News

Potential home sales fell by 0.2 percent to 5.69 million in April, according to a recent study. This represents an 89.3 percent increase from the market potential low point reached in December 2008. What the study found is that strong consumer demand fueled gains in market potential for existing home sales, but this was offset by high prices and falling affordability.

Several HUD programs are slated to be cut according to the recent budget proposal, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. According to HUD, the CDBG Program has not been effectively targeting the poorest communities and has not demonstrated a measurable impact on communities. Other programs are to be cut due as HUD states that State and local governments are better-positioned to serve their communities’ needs in place of these programs.

New residential sales statistics came out Tuesday from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the drop in new home sales for April could be worrisome for first time and low-income homebuyers as inventory shortage is likely to cause the price of new homes to rise more than it has previously. As it stands, newcomers to home buying will continue to face financial and availability challenges.

Fidelity National Financial (FNF) announced the acquisition of Hudson & Marshall (H&M), a full-service auction company, Monday. Industry reaction was instantaneous, as was a jump in FNF’s stock. Under FNF’s umbrella, ServiceLink, a provider of transaction services to the mortgage and finance industries, is launching ServiceLink Auction, a full-service auction platform that will provide foreclosure and REO auction services fully integrated with ServiceLink’s suite of products.

According to a recent report, if American homeowners moved at the same rate they did in 1990, there would have been about 2.8 million more homes sold in 2016. This would solve the ongoing inventory problem, but the fact is Americans just aren’t moving, for a number of reasons. The report cites three possible reasons for a non-moving population: an aging population, pockets of high negative equity, and an increase in single-family rentals.

Cities are starting to run out of space. Especially space-constrained cities like New York have started to run out of room for builders, leading them to move to city-center areas where high-density building is allowed, and charging much higher prices for it. Builders are focusin more on high end apartments with better profit margins, leaving only the wealthiest residents as the ones who can buy.

A crowded seller’s market has left some homeowners who want to move into nicer homes frustrated. Though they are getting record-high offers for their starter abodes, when it comes time to buy, their money is not going as far in the trade-up market. Based on seven criteria, here is a list of the 10 hardest places to trade up.

The amount of down payment assistance programs available dropped very slightly in Q1, but thousands of programs are still out there. A recent report highlights the most important of these programs available to military and veterans. On top of VA loans, veterans can expect to cut down their down payment entirely with these programs.

After undergoing an extensive testing process, a mortgage document preparation vendor announced its Uniform Closing Dataset XML file has been certified by the GSEs. This new way of submitting documents will be required by Fannie and Freddie starting in the fall for all lenders selling to them. The company trusts this will bring consistency, transparency and clarity to the mortgage industry.

On Tuesday, at 10 a.m. EST, the U.S. Census Bureau along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will release the New Residential Sales Report for April 2017. With construction activity droppping off slightly, how will sales react?