisor bought a two-bedroom Manhattan co-op recently, he showed up at the closing with a check for the full $970,000 purchase price. No mortgage? “The money I had in cash was sitting getting 0% interest,’’ explains the man, who asked not to be named. “It made absolutely no sense to borrow.”There …
Continue reading “The Benefits Of Buying A Home With Cash – Forbes”