Archive for the Real Estate Category

What Home Features Do Buyers Consider Essential?

By Mid America Mortgage on December 30, 2018 / Buying a Home, Real Estate

Tags: home buyers, home buying, home design

young woman with mobile device house drawing

If you’re searching for a home, or planning on building a new one, chances are you’ve given a lot of thought to the features that are most important to you. For some, garage storage and formal living rooms top the list. For others, a laundry room and walk-in closets reign supreme. According to a recent poll conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the features that first time home buyers consider essential are remarkably similar to the features most wanted by repeat buyers.

Pending Home Sales Post Surprising Drop in November

By Mid America Mortgage on December 29, 2018 / Real Estate

Tags: home sales, real estate news

Sales contracts for previously-owned homes in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped in November, marking the second month of declines. The index of pending home sales fell 0.7 percent month-over-month in November, according to recent data released by the National Association of Realtors in Washington. The index fell 7.7 percent from a year ago (on an unadjusted basis), following a downwardly revised 4.7 percent slump in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast pending home sales to rise 0.7 percent last month. These weaker results point to continuing challenges the market faces: higher mortgage rates and elevated home prices. These factors could

Home Price Gains Slowing

By Mid America Mortgage on December 26, 2018 / Real Estate

Tags: home prices, housing news, real estate

The rate at which home prices are increasing appears to be slowing down, according to the latest Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. Fewer than half of the cities tracked by the organization posted price increases on an unadjusted basis in October, with annual readings also showing price gain slowdowns. The Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.5 percent annual gain in October, which is unchanged from the year-over-year reading in September. This is noteworthy because the index had not been below 6 percent in twelve months until it fell to 5.7 percent