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☆ Mortgage interest rates expected to drop in 2023—here's by how much
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. is expected to drop to 5.25% by the end of this year, according to a forecast by the financial services website Bankrate . That's 1.49 percentage points lower than the current rate, and nearly two percentage points lower than 2022's peak rate of 7.12%. The forecast reflects expectations of a slowing economy in 2023 as the Federal Reserve continues to increase its benchmark interest rate to combat high inflation. And since mortgage interest rates are largely influenced by the overall state of the economy, they typically decrease during a recession. A drop in mortgage rates would be positive news for potential homebuyers, as it will reduce their monthly homeownership costs.

☆ Moving to Florida could save you on taxes — but cost more overall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Many Americans have seen the lack of a state income tax as a way to get ahead financially. Many have also been drawn there because it's one of nine states with no state income tax, which could potentially save them thousands of dollars per year. Despite the lack of an income tax, Florida has higher sales and property taxes than some of its peers, and due to Florida law, newcomers are seeing higher property tax increases than longstanding residents. Before moving to the Sunshine State, it's worth considering how Florida's cost of living compares to where you live now, and to your potential employment opportunities. Indeed, the lack of an income tax is a major financial perk for Floridians.

☆ Meet the executive in charge of Bank of America's $15 billion initiative to give no-down-payment mortgages to disenfranchised homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

She leads the neighborhood and community lending program for the second largest US bank. It's her job: Barkley helms a Bank of America lending program aimed at increasing homeownership in multicultural and historically underserved communities. In fact, she says the rationale for the bank's $15 billion Community Homeownership Commitment seems to follow her everywhere she goes in the Dallas metro area, where she is based. A feature of that commitment is a mortgage program that sets aside requirements that often prove to be obstacles to borrowers trying to get traditional loans. When houses are refurbished, the rest of the community will hopefully see the benefits that come from homeownership, she said.

You may need between 3% and 20% for a down payment, depending on which type of mortgage you get. We've calculated the dollar amount you'll need for 3%, 10%, and 20% down in America's 20 biggest cities. Depending on your lender and which type of mortgage you get, you could need up to 20% for a down payment. To get an idea of how this will look for many Americans, we've calculated how much you'd need for a 3%, 10%, or 20% down payment in the 20 largest US cities. On a $200,000 home, this means you'll need $6,000 for your down payment.

One criteria mortgage lenders use to assess your mortgage application is the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). According to a breakdown from The Mortgage Reports, a good debt-to-income ratio is 43% or less. That's why many common forms of debt — like student loan debt or credit card debt — can be a major barrier to homeownership. For example, Ally Bank doesn't charge certain lender fees such as an application fee, origination fee, processing fee or underwriting fee. This is why they calculate a debt-to-income ratio to judge how much of your income goes toward debt payments.

☆ Miami is the least affordable housing market in the U.S.—see which other cities made the list
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In December, RealtyHop released its Housing Affordability Index. The study examined the 100 most populated cities in the U.S. to provide an index of housing affordability and homeownership burden. Miami, Florida, topped the list as the least affordable housing market in the U.S. The city saw a 0.50% increase in the median asking price for a home from $595,000 to $598,000. According to RealtyHop, a family making Florida's average household income of $44,581 would have to spend 85.67% of their paycheck on housing costs.

Any conversion to a whole life insurance product goes through the same application as a new life insurance policy. Simplified Term Life Insurance: Enjoy quick and easy application (no medical exam life insurance) and approval (subject to health history) with this no-nonsense option. Whole Life Insurance: A whole life policy delivers life insurance coverage for an individual's entire life. A licensed life insurance agent is always the best resource for purchasing an appropriate life insurance plan. Seeing the limits on American Family life insurance policies, you might buy multiple life policies.

☆ Black homeowners pushed out of one Baltimore block show how Wall Street banks failed to lend money they had promised, a Bloomberg investigation shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Banks promised to invest in Black communities after they were hit by the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The block stands as a glaring reminder of the broken promises made by some of Wall Street's biggest banks to support America's Black homeowners, a recent Bloomberg investigation shows. As of October 2021, according to the US Census Bureau, 45% of Black Americans owned homes, which is nearly 30 points below the rate of white Americans: 74.6%. On Walbrook Avenue, the absence of large lenders has left many locals without a lifeline. After the 2008-2009 financial crisis, several financial institutions made pledges to invest billions of dollars to support Black homeownership.

☆ ‘I just want a home to go back to’: Months after a historic flood, relief remains elusive for some in Kentucky
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Reducing the red tapeIn the weeks and months after the flood, FEMA received more than 16,700 applications for disaster assistance. More than 60% of Kentucky flood victims who applied for assistance have been approved, it said. To assist with the process of getting aid, FEMA said its specialists have contacted Kentucky flood survivors directly, requesting any missing information and scheduling inspections. Beshear’s office also sent $500 grants to residents who qualified for FEMA assistance. The checks were a part of more than $12.2 million donated to the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund.

☆ Don't despair, here are five US counties where homeownership won't cost you more than 15% of your paycheck
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cambria County, PennsylvaniaPercent of wages needed to afford a home: 14.1%Typical annual wage: $44,746Typical mortgage payment per month: $5254. St. Lawrence County, New YorkPercent of wages needed to afford a home: 13.6%Typical annual wage: $55,172Typical mortgage payment per month: $6233. Peoria County, IllinoisPercent of wages needed to afford a home: 13.5%Typical annual wage: $69,238Typical mortgage payment per month: $7802. Schuylkill County PennsylvaniaPercent of wages needed to afford a home: 12.8%Typical annual wage: $50,336Typical mortgage payment per month: $5361. Macon County, IllinoisPercent of wages needed to afford a home: 12%Typical annual wage: $62,686Typical mortgage payment per month: $625

Student loan debt has become such an issue that the Biden Administration has been attempting to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt per eligible borrower and has continually extended the student loan repayment pause. Ways employers are currently assisting with student debt management"Employers are increasingly offering student loan contribution plans as a direct way to help borrowers pay down student loan debt," Scruggs says. How other employers can help employees manage student loan debtOne of the simplest and most affordable ways employers can help employees is to share information on what employees need to know about their student loans. "There are many ways to help employees manage and pay down student loan debt. However, note that if you refinance federal student loans you'll lose federal protections, like the current student loan payment freeze and potential student loan forgiveness.

☆ Varadkar targets housing crisis on return as Irish prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Padraic Halpin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I am thinking in particular of housing and how we have to go all-out to turn the corner on rising homelessness and falling homeownership. The 2020 coalition deal - which included the smaller Green Party - for the first time united Martin's Fianna Fail and Varadkar's Fine Gael, which are Ireland's dominant centre-right parties and have led every government since independence a century ago. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath will also swap roles under the deal while Martin, who will become deputy prime minister, is also expected to be appointed foreign minister. Varadkar indicated he would make very few other changes when he names his cabinet at around 1700 GMT. "We live in an Ireland where the housing emergency has gotten worse and where households struggle to get by.

New Fannie Mae changes aim to make access to mortgage financing more equitable. But with these new changes, which allow mortgage lenders to use data from a borrower's bank statements to help establish creditworthiness, those who have no credit score may have an easier time qualifying for a mortgage. These changes only affect borrowers who have no score, meaning that those who do have a credit score will still be evaluated based on whether their score meets minimum requirements. Many of those who are credit invisible would otherwise be ideal borrowers, but because they don't have a traditional credit score, they often have trouble getting a mortgage. Just because you don't have a traditional credit score doesn't mean it's impossible to get a mortgage and purchase a home.

☆ Meet Eclipse Cottages, the developer of green tiny-home communities that plans to help people buy houses for $99 a month
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Eclipse Cottages builds spacious, energy-efficient tiny homes in South Carolina. He chose Eclipse Cottages to build a 600-square-foot abode in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Blue Wells' tiny home in one of Eclipse Cottages' communities. Luxury tiny homes, like the ones Eclipse offers, are still far below the typical single-home price of $425,000, according to Realtor.com. With interest rates soaring this year, younger people are struggling to afford even tiny homes, Draplin said.

☆ Black Californians could get $223,000 each in reparations — and it could even help close the state's homeownership gap
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In 2020, CA Governor Gavin Newsom formed a task force to decide how the state could best administer reparations to Black residents. The task force has proposed providing upwards of $223,200 for each qualifying resident. However, few leaders have brought forward proposals that are as sweeping in scope as the one produced by California's special task force. The reparations proposal could help Black Californians obtain homeownershipAccording to the California Housing Finance Agency, Black Americans have the lowest homeownership rate in the state. Other states have also awarded reparations to their Black constituentsWhile the California proposal is sweeping in its scope, Newsom's office has the benefit of being able to study examples of reparations programs elsewhere.

☆ Connecticut's wealthy hedge-fund haven, home to Shonda Rhimes and the billionaire owner of the Mets, is losing federal 'high-cost' housing status after its home price gains lagged the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fairfield County, Connecticut, is a ritzy NYC suburb known for hedge funds and shoreline mansions. Fairfield County, Connecticut, New York City's ritziest suburban enclave, barely saw any home-price gains in the year through September, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The county's median household income of $101,194 tops the overall median income in the US — $70,784 — by a large margin. Data from Douglas Elliman shows Fairfield County's median sale price rose by 8.2% year-over-year through September, for example. In 2022, with high-cost status, the county's limit has been significantly higher, at $970,000.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Amazon, Chevron, Chipotle, Lowe's, Hershey, AT&T & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Wall Street's biggest calls on Thursday: Bank of America reiterates Chevron as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating on the oil and gas giant after it announced its 2023 capital budget on Wednesday. JPMorgan upgrades Vulcan Materials to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said risks for the construction materials company are already priced in. UBS initiates Shopify as sell UBS said it's concerned about increasing competition. UBS upgrades Hershey to buy from neutral UBS said it's becoming bullish on the chocolate and candy maker's long-term growth. Bank of America reiterates Lowe's as buy Bank of America said shares of Lowe's remain attractive.

☆ The average rent in Manhattan jumped to $5,249 in November — and may not fall any time soon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The average rent in Manhattan was $5,249 in November, up 19% from last year and the third-highest amount on record, according to a monthly report from brokerage firm Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. The median cost of renting an apartment in Manhattan remained near record highs in November, at $4,095. But that doesn’t mean rents are significantly dropping any time soon. Concessions, or sweeteners from landlords like one month of rent free, were offered on 16% of new leases in November. “The economy, or employment, remains too strong to enable rents to drop significantly,” said Miller.

☆ This real estate name could gain 19% as demand grows for single-family home rentals, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Real-estate investment trust American Homes 4 Rent is well-positioned as single-family home rentals become more in demand, according to Goldman Sachs. These factors all help single-family rentals, Luthra said, as more people get pushed away from buying but still need housing. Though rental prices are coming off pandemic highs, Luthra said American Homes 4 Rent should be able to keep them above pre-pandemic levels. American Homes 4 Rent has increased its number of new homes, moving from around 600 in 2018 to nearly 2,150 in 2022. Comparatively, Luthra said she sees a clearer growth story in American Homes 4 Rent than competitors such as Invitation Homes and Tricon Residential despite both also benefiting from the focus on single-family home rentals.

☆ First Gen Z congressman, Maxwell Frost, says he was denied an apartment in DC over bad credit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Gen Z Congressman Maxwell Frost tweeted Thursday he got denied from a DC apartment for bad credit. "Just applied to an apartment in DC where I told the guy that my credit was really bad. He's not alone: Credit card balances have been on the rise, especially for Gen Z, as the cost of living keeps soaring. But as Insider's Kevin L. Matthews II reported, there's a "credit gap" between Black and white borrowers, further powering the racial wealth gap. That can further the gap in homeownership rates between Americans of color and white Americans.

☆ 5 'instant red flags' that your spending is out of control, from a debt settlement attorney who’s helped thousands of clients
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Over that time, she's picked up on several red flags that you may be in over your head with debt. You've been rejected for balance transfersA balance transfer allows you to move your debt from one credit card to another. If you either have a low credit score or existing credit card debt that exceeds the credit limit of the new card, it's possible that a bank will deny a bank transfer. You have more than 10 credit cardsIdeally, credit cards should be used for purchases that can be paid off right away, since the interest is typically high. Most Americans have about four credit cards.

☆ Giving babies a government trust fund at birth could help get rid of student debt and build wealth, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Democrats released a report highlighting the benefits of "Baby Bonds," which are trust funds given to kids at birth. The report said that the funds would help Americans build wealth over a lifetime. It could help reduce the need for students to take on excessive debt to go to college. On Wednesday, the Joint Economic Committee — led by Democratic Rep. Don Beyer — released a report on the benefits of "Baby Bonds." Baby Bonds could be a part of that.

☆ Homebuyers will flock to the Midwest in 2023 because prices will still be too expensive in coastal states, a Zillow economist predicts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Midwest could be 2023's hottest housing market because it's affordable, one Zillow economist said. Buyers may look at cities like Chicago, Indianapolis, and Cleveland, where prices have remained stable. Homebuyers in expensive markets like Denver, New York City, and San Francisco were routinely searching for homes in less expensive midwestern markets, the report added. The typical home in Milwaukee is $181,000 while in St. Louis, buyers should expect to spend $176,500, Zillow suggests. But waiting out this market may not be the best approach for buyers ready and able to buy now."

☆ Those deciding whether to rent or buy in 2023 are stuck: Rents are expected to increase more than home prices, but it will still be costly to buy.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rents are expected to grow more than home prices in 2023, according to Realtor.com. But mortgage rates are also expected to grow, potentially negating any advantages to buying. However, mortgage rates are expected to rise more than they already have this year. A 2023 housing forecast from Realtor.com predicted a 7.4% average for mortgage rates in 2023, which would push homebuyers' monthly payments up and generally make homeownership more costly. According to Realtor.com, mortgage payments will likely increase by 28% in 2023, making the typical monthly payment about $2,430.

☆ More Foreclosures, Easier Mortgages Would Help Fix America's Housing Market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

These standards are based on factors including the borrower's financial stability and the state of the housing market and economy. Finding the right size for the credit box is much easier said than done. A tidal wave of foreclosures followed, plunging the US housing market — and the global economy — into chaos. Even just stabilizing the credit box over time could also help smooth out some of the boom-and-bust cycles that have come to define the housing market. "If we do not address this intrinsic cyclicality, the housing market will continue to experience boom-bust cycles, leaving destruction in their wake," the paper said.

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