Category: Top National News

Business Insider, Nov. 25, 2015–Udland, Myles
The latest report on personal income and outlays showed that income rose as expected in October while spending rose less than expected.

Detroit Free Press, Nov. 28, 2015–Reindl, J.C.
Detroit-based Quicken Loans has unveiled a new self-service website aimed at speeding up the mortgage approval process and cutting down the need to talk with a human loan officer.

OC Register (Calif.)., Nov. 29, 2015–Lasner, Jonathan
Local homebuyers who took out a mortgage chose an adjustable-rate loan just 15 percent of the time on average in the first 10 months of this year, CoreLogic statistics show. That compares with 19.8 percent in 2014.

Washington Post, Nov. 25, 2015–Harney, Kenneth R.
How are home closings going nearly two months after the new federal real-estate disclosure rules took effect? Are they being knocked off schedule and taking much longer from date of sale to final settlement, as some mortgage industry executives predicted? It depends on whom you ask.

New York Times, Nov. 27, 2015–Prevost, Lisa
A little-known program allows police officers, teachers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians to buy certain homes for half price. But financing comes with some strings attached.

New York Times, Nov. 28, 2015–Searcey, Dionne; Bradsher, Keith
A luxury development 35 miles northwest of Dallas is the latest frontier in a global buying phenomenon as Chinese money becomes a major force in real estate around the world.

Hartford Business.com, Nov. 30, 2015–Seay, Gregory
Connecticut’s mortgage lending market to buy or refinance a home slowed noticeably in recent years, even as interest rates – pegged to increase soon–have remained among the lowest in a generation. But, “we’ve been seeing a lot more first-time homebuyers,” said David Zamary, president of the Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association. “A lot of people were on the fence. But they’re getting off the fence.”

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 30, 2015–Pfau, Wade
As the government continues to strengthen the rules and regulations for reverse mortgages, and as new research continues to pave the way with an agnostic approach about their role, we may be at a tipping point in which reverse mortgages become much more predominant in the years ahead.

Business Insider, Nov. 24, 2015–Richter, Wolf
San Francisco is seeing one of the biggest new-housing construction booms in history, said Paragon Real Estate. It’s accompanied by one of the biggest office construction booms in history. Banks are lending to developers like there’s no tomorrow.

Intitutional Investor, Nov. 24, 2015–Ostrowski, Jeff
With foreign investors approaching record purchases of U.S. commercial property, conditions may not be as frothy as they appear.