The new Federal Reserve chief has recently pledged to continue the tapering of bond purchases at the current pace which will no doubt result in rising mortgage interest rates. The current Freddie Mac 30 year rate is 4.28%. So where do the
The answer is when it costs less to buy than to rent. But how do you calculate that? If you find two similar houses- one for sale and one for rent- divide the asking price by the annual rent. The difference is
We've written about the vibrancy of the greater Lansing economy and what a great place it is to work and live. The state is also on a roll right now and this WSJ article describes what's happening. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304181204579367174200784080
Since the mortgage debt relief exemption expired at the end of 2013, distressed homeowners working with lenders to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure or who have been forced to sell for less than the amount owed on the mortgage have
Former homeowners who have gone through a foreclosure in the past few years, even as recently as twelve months ago, may now be qualified to buy a home once again. An FHA program called ‘Back to Work’ allows the purchase of a
Predictions are always tough but here is what we think is going to happen this year in the greater Lansing real estate market. Unit sales will increase at a more historical norm of about 3.8%. The inventory of saleable property is constrained and
Unit sales the last two years have exceeded any year since 2006, however average selling prices are still over 22% below the peak years of 2006 and 2007. What does this mean for buyers and sellers? For buyers we interpret these statistics
Tomie Raines, Inc. REALTORS Rating System Gives Consumers Final Word Tomie Raines, Inc. REALTORS®, (http://www.tomieraines.com), the only solely woman-owned major real estate company in the mid-Michigan area expands their use of an online agent rating system to include RatedAgent.com, allowing for greater
Motivated buyers are plentiful right now in greater Lansing. What is not plentiful is saleable listings. What does this mean for buyers? Sellers now have more leverage and consequently make fewer, if any, concessions in negotiations. Average selling prices are rising as
It is pretty apparent that a home buyer can avoid the risk of unanticipated problems by simply purchasing a home warranty and also avoid potential mediation or litigation. But what about home sellers? The National Home Warranty Association has reported that, on