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Author Archives: Esther Cho

Survey: Sellers Sweating Rising Interest Rates

While rising mortgage rates have set potential homebuyers scrambling, a poll from Redfin finds sellers are also concerned about the development. According to the survey, 47 percent of sellers said they are worried about a spike in rates driving down buyer demand, up from 23 percent in the last poll. An increasing percentage of homeowners are also anticipating larger price gains, though concerns over rising prices eased, falling from 32 percent to 29 percent quarter-over-quarter.

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More Americans Say Buying a Home is a Good Financial Decision

Americans hold a more positive view of the housing market, while an increasing share of renters plan to own, according to the 2013 National Housing Pulse Survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Of those surveyed, 80 percent said they believe buying a home is a good financial decision, up by 8 points from 2011. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who say they prefer to rent over buying dropped 6 points since 2011 to 25 percent.

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Investor Activity Down as Current Homeowners Step Up

Among three buyer types--current homeowner, first-time homebuyer, and investor--current homeowners were the only group to see activity rise in June, according to data from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey. As rising home prices discourage investment activity, HousePulse found home purchases from investors slipped to 19.7 percent, down significantly from 23.1 percent from February. June was the fourth straight month to see investor traffic decline.

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Survey Shows High Hopes Among Appraisers

The vast majority--95 percent--of residential appraisers surveyed in May and June reported an increase in demand for their services compared to last year, according to a report from the Appraisal Institute. Although the outlook for services appears strong, the hiring of trainees is expected to remain weak, especially among residential appraisers. According to the institute, commercial appraisers account for less than one-third of practicing appraisers, yet they were much more active in hiring trainees.

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Regulators Propose Higher Capital Requirements for Largest Banks

Fed

Federal regulators announced a proposal Tuesday to double the standard Basel III leverage ratio for the "largest, most systemically significant" banks. The proposal would also require covered bank holding companies to maintain a tier 1 capital leverage buffer of at least 2 percent above the minimum supplementary leverage ratio requirement of 3 percent, for a total of 5 percent, the regulators stated. Currently, the proposed rule would apply to eight banks.

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