Archive for March 26, 2013

Real Estate Roundup: Lending Standards Loosen, Bright Forecasts for Spring

  Recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious includes word from Fannie Mae that not all buyers need a 20 percent down payment to get a home loan, forecasts for a strong spring homebuying season, and a surv...

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Rising Prices Mean Fewer Homes Underwater

A report from the research firm CoreLogic found that underwater homes — those with mortgages greater than their appraised value, also known as negative equity – fell steadily last year.  More good news: Housing prices rose steadily thro...

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Pacific Union’s Monthly Real Estate Update

February home prices posted exceptionally strong gains across the Bay Area. Sales prices topped asking prices in many regions, and local real estate markets remained exceptionally tight in February, with the supply of available homes down fro...

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Real Estate Roundup: Home Sales Down Across the Bay Area, but Prices Shoot Higher

Recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious includes a report that home sales were down in February across most of the Bay Area, although median sale prices showed no such decline. Also, California is no longer o...

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Housing Leads California, U.S. Recovery, Signals Strong Sales in 2013 — UCLA Analysis

The prospects for robust real estate activity in the coming year just got a shot in the arm with a report from UCLA’s business school that predicts a steady drop in unemployment across California and continued improvements in the state and ...

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Real Estate Roundup: Mortgage Rules to Loosen While Home Prices Keep Rising

Tight mortgage standards are starting to loosen, home prices will continue to rise until at least 2017, Americans are more optimistic than ever about the housing market, and the U.S. household wealth has regained its peak. To read the full re...

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The Time is Right for Buying Rental Properties

If the idea of becoming a landlord seems attractive, you should move quickly. Home prices have been rising gradually for almost a year and will soon reach pre-2007 levels, ending the price advantage that currently favors buyers. To read th...

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In Bay Area, Numbers Add Up in Sellers’ Favor

A new report says the San Francisco metro area is among the top five best places in the United States to sell a home in the coming year, thanks to robust sales prices. We agree, and local sales data shows homes in some Bay Area regions are go...

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Sonoma’s East Side Keeps History Alive

Sonoma's East Side neighborhood offers an eclectic mix of vintage housing styles, with adobe-brick homes alongside Victorian and Craftsman properties. Many of the homes have mature landscaping and present a well-maintained, homogenous streets...

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Real Estate Roundup: Affordability Rises in Bay Area; Bullish Sales Reports; FHA Programs Safe

Recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious includes a report that found housing affordability rising in four Bay Area counties, and sharp increases in home sales and pending sales. Click Here to read the full r...

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