Two moderately helpful articles on the renting vs. buying debate (well, debate is too strong a word).
For some, renting is better than buying - by The Associated Press
There’s no question that owning a home is a desirable goal, and low interest rates in recent years have made it possible for millions of Americans to buy […]
I just read some data, comparing the cost of living in 1965, compared to today. Interesting, how some things are cheaper, relatively, today, and somethings, more expensive.
Housing costs more, even after adjusting for inflation, than it did, 41 years ago. Incomes have not increased as much, so housing takes more, percentage-wise.
None of these […]
From today’s Real Estate Journal:
Question: I recently put in an offer on a vacation home in the Catskills, with a $10,000 earnest-money deposit. It was occupied by tenants when we saw it. The offer was accepted, we had the home inspected, and the tenants left. But this morning we did our final walk-through before settlement, […]
What good is a home inspection? A lot of good, I can tell you that.
When you write up your initial offer to purchase a property (be it a single-family home or condominium), you and your agent will include at least a couple of buyer’s contingencies. Usually these include 1) a mortgage loan contingency, […]
Condo sales fell 18.5 percent, to 2,103 sales in August, and prices declined 3.3 percent, to $278,000, according to data released by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
In August, it took 109 days to sell a single family and 108 days to sell a condo. A year earlier, the time on the market for each was […]
The following information is from the local MLS database, as of September 23, 2006, compared to (last week’s numbers).
Total # of condos for sale in the city of Boston: 2901 (2885)
Average # of days on market: 125 (126)
Median price of all condos for sale in the city of Boston: $389,000 ($385,000)
Average price of all […]
Sometimes, buyers focus too much attention on square feet - how large a condo is, and how expensive it is, on a per-square foot basis.
Trouble is, those numbers can be misleading. There is no set standard for how square footage is calculated (you would think there is, but there isn’t). You can simply […]
The Federal Reserve decided to keep the federal funds rate unchanged, on Wednesday, which pleased the bond market.
The yield on a 10-year Treasury note dropped to 4.63 percent, by Thursday afternoon.
Mortgage loan rates track the 10-year notes, closely *.
Bankrate.com was quoting an average rate of 5.86% on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan, and a […]
From The New York Sun:
The number of applications for loans to refinance existing mortgages increased last week to the highest level since February, according to a leading trade group. Also, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications nationwide rose last week by a seasonally adjusted 2 percent from the week before.
(Applications are down 22.5% […]
Some people think that all the adjustable-rate mortgage loans written over the past couple of years will cause the US economy to collapse, as they reset to higher rates, and borrowers decide to walk away from their financial commitments.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Some people think that most people will be able to absorb these higher payments for two […]
