Steve Freeman, CIPS

Don't miss this money saving opportunity, homeowners! FHFA has implemented a new refinance product for low-income borrowers, which can help save an average of $100 to $250 a month on single-family mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac!

#cbarsteve #mshomestore #oceansprings

Last year’s pandemic housing rush is now this year’s end-of-lockdown feeding frenzy... Read More

#cbarsteve #mshomestore #cbardiversity

New-home sales soar to 15-year high.
New single-family home sales catapulted 20.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.02 million in March, a high not seen since 2006. Read More...

#cbarsteve #mshomestore
The share of mortgages in forbearance continues to retreat from last summer’s highs, but roughly 2.3 million homeowners are still taking a hiatus from their monthly mortgage payments, according to the latest numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

What's New?
USDA mortgages now have loan limits.
For a long time, the USDA loan program was unique in that it didn’t enforce loan limits. That meant home buyers could theoretically borrow any amount — so long as they met other USDA mortgage requirements.

But that changed this year.

Builders to Add Escalation Clauses Due to Rising Lumber Prices. To help protect themselves from ongoing price increases in the lumber market, more builders are adding escalation clauses to their sales or construction contracts. #cbar #cbardiversity #cbarsteve

The pandemic may be shifting consumer preferences about what makes the best investment. A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York asked respondents to rate which is a better investment: a home or a financial asset such as stocks?

Foreign investment firms are reportedly making a big play for single-family homes in American suburbs.

These overseas investment firms traditionally have targeted office buildings, hotels, and shopping centers internationally. But they are seeing promise in buying or building rental homes—by the...

The median existing-home sales price surged to a record high in March, climbing 17.2% annually, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday.
“Consumers are facing much higher home prices, rising mortgage rates, and falling affordability,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Ho...