The student housing market is hot. Sales of this market segment are outperforming the rest of the commercial sector in the first quarter. In fact, if investors continue to buy and sell student housing at the current rate, they’re on track to match the record acquisition volume of 2016.Investors purchased and sold $1.1 billion in student housing properties in the first quarter of 2017, according to CBRE, a real estate services firm.For the past
Mortgage volume is starting to rise again, and home buyers are fueling the increase.Total mortgage application volume, including for refinancings and home purchases, rose 2.4 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.Home buyers are seemingly undeterred by higher home prices and the limited number of homes for sale. Mortgage applications to buy a home increased 2 percent last week and ar
Businesses have been knocking down walls to create an “open office” that fosters interaction and collaboration with coworkers. But the trend may have backfired.New research shows employees suffering from “visual noise,” the activity or movement around their field of vision, may experience dampened analytical thinking, creativity, and productivity.“If we see a bunch of people gathering in our peripheral vision, we wonder, ‘What are th
Can senior-living communities be generated organically as boomers age? A look at Morningside Heights, a residential neighborhood in northwest Manhattan near Columbia University, indicates this might be a strategy for aging in place in a more fluid way.The community is what the New York City Department for the Aging calls a naturally occurring retirement community, or “a multiage housing development or neighborhood that was not originally built
Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reportedly considering providing financing to buyers of manufactured homes soon in a pilot program.The government-sponsored enterprises say they want to look at easing the burdens of low-income borrowers who may turn to factory-built homes to curb housing costs, according to a draft report released Monday where Fannie and Freddie addressed affordable housing challenges. Fannie and Freddie s
Luxury real estate buyers may find bargains in the U.S. compared to the rest of the world. The U.S. is hardly the most expensive when it comes to home prices in its luxury market.Instead, China takes the world crown in that arena for the fastest-rising prices in luxury residential real estate around the world. Luxury home prices in Guangzhou, the capital of the southern province of Guangdong, rose a whopping 36.2 percent from March 2016 to March
With home prices on the rise, more home values are climbing up above water, but in a few cities, the number of seriously underwater homes is still alarming.Profile of Seriously Underwater HomesThe following are some characteristics of properties that are seriously underwater, according to ATTOM Data Solution’s report. 8% of properties with an estimated market value of $100,000 or less were seriously underwater; 9.3% of properties valued between
Soaring home prices aren't denting investors' appetite in many markets. "We are seeing more investors and new investors," says Steve Hovland, director of research at HomeUnion, a real estate investment marketplace. "The Fed has really been helping us out. Interest rates are not as high as they have been in past cycles. Commercial real estate is overheated. The bull stock market has been running for a long time, so investors are looking to diversi
Kitchen upgrades have overtaken bathroom updates as the remodeling project homeowners want most, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Remodeling Market Index report covering the first quarter of 2017. Bathroom renovations previously held the number one spot, but kitchen redos barely pulled ahead in the most recent report.NAHB's survey showed these are the most common jobs for remodelers: Kitchen remodeling: 81% Bathroom remodel
Several states are offering homeownership assistance programs to recent college grads that may help them receive thousands of dollars toward the purchase of a home. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the "Graduate to Homeownership" program, which provides assistance to first-time buyers who have graduated in the past two years from an accredited college or university with an associate's, bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree. P
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