by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Feb 28, 2015 | Mortgages + Lending, Real Estate Facts & Figures
First, the good news. Rates on 30 year mortgages matched the lowest level in decades by falling to 4.32%. According to Freddie Mac, this is the lowest rate since 1971. The rate on 15-year fixed loans fell to 3.75%, the lowest since records began in 1991. The 15-year...
by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Feb 28, 2015 | Preparing a Home for Sale, Renters and Renting
If you buy and fix up older homes to sell or hold as a rental, it just got a lot more difficult and expensive. New federal regulations effective in April of this year (the “New Lead Rules”), now require professional remediation techniques when even a...
by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Feb 28, 2015 | Home Buying, Real Estate Facts & Figures
The numbers are in, and everybody wants to know – what is the latest on metropolitan Phoenix area real estate? Before I give you that, I have to tell you about my vacation. Like many Arizonans, I went to San Diego last month. But unlike normal people who spend...
by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Feb 28, 2015 | Home Ownership, Preparing a Home for Sale
When homes decrease in value, people stay put. Many are unable to move due to a lack of equity or can’t afford the sale and moving costs. But if homeowners need a change, will they recoup any of their costs if they remodel? Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value...
by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Feb 28, 2015 | Canada and Canadians
In the midst of more news about the continuing struggles of the U.S. home market, the news from Ottawa last week is that Canadian home prices rose 1.3 per cent in May, their largest monthly gain since last September. On an annual basis, prices rose 13.6 per cent and...