- What Is the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)?
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) regulates the real estate settlement process by requiring lenders to provide certain disclosures to borrowers and prohibiting certain practices such as kickbacks and referral fees. Here’s a breakdown of what the act aims to protect, the requirements it imposes on industry professionals and the penalties for those who… read more…
- Where Is the Housing Market Headed?
The housing market can be something of a rollercoaster for buyers who are hoping to find great deals while battling rising interest rates and steep competition for properties. Home prices have been on a steady incline, with prices up 10.9%… read more…
- How to Use Real Estate Comps
When you purchase a home, you need to understand what makes a property valuable so you can get a sense of what you should pay. One of the biggest factors in assessing a property’s value is real estate comps, which… read more…
- Can Millennials Take Over a Tough Housing Market in 2022?
The Federal Reserve says that Generation X currently holds 41.5% of home mortgages in the second quarter of 2021, followed by baby boomers with 27.3% and then millennials with 26.7%. However, a new study from Realtor.com forecasts a generational shift with more than 45 million Millennials hitting “the prime first-time home buying ages of 26 to 35… read more…
- States Leading the Charge on Renewable Energy – 2021 Edition
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that renewable energy can increase power grid reliability, improve air quality and create more jobs. Additionally, renewable energy can lower fuel and electricity costs, reducing the total cost of homeownership. As Congress prepares to debate President Joe Biden’s sweeping $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, which focuses on building greener and… read more…
- Safest Cities in America – 2021 Edition
Safety is one of the top concerns for many families when picking a place to live. Besides the more recent public health concern of coronavirus infection rates, many Americans have usually looked for low crime and other low-risk factors in order to determine whether a new neighborhood is safe for them. While the definition of… read more…
- States Where Multigenerational Households Are Becoming More Common – 2021 Edition
The U.S. Census Bureau says that multigenerational households are more common among recent immigrants who live with relatives and families residing in areas that have housing shortages or high real estate costs. Other economic factors like mounting student debt and lack of employment can also drive people to move in with family in order to… read more…
- Hottest Secondary Home Markets in the U.S. – 2021 Edition
While the coronavirus pandemic has impacted millions of Americans with businesses shuttering and companies laying off employees, the secondary home market is seeing an unexpected surge. Remote workers are temporarily relocating from larger cities to less dense, more comfortable spaces. The real estate brokerage firm Redfin reported that the demand for second homes jumped 100% in… read more…
- Years of Work Needed to Afford a Down Payment – 2021 Edition
Assembling enough money for a down payment is typically the largest hurdle to clear when securing a mortgage. The median home price in the U.S. is up 14% year-over-year, according to a November 2020 Redfin report, and as the housing market gets more expensive, so too will the deposit that you have to front for… read more…
- Salary Needed to Afford Home Payments in the 15 Largest U.S. Cities – 2021 Edition
Housing costs eat up more of the average American’s salary each month than any other single expense, reaching about one third of average expenditures in 2019, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while homeownership is coded into the DNA of the American Dream, buying a home isn’t easy for many. Car payments,… read more…
- When Do Homeowners Pay More in Principal Than Interest? – 2021 Study
As 2020 mortgage rates in the U.S. reached historic lows, housing sales increased throughout the year. Freddie Mac data shows that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, excluding fees and points, fell to less than 3% in July 2020 for the first time ever. Amid those plunging mortgage rates, in November 2020, new and existing home… read more…
- Most Affordable Beach Towns – 2021 Edition
Living by the beach can be expensive. Mortgage payments, property taxes and space can make your dream home unattainable. But if you know where to look, you can find a shore home without breaking the bank. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that the U.S. has over 95,000 miles of shoreline, which includes all… read more…
- Best Places to Work in Manufacturing – 2020 Edition
Manufacturing has a special place in the American story, but for the past few decades, this sector has been largely on the decline, impacting many workers and affecting decisions around things like budgeting and where they call home. Since 1997, more than 91,000 manufacturing plants have closed and almost 5 million manufacturing jobs have been… read more…
- Most Livable Cities in the U.S. – 2020 Edition
People choose where to live based on many factors – availability of jobs, location of family, and the weather all come into play for most folks. Something some Americans may not remember to take into consideration, though, is the livability of a city. While this can be hard to quantify, SmartAsset has tried to do… read more…
- Best Cities for Diversity in STEM – 2020 Edition
Over the past 30 years, employment in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) jobs has grown by almost 80%, according to a recent figure from Pew Research Center. However, there is still significant disparity in representation across gender lines and particularly racial ones: though Blacks and Hispanics combined accounted for more than a quarter (27%) of… read more…
- Best States for Veterans – 2020 Edition
How easily veterans adjust to their lives after service depends on many factors, not the least of which is their ability to maintain adequate finances to cover their home payments and daily needs. There’s good news for vets on that front, though: While about 37,000 veterans still experienced homelessness in January 2019, the homelessness rate… read more…
- Best States for the Middle Class – 2020 Edition
Though definitions vary, economists and researchers generally characterize the middle class as households that earn approximately two-thirds to two times the median national income. Slightly more than half (52%) of American households are middle-class, according to the Pew Research Center, a decline from 61% in 1971. But the middle-class squeeze — featuring lowered living standards,… read more…
- Best Places to Raise Kids – 2020 Edition
Raising kids is a difficult task – one that has been made harder for many in recent months as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the accompanying economic trouble. Finding the best place to grow a family is a process that involves many factors that often change depending on where you look. That’s why… read more…
- Best States for Homeowners – 2020 Edition
With mortgage rates falling and a renewed emphasis put on living space during COVID-19, U.S. home sales have boomed. Data from the National Association of Realtors shows that sales of previously owned homes increased by 20.7% over the month of June and rose an additional 24.7% during July. Meanwhile, based on the Census’ Survey of… read more…
- Most Dog-Friendly Cities in America – 2020 Edition
According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent $95.7 billion on their pets in 2019, with almost $37 billion going toward pet food and treats alone. Given that dogs are among the most popular pets in the U.S., it’s probably no surprise for current or prospective pup parents that creating space in one’s home… read more…
- Best Cities for Young Professionals – 2020 Edition
Where Americans in the early stages of their careers choose to live can have an outsize influence on their professional development and trajectory. After all, not all places offer the same opportunities and quality of life. That’s why SmartAsset analyzed data from various sources to find the cities across America that are the best for… read more…
- Top 10 Rising Housing Markets – 2020 Edition
In recent years, housing demand has increased by more than 10% in some cities while declining by almost 5% in others. And amid that disparity, it’s important to be strategic about where it would be best to take out a mortgage or put a house up for sale, since not all markets are performing equally well. With… read more…
- States Where Multigenerational Households Are Becoming More Common – 2020 Edition
Almost one in every 25 households in America consists of three or more generations living under the same roof. Specifically, in 2018, of the roughly 122 million households in the U.S., about 4.61 million of them were multigenerational. Though this number has remained flat nationally over the past several years, states have seen wide variations… read more…
- Price-to-Rent Ratio in the 50 Largest U.S. Cities – 2020 Edition
A central question for most Americans when choosing where to live is whether to rent or buy. Each comes with its pros and cons. Renting a place can offer more flexibility without the burden of mortgage payments, but means you are spending money each month without building any equity. Buying means you can build equity… read more…
- Years of Work Needed to Afford a Down Payment – 2020 Edition
Owning a home is a dream for many Americans, but it can be difficult to attain. Monthly costs, which can include mortgage payments, taxes and insurance, total an average of $1,082 nationwide, according to the Census Bureau. And that’s after paying for the upfront costs of a home, including a down payment. Most people who… read more…