Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE: NCT) is one of the harder to analyze mortgage-backed securities REITs that pays investors a high dividend yield. It is confusing because Newcastle manages senior housing properties but also derives much…
The recent rise in long-term interest rates is crushing the high dividend mortgage REIT sector, as investors are looking to pare down their exposure to riskier assets and assets that will be hurt in…
ThinkstockReports that home prices are rising have boosted confidence to record-high levels both among buyers and sellers. Among respondents to a survey by mortgage insurer Fannie Mae, 40% believe that now is a good…
Thinkstock Asking prices for homes in 98 of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas are up an average of 9.5% year-over-year including foreclosed homes and 10.5% excluding foreclosures on a seasonally adjusted basis. Asking…
ThinkstockIn its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, home lending giant Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rates for fixed-rate loans have risen for the fifth consecutive week. The mortgage lender attributes the rise to concerns…
ThinkstockWill rising mortgage rates be the factor that kills the increase in real estate prices and sales. Both have risen at an astonishing trajectory, to the point of concern about a new real estate…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a drop of 11.5% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index. That followed a decline of 8.8% for the…
ThinkstockOn June 1, the Atlantic hurricane season officially began. According to a report released earlier this week, an estimated $1.1 trillion in property are at risk of hurricane damage. More than $658 billion of those homes…
ThinkstockHome prices rose 12.1% in April, compared with the same month a year ago, the largest monthly increase since February 2006, according to research firm CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX). The firm had previously forecast…
ThinkstockMost people know that a mansion costs much more than a farmhouse. What many might not be aware of is that the style of a home can also have a major impact on its…
ThinkstockThe U.S. Census Bureau reported this morning that construction spending in April rose by 0.4% to an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, from an upwardly revised estimate of $857.7 billion in…
ThinkstockLowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) has held its annual meeting of shareholders. While the construction and repairs retailer reelected board members, approved compensation plans and ratified its accounting firm’s appointment, the big news is…
ThinkstockInterest rates are rising and the 30-year mortgage just hit a 12-month high. Rising rates will eat up your spending power and erode the value of your fixed income investments. So, will that kill…
ThinkstockHome sellers finally have gotten the upper hand against buyers as the home market haltingly recovers. According to a study titled the Century 21 Spring Home Selling Survey: The CENTURY 21 spring selling survey…
ThinkstockIn another of a long series of data that show that the housing market has healed, or even reached the point at which a new bubble has been created, RealtyTrac reported that foreclosure sales fell…