Jason Agee's Blog: October 2017

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Home Prices Unstoppable; 2-Week Low Rates; CFPB's New Warning System

It is increasingly hackneyed to say it, but home price appreciation accelerated yet again in August. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, increased by 6.1% on a year-over-year basis, outpacing annual increase reported for July by 0.2 percentage point. It was the largest gain thus far in 2017. The non-seasonally adjusted increase on a monthly basis did slow slightly; the gain was 0.5 percent compared to 0.7 percent from June to July. There was an 0.5 percent increase after seasonal adjustment as well. The 10-City Composite Index rose 5.3 percent compared to a 5.2 percent annual change in July, and the monthly index was 0.5 percent higher on both an adjusted and a non-adjusted basis. The annual increase in the 20-City

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/31/3065

Parapet atop apartment tower generating debate about finished product

Some onlookers have noticed a difference between renderings for 360 Market Square and what's being built atop the apartment tower. It turns out the developer has switched a prominent material.

from
https://www.ibj.com/blogs/3-property-lines/post/65986-parapet-atop-apartment-tower-generating-debate-about-finished-product

New Podcast on Seniors Housing

Episode 3 of the Freddie Mac Multifamily Podcast delves into matters related to seniors housing. More

from
http://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/20171025_podcast_seniors_housing.html?attr=rssCB

Affordability Sidelining First Time Buyers; NAHB Changes Tune on Tax Cuts; Rates at 1-Week Lows; Prices Peaked in August

The demand, steady gains in employment, low interest rates, and higher rents are all incentives to buy a home. But the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) says the fast appreciation of home prices, driven by a severe drought in available homes, has kept many first-time buyers on the sidelines. NAR's annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers , released on Monday, identifies many 2017 housing and consumer trends. The Profile lists results of a survey of recent buyers and sellers and shows increases in single female and trade-up buyers, smaller down payments, mounting levels of student debt, a growing incidence of houses selling for more than their listing prices, and for-sale-by-owner transactions reaching an all-time low of 8 percent for the third straight year as more consumers use

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/30/3063

Rate Spike Pauses on Fed Chair Optimism; Chapter 11 for ditech's Parent?

Mortgage rates recovered some of their recent losses today, with most lenders moving back into Wednesday's territory. The improvement followed another round of rumors regarding Trump's Fed Chair selection process. Specifically, Jerome Powell was indicated as the frontrunner this time around. Here's why that's important. The Fed Chair (a role currently filled by Janet Yellen) is perhaps the most important person in the world when it comes to interest rate movement. While the Fed will ultimately be forced to adapt its rate policy to economic conditions, so many of the ups and downs we experience along the way are driven by the Fed's decisions. And the Fed Chair has a disproportionate amount of control over those decisions compared to anyone else at the Fed. In short, don't think of the Fed as

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/27/3059

Rates Are Spiking; Don't Fear The ARMs; Pending Sales Wallowing

Mortgage rates are in a bit of trouble, having moved higher at the fastest pace since late June in the past few days. If you've had occasion to read an update on mortgage rates from most major media outlets today, the news is actually worse than you've heard. The most widely-cited source on any given Thursday is Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. While accurate over time, it doesn't account well for day to day changes when things are volatile--especially if those changes occur between Wednesday and Friday. Unfortunately, Wed/Thu of this week have been worse than any other consecutive days in terms of upward rate movement. Whereas Freddie's survey suggests rates being roughly 0.06% higher versus last week, the average lender is offering rates today that are just over 0.125

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/26/3057

New Home Sales Blowout; Prices Defying Gravity, but so are Rates

Analysts had predicted new home sales number would retreat again in September, on the heels of a 9.4 percent loss in August. Whoops! September's results from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development were far beyond anyone's expectations. Sales of newly constructed single-family homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000 units, an 18.9 percent month-over-month increase and 17 percent above the September 2016 pace. The earlier estimate for August was revised upward, but only by 1,000 units to 561,000. Analysts polled by Econoday had expected sales to be in the range of 540,000 to 590,000. The consensus was 555,000. On a non-adjusted basis there were 52,000 new homes sold during the month compared to 45,000 in August. Despite two hurricanes hitting

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/25/3055

Rates Jump to 3-Month Highs; Origination Forecast Through 2019; Low Income Rental Affordability Drying Up

Mortgage rates jumped abruptly higher today for many lenders after reports of an informal show of hands in favor of John Taylor as Trump's potential Fed Chair nominee. Taylor is one of two candidates being seriously considered, and he's generally seen as being less rate-friendly than the other candidate, current Fed board member Jerome Powell. Trump indicated he was "very very close" to making a decision yesterday, so markets are especially sensitive to headlines that seem to answer the question: how will be the next person to lead the world's biggest and most influential central bank? The Fed doesn't specifically set mortgage rates, but Fed policies have far-reaching consequences for the broader bond/rate market. Most mortgages are securitized--basically, they become bonds--and thus tend to

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/24/3053

Roundup: Distillery debuting near East 16th; BurgerFuel revving up for Mass Ave

West Fork Whiskey looks to complement Cannonball Brewing on Bellefontaine, and the New Zealand burger joint nails down its second Indy locale. Plus, pancakes in Irvington.

from
https://www.ibj.com/blogs/3-property-lines/post/65973-roundup-distillery-debuting-near-east-16th-burgerfuel-revving-up-for-mass-ave

Monday, October 30, 2017

Affordability Sidelining First Time Buyers; NAHB Changes Tune on Tax Cuts; Rates at 1-Week Lows; Prices Peaked in August

Roundup: Distillery debuting near East 16th; BurgerFuel revving up for Mass Ave

Sunday, October 29, 2017

New Podcast on Seniors Housing

Episode 3 of the Freddie Mac Multifamily Podcast delves into matters related to seniors housing. More

from
http://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/20171025_podcast_seniors_housing.html?attr=rssCB

Hurricane Season Puts Pressure on Housing

As the country recovers from the impact of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, we expect economic activity to bounce back in the longer term despite the... More

from
http://www.freddiemac.com/research/outlook/20171023_hurricane_season_pressure.html?attr=rssCB

Saturday, October 28, 2017

New Podcast on Seniors Housing

Episode 3 of the Freddie Mac Multifamily Podcast delves into matters related to seniors housing. More

from
http://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/20171025_podcast_seniors_housing.html?attr=rssCB

Hurricane Season Puts Pressure on Housing

Friday, October 27, 2017

Rate Spike Pauses on Fed Chair Optimism; Chapter 11 for ditech's Parent?

New Podcast on Seniors Housing

Episode 3 of the Freddie Mac Multifamily Podcast delves into matters related to seniors housing. More

from
http://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/20171025_podcast_seniors_housing.html?attr=rssCB

Hurricane Season Puts Pressure on Housing

Scary Things - Show 455

Real Estate Today Radio - SHOW 455

On this week's Real Estate Today, it's our special show "Scary Things."

This Week's Show Includes:
- Top News Of The Week
- Haunted House for Sale
- Renting to Owning
- Ask The Millennial
- Smart Home Technology
- Get REALTOR(R)

Become a part of the community at http://retradio.com!

from
http://retradio.com

Rates Are Spiking; Don't Fear The ARMs; Pending Sales Wallowing

New Home Sales Blowout; Prices Defying Gravity, but so are Rates

Rates Jump to 3-Month Highs; Origination Forecast Through 2019; Low Income Rental Affordability Drying Up

Hurricanes' 3 Effects on Housing; MBA on Lenders' False Sense of Security

Like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac's economists are viewing the disruptions from the recent hurricanes as short-lived . The 33,000-job loss in September, for example, was largely attributable to a steep month-over-month drop in hiring in the leisure and hospitality industry, almost certainly an effect of the storms. The already tight supply of homes was exacerbated by the hurricanes, with total home sales for August at a weak 5.9 million units. Freddie Mac's economists devote most of this month's Outlook to looking at the potential impact in the shorter and longer terms. Moody's Analytics' preliminarily puts the economic losses in Texas and Florida from Harvey and Irma at almost $168 billion. Roughly $51 to $56 billion worth of residential real estate was affected by Hurricane Harvey and $30 to

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/23/3051

Existing Sales Beat Forecast; Consumers Trust People Over Websites; Rates Rocked (Relatively) by Tax Plan Optimism

It was only a small gain , albeit larger than analysts expected, but after three straight months of sliding sales, the existing home sales report for September is still good news. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR), said the month saw closed transactions for the purchase of single-family houses, townhouses, condos and cooperative apartments rise to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million. This is an increase of 0.7 percent from the August rate of 5.35 million. NAR noted that "Ongoing supply shortages and recent hurricanes muted overall activity." This meant that even as sales were higher compared to August, they were down 1.5 percent year-over-year and were the second slowest of the year, trailing only those in August. Analysts polled by Econoday were looking for sales

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/20/3047

4 Home Staging Horror Stories to Haunt You This Halloween

By Jessica Santina, guest contributor from MoneyGeek.com

As little ghosts and ghouls appear on every corner, how about settling in for a few scary stories of home staging horrors?

The following tales of botched staging jobs, homeowners from hell, and nightmarish décor will likely give you some real-life shivers.

The Scary Screamer

Lori Matzke, owner of CenterStageHome.com, is a home staging expert in the Minneapolis area. As a new stager in 1999, she encountered a horrifying homeowner.

“Unfortunately, at that time, staging had a really bad rap,” Matzke says. “People were so offended if a [an agent] wanted a stager to come into their home — the perception was that you must really live in a pit if you needed staging.”

That was the case with this job. Matzke received a call from a real estate agent asking her to do a staging consultation on a home that was going on the market. Matzke agreed to meet the agent at the home that Sunday morning.

She arrived on time and knocked on the door, only to be greeted by a furious homeowner.

“What do you want?” he barked at her. When she explained who she was and why she was there, he replied, “Oh, yeah, you’re the one who’s coming to criticize our house.”

Matzke politely explained that she only wanted to help them to sell it. The man’s wife came to the door, apologized for her husband, and invited Matzke in. Once she was inside, the man slammed the door so hard that three items fell off the wall.

The agent was running late, so Matzke proceeded to do a walk-through of the home. But every suggestion she made, including the need for a neutral paint color to replace the dark gray, was met with intense hostility.

“He went crazy and started cursing me out,” she says.

Over the course of the next 90 minutes, Matzke feared for her safety as the man repeatedly hurled personal insults at her, screaming, and slamming doors until — at long last — she was able to make her getaway.

Since then Matzke has made it a policy to warn clients not to take offense of her staging suggestions.

“It’s not personal; it has nothing to do with the homeowners’ taste. It’s just about the buyer experience,” she says.

The Body in the Closet

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

Another time, Matzke was asked to meet an agent at a home for a staging consultation. The two of them walked through the empty home, which Matzke thought was quite nice and needed only a little editing — things like moving furniture around a bit.

The consultation with the agent went on for some time, and she thought it was going well until suddenly, to their extreme shock, the hall closet door swung open and the homeowner jumped out.

“He’d been waiting there a long time in that closet, wanting to hear what people said about his house when no one was there!” Matzke says.

As if this weren’t bad enough, Matzke heard later the house had remained on the market for a long time, mostly because the homeowner had a nasty habit of jumping out of closets and startling visitors.

“The moral of the story is, you can’t be hanging around,” Matzke says. “Some sellers take it very personally when people come to view their homes, but it makes buyers very uncomfortable” for you to be there (especially if you’re hiding in a closet).

Hall of Severed Heads

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

Nothing kills a sale like a room full of dead heads. That’s what Matzke suggested to one client whose small house was packed with at least 20 taxidermied animals, including a giant moose head.

“You literally couldn’t walk into the kitchen or you’d be gored by an antler,” she recalls.

Of course, as an experienced stager, Matzke recommended removing the heads to make the home more appealing to potential buyers, and reminded the homeowners their new home would have plenty of space for these treasures. They reluctantly agreed, and when Matzke returned the next week to paint and finish the job, the heads were gone.

“It looked beautiful, like a totally different space,” she says.

Matzke arranged to have a friend go take pictures of the home a few days later so she would have photos for her portfolio. But when the photos arrived in her email, Matzke made a horrific discovery: “The first photo I opened, there was that giant moose head again!”

Nightmare Décor

Photo credit: Shell Brodnax, Real Estate Staging Association

In this age of DIY reality shows, many people fancy themselves as amateur home stagers, says Shell Brodnax, CEO of the Real Estate Staging Association.

“We love HGTV, and they’ve definitely shined a light on staging,” she says. “But it also leads homeowners to believe they can do stuff on their own. But, like anything else, you need a professional to make it look professional.”

Brodnax has seen some truly frightening faux pas as a stager — forlorn tableaus like card tables set up in the middle of empty rooms, or armchairs and throw blankets stuffed into awkward spaces.

Or this head scratcher: “I saw one where people just put a pile of throw pillows on the floor. We’re not sure why, but it was bad,” she says.

Don’t leave staging to hobbyists, she cautions. Instead, collect bids from at least three stagers, check out their professional portfolios, and call references. Even in the staging world, you get what you pay for.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jessica Santina is a freelance writer, editor and contributor to the mortgage and home buying channel at MoneyGeek.com. She is an award-winning arts and culture, travel, food, and lifestyle writer and blogger whose work has been published in numerous local and regional publications.

from
http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2017/10/27/4-home-staging-horror-stories-to-haunt-you-this-halloween/

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Roundup: Distillery debuting near East 16th; BurgerFuel revving up for Mass Ave

Home Values In Greater Seattle Growing Twice as Fast as San Francisco's

Seattle and San Jose, Calif. have left San Francisco's housing market in the dust, with metro home values rising at double-digit rates, according to the September Zillow Real Estate Market Report

from
http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2017-10-26-Home-Values-In-Greater-Seattle-Growing-Twice-as-Fast-as-San-Franciscos

How to Choose the Right Stain for Hardwood Floors

By Glenn Griffin, guest contributor

One of the most commonly asked questions people have when restoring their hardwood floors is: “Should I stain my floor?” That question is closely followed by: “What color stain should I choose?”

Photo by Delaware Valley Hardwoods

Staining your floors is a major decision for three reasons: 1) Your choice will have a substantial impact on the overall look of your home, 2) You will be living with your color choice for a very long time and 3) Once the stain is applied, it’s expensive and time consuming to redo it.

On top of that, there is literally hundreds of colors, shades, and combinations to choose between. Choices, choices, choices!

That’s a lot of pressure.

Thankfully, choosing the perfect color for your wood floors isn’t too difficult. You just need to know the right questions to ask. Below we’ll go through some questions that will get you on the right track of deciding whether you should even stain in the first place, and if so, how to choose the perfect stain color for your home.

Photo by Advantage Hardwood Refinishing

STEP 1: Can I and Should I Stain My Floors?

You have a choice of staining your floors or keeping them in their natural state. Some floors are perfect for staining, others not so much. Which way you decide will depend on your answers to the following 2 questions…

What type of wood floors do I have?

If you are fortunate enough to have an exotic or unique wood floor such as mahogany, cherry, walnut, or maple then most likely they shouldn’t be stained.

First, these types of wood already look beautiful in their natural state. Often, when homeowners stain their floors, they are trying to imitate these types of wood floors. Second, many of these exotic floors also don’t take being stained well due to the oils or tight grain in the wood. There’s a high chance you won’t be happy with the result. It’s much better to keep them unstained and enjoy their natural beauty.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

On the other hand, you may have a more common type of hardwood floor like red or white oak.

Over time, some finishes — especially oil based finishes — turn oak a yellowish-orange look that often gets associated with your grandparent’s floors from the 1960s. Other newer water based finishes can have a washed-out look if applied to a natural unstained oak floor. If this is not the look you’re going for, or you want to completely transform how they look, then staining is a great option.

Luckily, oak floors are perfect candidates for being stained and take stain application extremely well when the proper techniques are used.

Is there any water or pet damage?

If you have previous damage on your floors due to an overzealous pot plant waterer or the last owner’s bladder-challenged pets, then you have a couple of options: 1) Replace the damaged areas, or 2) Stain the floors a darker color than the damage so it’s not as obvious.

If the water damage covers a large portion of the floor but it’s only surface damage and can be muted with a darker color, then staining is well worth considering. It will save you a lot of money compared to the alternative of replacing the floors.

Photo by Advantage Hardwood Refinishing

STEP 2: What Color Should I Choose?

Because there are so many color choices, this step can get a bit overwhelming. There are many different suppliers and they all have different shades and colors. Some manufacturers, especially with hardwax oils, have pre-treatment colors that can be layered on top of stain, or under it, to provide an unlimited color palette. You will want to get some color samples from your flooring professional to see the range you can choose from.

Our suggestion in choosing a color would be to first ask yourself…

What decorating style do you have or want?

Having a specific taste in furniture or an interior design style in mind will be a huge help in deciding on a stain color. Will you be buying new furniture? If so, you will have some more leeway. If you are keeping your existing furniture, then you will need to find a color that works with what you have.

If you love rustic farmhouse style interiors, you wouldn’t stain your floors dark ebony or grey. It would completely clash with your rustic furniture. Mid-toned brown shades would be a better fit.

For a modern, bold sleek contemporary design style, rich red hues would be very out of place. Ebony, white, or one of the various grey shades would be much better suited.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

The key is to find a color that highlights and sets the groundwork for the interior decorating style you’re aiming for. Remember, your floors make up a large area of your home and will have a significant impact on the overall design. You want something that not only grounds your room, but also blends your decorating style cohesively together.

Because many of us find it difficult to visualize these images in our heads, a great idea is to grab some home decorating, architecture, and interior design magazines for inspiration. There are lots of online resources for photos too, like Pinterest and Houzz.

Flip through them and find all the photos with your ideal interior design style. What have others, especially professional designers, done in similar situations to what you envision? What catches your eye? What can you see yourself living with long-term? Do you like the light, airy look and feel more drawn to a lighter colored shade? Or do you prefer the deep, bold look of a darker floor? Maybe something in-between?

When you find a color you love, save the photo and show it to your wood floor professional. They’ll be able to help you find out how to replicate it.

Photo by Delaware Valley Hardwoods

What if I can’t decide between 2 or 3 colors?

If you’ve narrowed your choices down to 2 or 3 colors then you’re well on your way to getting the perfect stain for your hardwood floors.

The next step is to have your floor professional provide some larger samples. He’ll be able to offer two choices: either put the stain samples directly on your floor (after sanding a section), or make you some large portable sample panels.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

The benefit of putting stain samples directly on your floor is that you can see exactly how the final color will look.

The beauty of sample panels also is you can move them around the house and see what the color looks like in various areas of your home, around your furniture, against the kitchen cabinets, etc. Try to get your floor professional to coat them with the same finish system you will use so that the color isn’t distorted.

With either type of sample, you will be able to observe what they look like during various times of the day and in different lighting conditions.

Once you live with your samples for a few days, you’ll know exactly what color will be perfect for your home.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Glenn Griffin helps service based businesses attract and convert high quality leads with content and marketing. As an expert in hardwood flooring, he writes content for various flooring websites including Tadas Wood Flooring, Advantage Hardwood Refinishing and Delaware Valley Hardwoods You can see their work in the photos above.

from
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StyledStagedSold/~3/LyHaWXwYZN8/

Century-old men’s clothing store going out of business

The store, which has been at its current location in Glendale for 45 years, is in its third generation of ownership.

from
https://www.ibj.com/blogs/3-property-lines/post/65918-century-old-mens-clothing-store-going-out-of-business

Rates Are Spiking; Don't Fear The ARMs; Pending Sales Wallowing

Roundup: Distillery debuting near East 16th; BurgerFuel revving up for Mass Ave

Home Values In Greater Seattle Growing Twice as Fast as San Francisco's

How to Choose the Right Stain for Hardwood Floors

By Glenn Griffin, guest contributor

Photo by Delaware Valley Hardwoods

On top of that, there is literally hundreds of colors, shades, and combinations to choose between. Choices, choices, choices!

That’s a lot of pressure.

Photo by Advantage Hardwood Refinishing

STEP 1: Can I and Should I Stain My Floors?

What type of wood floors do I have?

If you are fortunate enough to have an exotic or unique wood floor such as mahogany, cherry, walnut, or maple then most likely they shouldn’t be stained.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

On the other hand, you may have a more common type of hardwood floor like red or white oak.

Luckily, oak floors are perfect candidates for being stained and take stain application extremely well when the proper techniques are used.

Is there any water or pet damage?

Photo by Advantage Hardwood Refinishing

STEP 2: What Color Should I Choose?

Our suggestion in choosing a color would be to first ask yourself…

What decorating style do you have or want?

If you love rustic farmhouse style interiors, you wouldn’t stain your floors dark ebony or grey. It would completely clash with your rustic furniture. Mid-toned brown shades would be a better fit.

For a modern, bold sleek contemporary design style, rich red hues would be very out of place. Ebony, white, or one of the various grey shades would be much better suited.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

When you find a color you love, save the photo and show it to your wood floor professional. They’ll be able to help you find out how to replicate it.

Photo by Delaware Valley Hardwoods

What if I can’t decide between 2 or 3 colors?

If you’ve narrowed your choices down to 2 or 3 colors then you’re well on your way to getting the perfect stain for your hardwood floors.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

The benefit of putting stain samples directly on your floor is that you can see exactly how the final color will look.

With either type of sample, you will be able to observe what they look like during various times of the day and in different lighting conditions.

Once you live with your samples for a few days, you’ll know exactly what color will be perfect for your home.

from
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StyledStagedSold/~3/LyHaWXwYZN8/

Century-old men’s clothing store going out of business

Roundup: Distillery debuting near East 16th; BurgerFuel revving up for Mass Ave

Century-old men’s clothing store going out of business

Roundup: Distillery debuting near East 16th; BurgerFuel revving up for Mass Ave

Home Values In Greater Seattle Growing Twice as Fast as San Francisco's

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

New Home Sales Blowout; Prices Defying Gravity, but so are Rates

New Podcast on Seniors Housing

Episode 3 of the Freddie Mac Multifamily Podcast delves into matters related to seniors housing. More

from
http://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/20171025_podcast_seniors_housing.html?attr=rssCB

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Rates Jump to 3-Month Highs; Origination Forecast Through 2019; Low Income Rental Affordability Drying Up

Hurricane Season Puts Pressure on Housing

Hurricanes' 3 Effects on Housing; MBA on Lenders' False Sense of Security

Existing Sales Beat Forecast; Consumers Trust People Over Websites; Rates Rocked (Relatively) by Tax Plan Optimism

Freddie's Student Loan Calc Change: Mortgage Rates Hold Ground Amid Market Volatility; Remodelers Face Backlogs, Labor Shortages

Mortgage rates were unchanged to slightly lower today. Political drama in Europe pushed stocks lower overnight and sent investors toward safer haven assets like bonds. Higher demand for bonds pushes rates lower, all things being equal. All of the above meant a stronger start for bond markets and slightly lower mortgage rates this morning. Still, the average improvement was so small that it was barely noticeable, largely because bonds had weakened yesterday afternoon, implying that lenders would have started today at a disadvantage were it not for the overnight improvement. Still with me there? In a nutshell , bond market weakness yesterday never made it onto lender rate sheets and this morning's bond market strength was just barely enough to counteract that weakness. We're splitting hairs in

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/19/3045

Construction Under The Weather; Single Family Permits on the Mend; Applications Regain Footing; Rates Rise

Mortgage rates moved modestly higher today despite bigger movement in underlying bond markets. In part, this is a byproduct of the way rates behaved at the end of last week, when lenders didn't adjust rates lower as quickly as bond market strength would have suggested. In short, rates are playing it closer to the vest while the bonds that underlie and inform rate movement have been a bit more volatile. Bonds and rates frequently react to economic reports and other news that speaks to the health of the economy or the rate-setting policies of the Federal Reserve. Although we did have a key report on new home construction and several speakers from the Fed today, rates were preoccupied with less overt motivations. One example would be bond traders who decided to sell bonds today simply because

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/18/3043

Rates Rise; Builder Confidence Bounces Back; A Friendlier Read on Recent Construction Numbers

Mortgage rates were at their best levels in roughly a month last Friday afternoon. Since then, they've risen modestly on each of the past two business days. As has been the case for quite some time, day-to-day movement continues to be very tame. The actual interest rates at the top of loan quotes rarely change from one day to the next. Instead, fine-tuning adjustments to the overall cost of financing come courtesy of slightly higher upfront costs--at least in today's case. In other words, if you were being quoted 3.875% yesterday on a 30yr loan yesterday, chances are you'd be seeing the same rate today, but with upfront costs just a bit higher (or a lender credit that's just a bit lower, depending on the scenario). In the bigger picture, rates are attempting to push lower after rising fairly

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/17/3041

Century-old men’s clothing store going out of business

Kroger sets debut for former Marsh store downtown

The chain is sinking nearly $2 million into revamping the location. The turnaround will be finished soon, and Kroger's other former Marsh stores should be open by late March.

from
https://www.ibj.com/blogs/3-property-lines/post/65882-kroger-sets-debut-for-former-marsh-store-downtown

How to Choose the Right Stain for Hardwood Floors

By Glenn Griffin, guest contributor

Photo by Delaware Valley Hardwoods

On top of that, there is literally hundreds of colors, shades, and combinations to choose between. Choices, choices, choices!

That’s a lot of pressure.

Photo by Advantage Hardwood Refinishing

STEP 1: Can I and Should I Stain My Floors?

What type of wood floors do I have?

If you are fortunate enough to have an exotic or unique wood floor such as mahogany, cherry, walnut, or maple then most likely they shouldn’t be stained.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

On the other hand, you may have a more common type of hardwood floor like red or white oak.

Luckily, oak floors are perfect candidates for being stained and take stain application extremely well when the proper techniques are used.

Is there any water or pet damage?

Photo by Advantage Hardwood Refinishing

STEP 2: What Color Should I Choose?

Our suggestion in choosing a color would be to first ask yourself…

What decorating style do you have or want?

If you love rustic farmhouse style interiors, you wouldn’t stain your floors dark ebony or grey. It would completely clash with your rustic furniture. Mid-toned brown shades would be a better fit.

For a modern, bold sleek contemporary design style, rich red hues would be very out of place. Ebony, white, or one of the various grey shades would be much better suited.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

When you find a color you love, save the photo and show it to your wood floor professional. They’ll be able to help you find out how to replicate it.

Photo by Delaware Valley Hardwoods

What if I can’t decide between 2 or 3 colors?

If you’ve narrowed your choices down to 2 or 3 colors then you’re well on your way to getting the perfect stain for your hardwood floors.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

The benefit of putting stain samples directly on your floor is that you can see exactly how the final color will look.

With either type of sample, you will be able to observe what they look like during various times of the day and in different lighting conditions.

Once you live with your samples for a few days, you’ll know exactly what color will be perfect for your home.

from
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StyledStagedSold/~3/LyHaWXwYZN8/

Century-old men’s clothing store going out of business

Kroger sets debut for former Marsh store downtown

Monday, October 23, 2017

Hurricanes' 3 Effects on Housing; MBA on Lenders' False Sense of Security

Century-old men’s clothing store going out of business

Kroger sets debut for former Marsh store downtown

Hurricane Season Puts Pressure on Housing

How to Choose the Right Stain for Hardwood Floors

By Glenn Griffin, guest contributor

Photo by Delaware Valley Hardwoods

On top of that, there is literally hundreds of colors, shades, and combinations to choose between. Choices, choices, choices!

That’s a lot of pressure.

Photo by Advantage Hardwood Refinishing

STEP 1: Can I and Should I Stain My Floors?

What type of wood floors do I have?

If you are fortunate enough to have an exotic or unique wood floor such as mahogany, cherry, walnut, or maple then most likely they shouldn’t be stained.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

On the other hand, you may have a more common type of hardwood floor like red or white oak.

Luckily, oak floors are perfect candidates for being stained and take stain application extremely well when the proper techniques are used.

Is there any water or pet damage?

Photo by Advantage Hardwood Refinishing

STEP 2: What Color Should I Choose?

Our suggestion in choosing a color would be to first ask yourself…

What decorating style do you have or want?

If you love rustic farmhouse style interiors, you wouldn’t stain your floors dark ebony or grey. It would completely clash with your rustic furniture. Mid-toned brown shades would be a better fit.

For a modern, bold sleek contemporary design style, rich red hues would be very out of place. Ebony, white, or one of the various grey shades would be much better suited.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

When you find a color you love, save the photo and show it to your wood floor professional. They’ll be able to help you find out how to replicate it.

Photo by Delaware Valley Hardwoods

What if I can’t decide between 2 or 3 colors?

If you’ve narrowed your choices down to 2 or 3 colors then you’re well on your way to getting the perfect stain for your hardwood floors.

Photo by Tadas Wood Flooring Inc

The benefit of putting stain samples directly on your floor is that you can see exactly how the final color will look.

With either type of sample, you will be able to observe what they look like during various times of the day and in different lighting conditions.

Once you live with your samples for a few days, you’ll know exactly what color will be perfect for your home.

from
http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2017/10/23/how-to-choose-the-right-stain-for-the-hardwood-floors/

Existing Sales Beat Forecast; Consumers Trust People Over Websites; Rates Rocked (Relatively) by Tax Plan Optimism

Freddie's Student Loan Calc Change: Mortgage Rates Hold Ground Amid Market Volatility; Remodelers Face Backlogs, Labor Shortages

Construction Under The Weather; Single Family Permits on the Mend; Applications Regain Footing; Rates Rise

Rates Rise; Builder Confidence Bounces Back; A Friendlier Read on Recent Construction Numbers

Rates Sideways to Slightly Higher; Friendly Trend Intact For Now; Bank Earnings

Mortgage rates were sideways to slightly higher today, depending on the lender. Underlying bond markets suggested a bit more movement, and that will likely be reflected in tomorrow morning's rate sheets unless bonds improve overnight. In other words, effective rates are just a bit lower this afternoon than bond market trading levels would imply. This happens fairly often when bonds move during the day, but not by a wide enough margin to prompt mortgage lenders to reissue the day's rate sheets. All that having been said, the change would still be fairly minimal in the bigger picture, with most any lender continuing to quote the same interest rate (just with slightly higher upfront costs). After dropping at the best pace in more than a month to the lowest levels in roughly a month on Friday,

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/16/3039

Friday, October 20, 2017

Existing Sales Beat Forecast; Consumers Trust People Over Websites; Rates Rocked (Relatively) by Tax Plan Optimism

Century-old men’s clothing store going out of business

Think Like a Home Inspector! - Show 454

Real Estate Today Radio - SHOW 454

On this week's Real Estate Today, it's our special show "Think Like a Home Inspector!"

This Week's Show Includes:
- Top News Of The Week
- The Cut-Offst
- Check it Early!
- Ask The Millennial
- Smart Home Technology
- Get REALTOR(R)

Become a part of the community at http://retradio.com!

from
http://retradio.com

Freddie's Student Loan Calc Change: Mortgage Rates Hold Ground Amid Market Volatility; Remodelers Face Backlogs, Labor Shortages

Kroger sets debut for former Marsh store downtown

Zillow Prize Ranks as One of Most Popular Machine Learning Contests of All Time

Million dollar Zestimate competition attracts more than 4,350 competitors and 76,000 submissions as the qualifying round concludes

from
http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2017-10-19-Zillow-Prize-Ranks-as-One-of-Most-Popular-Machine-Learning-Contests-of-All-Time

Construction Under The Weather; Single Family Permits on the Mend; Applications Regain Footing; Rates Rise

Rising Sea Levels Pose Significant Risk to Owners of Less Expensive Homes

Less affluent homeowners have more of their wealth stored in their homes, and could face catastrophic losses if their homes are damaged by higher sea levels

from
http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2017-10-18-Rising-Sea-Levels-Pose-Significant-Risk-to-Owners-of-Less-Expensive-Homes

Rates Rise; Builder Confidence Bounces Back; A Friendlier Read on Recent Construction Numbers

Rates Sideways to Slightly Higher; Friendly Trend Intact For Now; Bank Earnings

Rates Back Into The 3's; Mortgage Guidelines Could be Twice as Loose

Mortgage rates moved lower today. For many lenders, it was the biggest drop in more than a month and it also brings them to the best levels in roughly a month. Others were more hesitant to make significant updates to today's rate sheets based on this morning's strength in bond markets (which underlie mortgage rates). If you're not seeing much of an improvement compared to yesterday at a specific lender, they're more likely to pass along that improvement if bond markets continue holding in current territory at the start of next week. Just to be clear on how much improvement you might expect from a day like today, we're talking about roughly one quarter of 1 percent of the loan amount, expressed in terms of upfront cost. In other words, if your loan is $100k, then your upfront costs would have

from
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/10/13/3035

Think Like a Home Inspector! - Show 454

Century-old men’s clothing store going out of business

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Freddie's Student Loan Calc Change: Mortgage Rates Hold Ground Amid Market Volatility; Remodelers Face Backlogs, Labor Shortages

Kroger sets debut for former Marsh store downtown

The chain is sinking nearly $2 million into revamping the location. The turnaround will be finished soon, but its other former Marsh stores have several months to go.

from
https://www.ibj.com/blogs/3-property-lines/post/65882-kroger-sets-debut-for-former-marsh-store-downtown