Despite record low mortgage rates, 2011 has seen a surprisingly high level of cash home purchases, according to the real estate research firm Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. Jonathan Dienhart and Ken Lee, two analysts with the company, say between tight lending standards and a desperate search for yield by investors, cash purchases of homes – …
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Low property valuations and steep sales discounts reduce the proceeds from liquidated loans by almost a third, according to Moody’s Investors Service. As home prices drop, equity erosion drives most of the losses incurred on defaulted mortgage loans, but the analysts at Moody’s say in today’s environment that’s not the whole story. They maintain that …
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Lower home prices and interest rates led to an increase in home affordability in the third quarter, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reported. Making sense of the story: The percentage of California households that could afford to purchase a median-priced home of $292,120 rose to 52 percent in the third quarter, up from 51 percent …
Sales of previously owned homes got an unexpected boost last month while the number of homes on the market continued to decline, according to data released Monday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The trade group recorded a 1.4 percent month-over-month increase in existing-home sales in October, pushing the annual rate of sales to …
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