Getting a mortgage is easier than you think Worried about qualifying for a mortgage? You might not need to. According to new data, credit standards are actually loosening — particularly on certain loan types. Loosening credit standards should continue According to new...

The U.S. economy is doing well and looks set to stay that way next year, two top Federal Reserve policymakers said on Friday, remarks that suggest they are content to leave interest rates where they are. “I think the economy is in a good place. U.S Federal Reserve...

Home builders ended the year with an apparent outbreak of euphoria. Responding to higher trending sales and low interest rates they sent the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) soaring to its highest reading since June...

The National Association of Realtors on Monday approved a policy that would essentially put an end to so-called pocket listings, the practice of shopping real estate listings privately, without posting them on a Multiple Listing Service for the public to see. The new...

Using a tagline at the bottom of your email signature that warns about the dangers of wire fraud scams is simply not a bold enough alert for your clients, warned security expert Robert Siciliano at a Sunday session about cybersecurity during the REALTORS® Conference &...

PORTLAND — On Dec. 14, Aaron Cole was about to buy a new house and received an email that he thought was from his title company, directing him to make a $123,000 deposit. Cole complied, not realizing that a sophisticated hacker network had likely been spying on his...

Housing could fuel economic growth for the first part of 2020, a new economic outlook from Fannie Mae shows. Fannie Mae upgraded its economic outlook to a gross domestic product growth of 1.9% in 2020, according to its latest commentary from the Economic and Strategic...

After going through all the steps to buy a home, putting in your down payment should feel like a light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, this is no time to let your guard down. Fraudsters can target unsuspecting home buyers during their escrow transaction: It...

Mortgage rates are in the midst of a winning streak of moderate size and duration. Specifically, rates have improved by at least an eighth of a percentage point for the average lender since the beginning of last week and have moved lower on all but one of the days...

Are home price increases cranking up again? The quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) on existing home sales and metropolitan home prices seem to indicate that is the case.  NAR says that the overwhelming majority of the metro areas they...