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☆ How to make your home hurricane resistant, as scientists predict an 'extremely active' storm season
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

In this article Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTRyersonclark | E+ | Getty ImagesMaking your home hurricane resistant can be a significant financial undertaking. In 2024, the national average cost to upgrade an entire house with hurricane windows runs between $1,128 and $10,293, or $100 and $500 per window, including installation, according to This Old House. Hurricane resistance is about preventing 'pressurization'Hurricanes are different and unpredictable storms, said Jeff Ostrowski, a housing analyst at Bankrate. If installing new hurricane windows aren't in the budget, shutters are lower-cost options to protect windows and other openings, said Chapman-Henderson. Talk to your insurer about possible discounts Strengthening your home against disasters may help lower your insurance cost.

Persons: Phil Klotzbach, Jeff Ostrowski, Leslie Chapman, Henderson, Jennifer Languell, Chapman, Kin, Melissa Cohn, William Raveis, Bankrate's Ostrowski, Ostrowski, Loretta Worters, Worters, Languell Organizations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hurricanes, National Oceanic, Fluid Dynamics, Climate, Energy Solutions, Swiss, Finance, Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric, Federal Alliance, Safe, Safe Homes, Department of Energy, Trifecta, William Raveis Mortgage, Insurance, Institute, Homeowners Locations: windstorms, U.S, Florida, In Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, dsireusa.org

☆ Buyers of newly built homes can face a property tax surprise. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With new builds, property taxes can change dramatically after purchase because initial rates are often based on estimates. Why property taxes can jump for new buildsWhen lenders qualify someone for a home purchase, they factor in the principal, the interest payment on the mortgage, homeowner's insurance and property taxes. Instead, mortgage lenders will often use an older tax rate from the area or an estimated tax rate to calculate the owner's monthly payment. watch nowInitially, the homeowner will typically pay the estimated property tax rate into escrow. Depending on the local tax assessment cycle, the county office will eventually assess the value of the new house to determine the actual property tax rate.

Persons: homebuyers, Melissa Cohn, Brian Nevins, Cohn Organizations: Getty, National Association of Realtors, William, Mortgage, Bay Equity

Cash-out refinancing and home equity loans are two of the most popular tools available to access your equity. A cash-out refinance works like this: You apply for a new mortgage loan that's larger than your current one. Interest rates and loan termsBoth cash-out refinances and home equity loans typically come with fixed interest rates, but home equity loan rates tend to be a few points higher. ConsiderationsBefore deciding to use a home equity loan or cash-out refinance, you'll need to take the following costs into account first. Choosing the right optionBoth home equity loans and cash-out refinancing can help you turn equity into cash.

Persons: Cash, You'd, it's, what's, Melissa Cohn, William Raveis, refinance, you'll, Nicole Straub, — Organizations: LTV, William Raveis Mortgage, Discover Locations: foreclosing, —

☆ I'm buying a house in 2024. Here's why I'm sticking with a traditional fixed-rate mortgage despite the trendier options promising to save me money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Cork Gaines | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Despite enticing alternatives, a fixed-rate mortgage remains the best option for us. With mortgage interest rates still close to 7%, alternative mortgages like adjustable-rate loans and mortgages with shorter maturities are gaining in popularity. AdvertisementThe beauty of the fixed-rate mortgage is that it offers certainty in an uncertain world. Any gain somebody might get with a lower interest rate might be offset by paying more for the house. So, we will be sticking with a fixed-rate mortgage and shopping around for the best rate.

Persons: —, Sarah Alvarez, Alvarez, Brandon Bell, Freddie Mac Organizations: Service, William, Mortgage, Business, ARM, Treasury, Street Journal, FG, National Association of Realtors Locations: Austin , Texas

☆ The best time to sell your home — in 2023, listings in this period sold for $7,700 more, research finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Spring, the season when home buying and selling activity kicks off, is around the corner. Available housing supply is already rebounding: The number of new listings jumped 14.8% from a year ago, the largest annual gain since May 2021, according to new data from Redfin, a real estate site. Buyers are typically looking to land a new home before their children's new school year while a seller's house benefits from the fresh flowers and renewed greenery post-winter. In 2023, homes listed in the first two weeks of June sold for 2.3% more, a $7,700 boost on a typical U.S. home, according to a new Zillow analysis. "We've learned that real estate cycles don't always happen [at this] time of year," said Melissa Cohn, regional vice president at William Raveis Mortgage.

Persons: Amanda Pendleton, We've, Melissa Cohn Organizations: Zillow, Finance, William, Mortgage Locations: Redfin, U.S

☆ One way to help American homebuyers? Do what the Dutch do.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Cork Gaines | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Dutch offer home mortgages with evolving interest rates that can automatically decrease over time. However, other countries are taking notice: The Dutch mortgage lender DMFCO recently began offering Dutch-style mortgages in the UK. AdvertisementBut there are some deeply entrenched features of the American mortgage system that make it unlikely we'll see widespread adoption of Dutch-style mortgages. AdvertisementAdditionally, mortgage interest rates in the US aren't determined by the loan-to-value ratio beyond a certain point. AdvertisementBut Cecela says he's interested to see what happens with the Dutch-style mortgages newly on offer in the UK.

Persons: —, Lindsey Harn, Lindsey, Harn, Guy Cecala, Cecala, Melissa Cohn, Raveis, Cohn, he's Organizations: Service, Business, Lindsey Harn Group, Mortgage, Mortgage Finance, USA Locations: Netherlands, San Luis Obispo County , California, Europe

☆ US second home sales slide in pandemic-era vacation hot spots
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Amina Niasse | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

And as secondary home activity dwindles, some smaller housing-related businesses in leisure hot spots say they are feeling the pinch as well. “Services for existing rentals has grown, but services for larger ticket remodeling work on new vacation rentals has stopped," said Tim Allen, owner of Kopa Home Services, based in Flagstaff, Arizona. Allen has had to decrease unit prices in his separate vacation rental business, Local Vacation Team, to keep occupancy figures above market. For Flagstaff, that figure is 14%, according to data from AirDNA, a short-term rental data provider. "With the acceleration of the creation of vacation rentals during the pandemic, now if visitors are at 1,000, there are 3,000 rentals available,” he said.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, ”, Chuck Tuttle, they’re, ” Tuttle, Tuttle, Tim Allen, Jessica Lautz, Allen, “, Amina Niasse, Daniel Burns, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, National Association of Realtors, William, Hilton, Lake Havasu, Federal Reserve, Mortgage Bankers Association, realtors, “ Services, Kopa Home Services, NAR, Thomson Locations: Island , South Carolina, U.S, Lake Havasu City , Arizona, William Raveis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Lake, Lake Havasu City, Flagstaff , Arizona, Flagstaff, AirDNA

☆ As mortgage rates hit 8%, home 'affordability is incredibly difficult,' economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Lifestylevisuals | E+ | Getty ImagesHow home affordability has changedIn August 2020, the typical monthly mortgage payment was $1,581, based on an average interest rate of 2.94%, Redfin found. Nowadays, the typical U.S. homebuyer's monthly mortgage payment is $2,866, according to Redfin — an all-time high. "In the next year or two years, interest rates will be lower, and people will have the ability to refinance." That said, competition for homes on the market is likely to be worse in a few years as interest rates cool, she said. "When interest rates come down, everyone's going to come back to the marketplace," said Cohn.

Persons: Redfin, homebuyers, Mark Hamrick, Alicia Huey, Melissa Cohn, William Raveis, Cohn Organizations: Bankrate.com, Istock, Federal Reserve, CNBC, William Raveis Mortgage Locations: U.S, Birmingham , Alabama, New York

☆ Adjustable-rate mortgages are making a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, the average rate for a kind of adjustable rate mortgage — a 5/1 ARM — dropped to 6.33% from 6.49%. (Freddie Mac, which provides an average that CNN covers weekly, does not track interest rates for adjustable rate mortgages). When Treasury yields go up, so do mortgage rates; when they go down, mortgage rates tend to follow. Fixed rate vs ARMWhile the overwhelming share of loans are still fixed-rate mortgages, ARMs are becoming more attractive in the current higher-rate environment. Generally, homeowners with higher mortgage rates will pay more in interest rather than principal for a longer time than those with lower interest rates.

Persons: —, Freddie Mac, ”, Bob Broeksmit, Melissa Cohn, Cohn, National Association of Home Builders —, ” Cohn, Kaylin Dillon, Jay Zigmont, ’ ” Zigmont, you’re Organizations: DC CNN, Mortgage, Association, CNN, “, ARM, Fed, Federal Reserve, William, Treasury, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors, National Association of Home Builders, Childfree Locations: Washington, Israel, Kansas, Mississippi

Girls and young women want to be homeowners by the time they're 30 — a higher priority even than getting married or earning a lot of money. About half, 52%, of young women ages 7 to 21 want a house by 30, the most of any goal, according to Girlguiding's Girls' Attitude Survey 2023 . To compare, 48% want to be married by age 30, and 39% said it's a goal to earn a lot of money. The organization polled 2,614 girls and young women in the U.K. between the ages of 7 and 21 earlier this year. Lenders look at your debt-to-income ratio to figure out how much mortgage debt you can take on.

Persons: Fannie Mae, it's, Melissa Cohn, William Raveis, Kamila Elliott, Cohn, Jessica Lautz, Elliott, Roth, Lazetta Rainey Braxton, Braxton Organizations: Fannie, William Raveis Mortgage, Federal Reserve, Wealth Partners, National Association of Realtors, CNBC, Partners, IRA, CNBC FA Council, CNBC FA Locations: New York, Atlanta

☆ More unmarried couples are buying homes together. What to know before you do
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

'Housing affordability really is a struggle'Many young, unmarried couples live together, often for financial reasons. About 3 in 5 unmarried couples in the U.S. live with their partners, according to a report by the Thriving Center of Psychology. But unmarried couples should carefully approach making a commitment of this scale. To protect their investments in the property, unmarried couples ought to carefully consider how it is titled. Four factors unmarried homebuyers should considerHere are four things that certified financial planner Cathy Curtis, founder and CEO of Curtis Financial Planning, in Oakland, California, says unmarried couples should think about before buying property together: 1.

Persons: Gary Burchell, homebuyers, Jessica Lautz, Lautz, Melissa Cohn, William Raveis, they're, it's, Cohn, Cathy Curtis, millennials, Curtis, Roth Organizations: Getty, National Association of Realtors, D.C, NAR, William Raveis Mortgage, Curtis Financial, CNBC Financial Locations: Washington, U.S, New York, Oakland , California

☆ US home prices rose in July after 5 months of declines
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington, DC CNN —US home buyers have a new challenge in addition to mortgage rates above 7%: Prices are rising again, reversing five months of year-over-year declines, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Tuesday. Prices rose in the Northeast, Midwest and South but were unchanged in the West in July, the NAR report found. Current homeowners are refusing to sell and are hunkering down with their ultra-low mortgage rates that are at least half the current rates. Sales of existing homes — which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — dropped below expectations and were down 2.2% from June to July. “Two factors are driving current sales activity — inventory availability and mortgage rates,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Persons: —, ”, Lawrence Yun, Freddie Mac, Melissa Cohn Organizations: DC CNN, National Association of Realtors, NAR, ”, William, Mortgage Locations: Washington, Northeast, Midwest, West

☆ What mortgage rates over 7% mean for the housing market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington, DC CNN —An already miserably unaffordable housing market is getting more expensive. As mortgage rates top 7% — the highest they’ve been in 21 years according to Freddie Mac — home buyers face ballooning costs. “The fact that we are seeing rates at these highs is having an impact on the housing market,” Freedman said. “That’s bad news for mortgage rates which correspondingly may rise to 8%,” he said. “We thought mortgage rates would be much lower by now,” she said.

Persons: Freddie Mac, “, ”, Bess Freedman, Brown Harris Stevens, Freedman, ” Freedman, Buyers, ” Lawrence Yun, Yun, Jessica Lautz, we’d, Melissa Cohn, Cohn, “ Banks, ” Cohn Organizations: DC CNN, Federal, National Association of Realtors, NAR, “, Fed, William, Mortgage, ” Fed, Treasury Locations: Washington

Mortgage rates and home prices have spiked over the past couple of years, making homebuying more expensive than ever. High mortgage rates coupled with high home prices have made buying a house significantly more expensive than it's been in previous years. 5 advantages of buying a house when mortgage rates are highThere's no perfect time to buy a house. But mortgage rates are expected to drop throughout the next couple of years. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest forecast, mortgage rates could drop below 5% by the end of 2024.

Persons: Freddie Mac, they're, Sarah Alvarez, You'll, Melissa Cohn, they've, Cohn, Alvarez, it's Organizations: Service, Privacy, Finance, Gallup, Census Bureau, Department of Housing, Urban, William, Mortgage Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ 15-Year vs. 30-Year Mortgage: How Do You Choose?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Aly J. Yale | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

15-year mortgage rates vs. 30-year mortgage ratesHowever, mortgage rates vary by term length, too. Pros and cons of a 15-year mortgageA 15-year mortgage has some perks. “A 15-year mortgage would be ill-advised if a customer is tight on their budget,” says Chuck Meier, mortgage director at Sunrise Banks. “You can make the 15-year payment on a monthly basis, receiving the benefits of a 15-year mortgage,” Lindner says. “If the higher payment becomes a challenge, you can revert to the lower 30-year mortgage payment.”

Persons: Aly J, Freddie Mac, Melissa Cohn, you’re, ”, Chuck Meier, ” Cohn, Scott Lindner, ” Lindner Organizations: Yale, it’s, PMI, William, Sunrise Banks, TD Bank Locations: —

☆ US mortgage giants were placed on credit watch. Here’s what that means for home buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington, DC CNN —The credit ratings of US mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were put on watch for possible downgrade by Fitch Ratings late Thursday. The warning came because the ratings for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are linked to the sovereign rating of the United States. The aim of Freddie and Fannie is to provide liquidity into the mortgage market and enable a reliable flow of affordable funds to mortgage lenders. “The housing GSEs continue to benefit from meaningful financial support from the U.S. government,” the Fitch statement said. “While politics are at play, the ratings watch is a just that — a watch,” she said.

☆ The housing market is cooling — but tell that to the 300 people who lined up to see a one-bedroom house for sale in the middle of nowhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

More than 300 people lined up to take a peek inside a 1,168-square-foot home in Durham, Connecticut. A photo on Reddit from the open house shows a long line of prospective buyers waiting their turn. Jennifer Schulten Photography"A lot of people want to expand the property," O'Connell said. This open house harkens back to the feverish housing market of 2021 and 2022The open house's attendance is reminiscent of the housing market early on in the pandemic, when mortgage rates fell giving prospective homebuyers an opportunity to enter markets they normally couldn't . Home seekers dove into the market in droves — that is, where they could find homes to purchase — leading prices in some markets to rise .

Checking your credit score and your credit report will not impact your credit score. Understanding credit score checksChecking your own credit score does not hurt it. This may be when you make monthly credit card payments, as many credit card companies show you your credit score. Using too much credit: Your credit utilization ratio is the amount of credit you're currently using on your revolving credit accounts compared to your total available credit. "Your credit card balance should not exceed 30% of the available limit on a credit card," Haywood explains.

☆ Here's what you can do now to be ready to buy a home this spring
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mortgage rates have been ticking down, yet remain volatile. If you are ready and able to buy a home, the day-to-day movements of rates should matter less than finding a home you can afford. Borrowers can also lower monthly payments by paying more upfront to buy down their mortgage rate. Buyers can then use that money to buy down the interest rate on their mortgage and reduce their payments. Mortgage rates are trending down, but it’s not going to be a perfect downward curve, said Melissa Cohn, regional vice president of William Raveis Mortgage.

☆ Homebuyers will be able to get bigger mortgages in 2023 but it could be a bad idea for Americans to stretch their budgets too far
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Federal Housing Finance Agency raised its conforming loan limit values for mortgages in 2023. In most of the US, the agency raised the conforming loan value from $647,200 to $726,200. However, updates from The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has increased its conforming loan limit values for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages in 2023, will likely change the equation for many homebuyers. However, in high-cost areas of the country, such as New York City or San Francisco, the loan limit ceiling has been changed to $1,089,300. Higher loan limits are a double edged sword for first-time buyersCohn is not alone in her thinking.

☆ The typical mortgage payment is now $200 cheaper than it was several weeks ago, and homebuyers with renewed purchasing power are coming back into the market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mortgage rates have now fallen for six consecutive weeks, marking the largest drop since 2008. And over the last six weeks, mortgage rates have declined more than three quarters of a point — marking the largest drop since 2008. November's reading highlights the negative impact higher mortgage rates have had on purchasing demand — and ultimately the entire housing ecosystem. "The principal factor was the rapid increase in mortgage rates, which hurt housing affordability and reduced incentives for homeowners to list their homes." Indeed, a combination of surging inflation and higher interest rates — the Federal Reserve raised rates by 75 basis points during its November meeting — sent mortgage interest rates soaring in November.

☆ After this week’s Fed rate hike, where are mortgage rates headed?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mortgage rates have run up so far and so fast this year that many would-be homebuyers can no longer afford to buy a home. By fall, mortgage rates had more than doubled, eventually topping 7% in October. When Treasury yields go up, so do mortgage rates; when they go down, mortgage rates tend to follow. “We have to remember mortgage rates come down much slower than they go up,” said Cohn. “Volatility increases the level of mortgage rates, compared to Treasury rates, because of the prepayment option,” said Chester Spatt, professor of finance at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.

Mortgage rates have inched up slightly compared to last week, but today they're holding steady. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage refinance rates todayMortgage type Average rate today This information has been provided by Zillow. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage calculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates will affect your monthly and long-term payments. Whether mortgage rates will drop in 2023 hinges on if the Federal Reserve can get inflation under control. If the Fed acts too aggressively and engineers a recession, mortgage rates could fall further than what current forecasts expect.

Mortgage rates are holding steady as the Federal Reserve gears up for its last meeting of the year. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage calculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates will affect your monthly and long-term payments. Whether mortgage rates will drop in 2023 hinges on if the Federal Reserve can get inflation under control. If the Fed acts too aggressively and engineers a recession, mortgage rates could fall further than what current forecasts expect. This means your entire monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed 28% of your pre-tax monthly income.

See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage calculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates would impact your monthly payments. 30-year fixed mortgage ratesThe current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.33%, according to Freddie Mac. 15-year fixed mortgage ratesThe average 15-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.67%, a decrease from the prior week, according to Freddie Mac data. Mortgage rates started ticking up from historic lows in the second half of 2021 and have increased over three percentage points since January 2022. But average 30-year fixed rates will likely remain somewhere in the 5% to 6% range throughout 2023.

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