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☆ China's holiday home sales rise 27.1% y/y - private survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Among 22 cities selected by the China Index Academy, the average daily floor area of homes sold rose 27.1% from last year's holiday season. The firm also said major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai saw a rise in sales compared with last year's New Year holiday but sentiment remained at low level in most small cities. Compared with last year's holiday season, home sales rose 80% in Beijing, 74% in Shanghai and 131.5% in Guangzhou. China's property market crisis worsened in 2022, with official data showing home prices, sales and investment all falling in recent months, putting more pressure on the faltering economy. New-home prices in the 100 Chinese cities monitored by the firm fell 0.02% year-on-year in 2022, the first decline since 2015, the real estate research firm said.

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.

☆ 4 new ways to avoid a tax penalty for early individual retirement account withdrawals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

New exceptions to the 10% tax penaltySavers generally incur a 10% tax penalty if they withdraw money from a retirement account before age 59½. The following list outlines rules in the new legislative package that waive the 10% early withdrawal penalty for IRA owners. Terminal illness A terminally ill person wouldn't be penalized for withdrawing retirement funds before age 59½. Disability Certain disabled retirement savers under age 59½ aren't beholden to the tax penalty. IRS levy You won't incur a penalty if the distribution results from an IRS tax levy (i.e., if the IRS takes your retirement funds to satisfy a tax debt).

☆ Same Building, Different Prices: a Two-Speed Property Market Can’t Last
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

If identical side-by-side houses had different asking prices, home buyers would be understandably confused. In recent weeks, private property funds like Blackstone’s nontraded, semiliquid BREIT vehicle have had to explain their jarringly strong performance relative to listed stocks. BREIT has reported returns of 8.4% so far this year, compared with around minus 25% for publicly traded U.S. real-estate investment trusts. The fund was forced to freeze redemptions after a number of clients asked to cash out at its seemingly rosy valuations. Another big nontraded fund, Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, has also closed its gates.

If you're thinking about buying a foreclosed home, here's everything you'll need to know. With a short sale, you'll be buying the home from the owner, but the lender will need to agree to the amount. It depends on the type of foreclosure you're buying. If you're buying a foreclosure at auction, you'll need to attend the auction and make a high enough bid to get the home. If you're considering buying a foreclosure, you need to be prepared to do a lot of research and learn everything you can about the process.

☆ A couple that went from having 'terrible credit' and working restaurant shifts built a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio that earns $30,000 a month in revenue. They explain how anyone can sta
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Here is their four-step guide to investing in real estate. Get your personal finances in orderThe first and most important step to take before investing in real estate is to establish a solid financial foundation, the couple emphasized. You're not going to learn everything you need to learn about real estate in a five second TikTok video. Real estate investor Natia SeegarsThe more time you invest in educating yourself about real estate, the more likely you are to succeed, they emphasized. "You're not going to learn everything you need to learn about real estate in a five second TikTok video," said Natia.

☆ A 24-year-old barber moved to Atlanta a month ago and has already seen 'doors open,' showing why real-estate gurus say it's a top place to watch in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The National Association of Realtors named Atlanta the city to watch in 2023. While the national housing market is cooling, it's still thriving in Georgia's capital. Jay Martino, a barber who moved to Atlanta from Charleston, South Carolina. These factors will help Atlanta withstand the headwinds buffeting the national market, which is reeling after skyrocketing home prices and interest rates put home purchases out of reach. The trend suggests the local housing market can outperform the rest of the country in 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors.

☆ The 15 cheapest US cities in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Personal-finance company Kiplinger laid out the cities in the US with the lowest cost of living. Personal-finance company Kiplinger identified America's cheapest cities by calculating the living expenses — including prices for housing, groceries, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services — of 267 urban areas in the US that have a population of at least 50,000. According to their methodology, America's cheapest city is Harlingen, Texas, a small city of less than 72,000 people at the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border. "People have been saying, 'I don't want to be in these big cities,'" he added. The other affordable cities on Kiplinger's list are largely in the South and the Midwest.

☆ American Second-Home Buyers Are Pouring Into Italy’s Wine Country
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( J.S. Marcus | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After relocating to Milan from New York City’s Upper West Side in 2021, Bryony Bechtold, a teacher, and her husband, Piero Venturini, 50, a lawyer, began looking for a vacation property. With wine on their minds, they found what they were looking for 90 minutes away in northwest Italy’s Piedmont region, home to Barolo, one of the world’s most prized reds. The couple, who have two teenage daughters, paid about $510,000 this past September for the 3,800-square-foot farmhouse on a 6.2-acre lot with a vineyard. They plan to spend about $160,000 on renovations, including an upgrade of the existing wine cellar.

☆ A 28-year-old who owns 42 cash-flowing properties explains how he started investing in real estate without any cash, and shares his top 6 tips for beginners
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Thomas Harr began investing in real estate after trying to fix and flip and wholesale. Today, Harr owns 42 properties, many of which are multi-family homes that have numerous rental units within them. And, throwing the nicest stuff in these houses that sometimes they don't need," Harr said. And that's where a lot of people get this real estate investing game a little bit wrong. As for the past year's rising interest rate, Harr says there's never going to be a perfect time to buy real estate.

☆ 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.

☆ Rising rates are weighing on the housing market - and macro headwinds could keep the sector depressed in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Don't shoot the messenger here, but today I'm breaking down the many troubles plaguing the housing market and homebuyers. The Fed's interest rate maneuvering and the housing market are connected, and mortgage rates often move in lockstep with the central bank's benchmark rate. Brian Jacobsen, a senior strategist for Allspring Global Investments, pointed to a triumvirate of headwinds weighing on the housing sector: labor shortages, rising costs, and soaring mortgages. That means more rate hikes are effectively guaranteed, which raises the odds of a recession and can further squash housing demand. What's your forecast for the housing market next year?

☆ Here are 10 ways to avoid the early withdrawal penalty for individual retirement accounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But there are some situations in which account owners — both those with savings in individual retirement accounts and workplace plans like a 401(k) — can access that money early without penalty. "The worst thing you can do is take from your retirement account before its intended purpose, because then what will be for your retirement?" The list below outlines situations in which IRA owners wouldn't owe the 10% early withdrawal penalty. watch nowThe IRA withdrawal can be used for you, a spouse or your child, among other qualifying family members. The IRA withdrawal must also occur the year you received unemployment, or in the following year.

☆ Homing in on a Housing Recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Justin Lahart | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Most Americans agree that now is a horrible time to buy a house. But it could be a great time to start betting on a housing recovery. This wasn’t the sort of year for the housing market that most people expected. Heading into 2022, the biggest problem faced by real-estate agents was that there wasn’t enough inventory to meet demand, while home builders were struggling to increase construction. Would-be home buyers hated how prices had shot higher during the pandemic and that mortgage rates were beginning to drift higher, but if they could swing it, they would buy.

☆ First-time home buyers struggle to find options as housing inventory remains slim
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFirst-time home buyers struggle to find options as housing inventory remains slimJay Farner, CEO of Rocket Companies, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the process of mortgage buydowns, diversifying mortgages investment portfolios with technology and housing inventory struggles.

☆ A couple who are financially independent from their real estate portfolio explain how they bought their first house for less than $2,000 and scaled up to 5 properties that bring in $30,000 a month in
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Jervais, who started with worse credit than Natia, bumped his score up from 524 to the low- to mid-600s, he said. Plus, Natia started working in marketing in 2005 and went from an hourly wage plus tips to earning a salary. The way rental arbitrage works is, you sign a long-term lease and then rent out that property on short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Courtesy of Natia and Jervais SeegarsThey ended up raising about $500,000 from private lenders, they said, which financed their next three properties. They purchased them all within 45 days of each other in late 2021 and immediately listed them on the short-term rental market.

☆ Xiaomi layoffs: Thousands of tech jobs cut as China’s unemployment crisis deepens
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese company’s decision to slash jobs comes soon after tech giants across the world, including Meta and Twitter, have laid off thousands of workers. The Beijing-based firm recently conducted a “routine personnel optimization and organizational streamlining,” a Xiaomi spokesperson told CNN. In the first nine months of 2022, Xiaomi reduced its workforce by nearly 1,900, according to its financial documents. Diminishing tech jobsThe layoffs at the Chinese smartphone giant come at a time when the country is struggling with mounting economic challenges. The urban unemployment rate, the broadest official measure of jobs, rose to 5.7% in November, the highest in six months, according to most recent government statistics.

☆ November existing home sales fall — 10th consecutive monthly drop
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNovember existing home sales fall — 10th consecutive monthly dropCNBC's Diana Olick joins 'The Exchange' to report on continued tightening in the supply of available homes, an increase in the share of all-cash home sales, dips in the number of investor-based mortgages and demand from home buyers remaining flat.

☆ Supreme Court likely to 'dismantle' student loan forgiveness plan after it hears case, says Harvard law professor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have scheduled the high-profile arguments over President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan for Feb. 28, meaning borrowers suspended in uncertainty about the fate of their debts will at least know more soon. Two of those legal challenges have been successful in at least temporarily stopping the president's plan from going forward. The Biden administration has appealed those decisions, and the country's highest court has announced it will have the final say on the policy, which will remain on hold until then. Like other legal experts, Tribe doesn't have much hope that the plan will survive the Supreme Court. "It's basically put the program in deep freeze until it proceeds to most likely dismantle it," Tribe said.

☆ U.S. single-family housing starts, building permits plunge in November
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary Housing starts fall 0.5% in NovemberSingle-family starts drop 4.1%; multi-family up 4.8%Building permits plunge 11.2%; single-family fall 7.1%WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. single-family homebuilding tumbled to a 2-1/2 year low in November and permits for future construction plunged as higher mortgage rates continued to depress housing market activity. The housing market has borne the brunt of the Federal Reserve's fastest interest rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s as the U.S. central bank wages war against inflation. We don't know about the rest of the economy, but the housing market is clearly in recession." Single-family housing starts, which account for the biggest share of homebuilding, dropped 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 828,000 units last month. The jump in multi-family housing projects offset some of the drag from single-family housing units, resulting in overall housing starts falling only 0.5% to a rate of 1.427 million units last month.

From almost nothing five years ago, the institutional residential property market has grown to the point where investors say housing is starting to challenge office buildings as a focus for their cash. And higher yields and scope for growth are spurring new projects, market players say. "We are currently surprised ourselves by the speed of the change and how the market is changing," he told Reuters. "Many institutional investors are looking to gain the first mover advantage and moving in," Wysokińska-Kuzdra told Reuters. The war in Ukraine has also created uncertainty, so that some investors are focused only on finishing current projects.

☆ Here are key things you need to know about health savings accounts as you near retirement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

If you have a health savings account and are nearing retirement age, be aware that some of the rules are different for the older crowd. The standard HSA contribution limits for next year are $3,850 for self-only coverage (up from $3,650 in 2022) and $7,750 for family coverage (up from $7,300 this year). The definition of an HSA eligible, high-deductible health plan for 2023 depends on whether you have single or family coverage. A solo plan would need to have a deductible of at least $1,500 and a maximum limit of $7,500 on out-of-pocket expenses. For family coverage, the deductible is at least $3,000, with a $15,000 maximum on what members pay out of pocket.

☆ ‘Porch pirates’ stole an estimated 260 million packages in the last year. How to prevent theft on your doorstep
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Andresr | E+ | Getty ImagesYou may not be the only person eager for packages to arrive at your house. Over the last year, an estimated 260 million delivered packages were stolen, according to a report from SafeWise, an online guide to security and safety products. The total annual lost to this type of theft is an estimated $19.5 billion, according to SafeWise. "The other aspect of this crime that makes it unique and likely to continue increasing is that there's very low risk and very low skill involved," Stickle said. If possible, you should sign up to receive an email or text message when your package is supposed to arrive and when it's actually delivered, Murray said.

☆ 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 demand rises after nearly a month of declines as buyers respond to pullback in rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The average 30-year fixed-rate for mortgages was at 6.42%, near its lowest in a month. Mortage rates have climbed this year with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates at an aggressive pace to combat high inflation. The survey showed the 30-year fixed rate at 6.42%, slightly higher than a week ago but close to the lowest in a month. "The ongoing moderation in home-price growth, along with further declines in mortgage rates, may encourage more buyers to return to the market in the coming months," Joel Kan, deputy chief economist at MBA said. The closely watched S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller track of housing prices showed growth in prices for single-family homes fell by 0.8% month over month in September.

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