On an annual comparative basis, March’s sales of existing homes increased by 0.8%, which considering the impact of the COVID pandemic, is positive. March’s seasonally adjusted annual rate increased from 5.23 million to 5.27 million in 2020. According to the National...

The average national rent rose to $1,468 in February, representing a 3.2% increase from the same time last year. Areas that have seen the highest increases in rent also reflect movements concomitant with the average price of a home sale. As expected, Seattle's growth...

Initially, JPMorgan Chase announced that they were increasing their lending standards for home mortgage borrowers. The new threshold would require at least a 20% down payment and a FICO score of minimum 700. This might appear to be severe but the average FICO score in...

First of all, not all debt is calculated equally.  There is standard credit card debt, and then student debt, auto loans and home mortgages. They aren’t viewed the same way by the credit agencies. A recent article reported that the average amount carried on a credit...

Seeing a Buying Slow-Down  According to Realtor.com's March 2020 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report, the nation’s available real estate inventory declined by 191,000 listings, or 15.7%, in March 2020 on an annual comparative basis with March 2019. And for the week...

Last month, some economists were predicting a likely recession by 2021. But it was all a guessing game. The economy was white-hot, and then Corona came to town. Consumer spending, business closings, furloughs and social distancing are all pointing to a recession. This...

When JPMorgan Chase announced that it is raising borrowing standards this week for most new home loans as the bank moves to mitigate lending risk stemming from the novel coronavirus disruption, the initial reaction might be concern. Hold on and take a deep breath....

The new CARES Act, which President Donald Trump signed March 27, will limit the economic damage resulting from COVID-19. Consequently, requests to delay mortgage payments jumped 1896% for the weeks of March 16-30 as borrowers continue to seek relief during the...

IN OBSERVANCE OF HOLY WEEK  Counsellors Title Agency Will Be Closed Friday, April 10th We will reopen Monday, April 13th.

What does smarter look like? Many agents believe that visibility is the greatest marketing advantage that anyone can achieve. But credibility is visibility with five stars.  Reconnecting Back up with your clients of the last year. Before you move forward with new...

Social Distance Marketing for Real Estate Agents

The slide in mortgage applications may accurately predict a decline in home sales for the month of March. But the momentum of the January and February buyers will definitely be factored into the next buying cycle as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. Depending...