Rental Website Coupons and News

Like the normal trend in the rental market around this time as soon as school starts the rental market get very slow. This would make sense to anyone in a normal market but in this horrible rental and real estate market this might be the time to rent. There are so many rentals on the market during this season and hardly any renters especially people looking for a house or a 2 bedroom or higher. I would say keep your eyes open for a real deal and you just might find one.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Interest rates for long-term mortgages held steady this week as the troubled housing market continued to weigh on the nation’s economy, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

The government-backed mortgage finance giant said rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.52% for the week ending Thursday, unchanged from last week.

The recent average remains lower from the same time last year when rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.59%.

The news came as the housing market - with record foreclosures and sinking home sales prices - continued to take a toll.

“The housing market is continuing to act as a drag on the economy,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s vice president and chief economist, said in a statement. “Residential fixed investment subtracted 0.6 percentage points off second-quarter growth in real GDP.”

Inventory still high. Mortgage applications increased slightly for the week ended Aug. 1, but were still much lower compared with the same week last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.

The MBA said its Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — was 432.6, up a seasonally unadjusted 2.4% compared with the previous week and down 33.7% from a year earlier.

“Although showing some initial signs of improvement, the inventory of unsold homes remains at historically high levels,” Nothaft said.

There was some promising housing news on Thursday, however. The number of pending homes for sale rose 5.3% in June, a surprise rebound from the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, sales are still down 12.3% from last year. (Full story)

The country’s homeownership rate, meanwhile, essentially held steady during the second quarter of this year, compared to the previous quarter and second quarter of 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rates for other types of mortgages were mixed.

Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) said 15-year fixed-rate mortgages this week had rates averaging 6.10%, an increase from last week when they averaged 6.07%. A year ago, the 15-year mortgages averaged 6.25%.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.05% this week, down from last week when they averaged 6.07%. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.33%, Freddie Mac said.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.22% this week, down from last week when it averaged 5.27%. A year ago, the one-year ARM averaged 5.65%.

By Andrew Tangel, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The number of pending homes for sale rose in June, a rebound from the previous month, according to a report released Thursday.

The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index rose 5.3% in June to 89 from a downwardly revised reading of 84.5 in May.

The index remains 12.3% below its level in June 2007, when it stood at 101.4, but it’s at its highest point since October 2007, when it was at 89.9.

The number of homes under contract for sale fell more than expected in May, after a surprising spike in April.

However, this month’s report isn’t necessarily good news for the average home seller. That’s because many of the pending home sales are for foreclosed properties being sold at a steep discount by lenders, according to Mike Larson, a real estate analyst at Weiss Research.

“It’s bad news if you’re a regular home seller because you’re competing against institutions that are willing to undercut you - in some cases, by a large margin,” Larson said in a statement.

The report shows that housing markets picked up in every U.S. region.

The pending home sales index for the West coast climbed 4.6% in June. “You’re seeing some sort of rebound in California. Not only are sales picking up, but permit numbers are leveling off, meaning we may see a bottom for housing starts in the west,” said Patrick Newport, an economist at Global Insight.

In the South, the index jumped 9.3%, while it increased by 3.4% in the Northeast, and by 1.3% in the Midwest.

Home sales may get a boost in 2009 thanks to the government’s housing stimulus bill.

“With a tax credit now available to first-time home buyers, increases in home sales could be sustained with the momentum carrying into 2009,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

Indeed, NAR raised its existing-home sales outlook for 2009 by 7%, saying it now expects sales of 5.51 million next year, up from an expected total of 5.15 million this year.

Additionally, NAR projected that existing home prices will rise by 4.4% in 2009 to $215,800, according to a spokesman.

However, new-home sales in 2009 are forecast to drop 8.8% to $464,000, down from $509,000 this year.

The trade group launched the Pending Home Sales index in 2001, and a reading of 100 is equal to results that first year.

The index is considered a more forward-looking indicator of home sales than the NAR’s closely watched existing home sales report. Unlike existing home sales estimates, pending home sales are usually counted a month or two before a closing contract is signed. To top of page
First Published: August 7, 2008: 10:02 AM EDT

International real estate purchases in the U.S. continue to be a significant share of business for many real estate professionals, according to the 2008 National Association of Realtors® Profile of International Home Buying Activity.

This new research indicates that international buying activity in the U.S. is widespread. NAR estimates that between 150,000 and 190,000 homes were sold to foreign nationals from May 2007 to May 2008. Recent foreign buyers purchased properties in every state and the District of Columbia. The most popular states where international buyers purchased homes are Florida, California and Texas. Arizona, New York, Washington and Nevada were also popular.

The typical international buyer purchased a single-family vacation home costing $297,400. Four in 10 paid for their U.S. property with cash, compared with 7 percent for all domestic buyers. The typical international owner stayed at his or her U.S. property for 2.6 months during the year, according to the NAR findings.

Foreign exchange rates have helped make U.S. homes more affordable for international buyers. The euro, for example, has strengthened 24 percent versus the U.S. dollar over the past two years. Home prices are also now more affordable in places such as Florida and Arizona, contributing to those states’ popularity among foreign buyers.

“Many international buyers recognize that real estate is an excellent investment and are drawn today by abundant inventory, low interest rates and a softer dollar. These conditions allow them to own their own a piece of the American dream,” Gaylord said.

International buyers are distinct from domestic buyers. International buyers tend to purchase more expensive properties, which cost an average of 36 percent more than the typical domestic buyer’s home purchase. In fact, more than 14 percent of properties sold to international buyers sold in excess of $750,000. Foreign buyers also show a greater preference for condos and townhouses compared to domestic buyers.

People from North America, Europe and Asia accounted for more than 85 percent of recent foreign home buying transactions. The top six countries of origin for foreign home buyers, in rank order, were Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, India and Germany. This year, Canada replaced Mexico as the country with the largest share of foreign buyers in the U.S. The percentage of Canadian buyers doubled from last year, from 11 percent to 23.5 percent.

“This survey confirms a pattern that we have observed for some years in Florida and other markets that are attracting buyers from overseas,” said Tony Macaluso, 2008 chair of NAR’s international business group. “This latest research enhances our understanding of this audience and provides insight for the increasing number of REALTORS® with international clients.”

Of the REALTORS® surveyed, 26 percent served international clients in the past year and about half of those clients ended up purchasing a home. The primary reasons some clients did not eventually buy a house were home price concerns, immigration laws, and property taxes. “If visa regulations that favor longer stays for overseas buyers such as retirees from abroad were in place, these sales levels would be even higher,” Macaluso said.

REALTORS® who have sold homes to international clients reported that their transactions with these clients accounted for about 16 percent of their entire business. For about 8 percent of Realtors® who work with foreign buyers, more than half of their transactions were international sales.

The 2008 NAR Profile of International Home Buying Activity is based on responses from approximately 4,000 REALTORS® who serve foreign buyers. It describes international home buying activity in the U.S. over the 12-month period from May 2007 to May 2008 and updates information from the 2007 survey.

Source: NAR