Are you and your home prepared for an earthquake?
Posted on August 27th, 2011
Earthquakes are synonymous with the West Coast. However, yesterday’s 5.8 earthquake that hit Virginia reminds us all that earthquakes can occur on both coasts.
Regardless of where you live, you must ask yourself if you and your home are prepared for a quake. Earthquakes can cause untold damages and cannot reliably be predicted.
Here are some ways you can prevent earthquake-related damage to your home and ensure that your home’s insurance is up to snuff.
Prevent
Earthquakes can’t be prevented, but earthquake-related damage can. Building codes in earthquake-prone areas are often more stringent than in less risky areas, but there is no guarantee that your area has enhanced its building codes or that your home is up to code. You ca
Tags: Earthquake
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3-MTH Manhattan Sub-market Pending Sales Check
Posted on August 27th, 2011
A: Lets try something new here and take a look at the most recent 3-month trends of demand (pending sales) for all the Manhattan sub-markets in the UrbanDigs tracking system. Lets see who the over/under-performers are given the volatility in equity markets lately and the end of the active season. The results may surprise you.
Please remember that the real-time UrbanDigs system was engineered to eliminate both stale listings and listings exposed to ongoing data integrity breaches; making the final inventory count much lower than comparable reports. This was necessary to ensure the highest quality data analytics for Manhattan real estate. As with any analysis, data quality and sample size are of utmost importance. Read full post…
Tags: Pending Sales, Sales
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Bellingham Real Estate Update. How Many Homes For Sale Have Offers On Them?
Posted on August 25th, 2011
Every week we track the number of homes on the market that have offers on them and those that do not and create a ratio we call Pending Ratios. This weeks numbers were great with all areas either remaining stable or up in pendings.
As of Saturday, August 20th, the pending ratio in Bellingham was 19% . Pending is the time frame between when an offer has been mutual accepted between the buyers and the sellers of the home and when the title actually transfers hands. This give the buyers time to get the financing, do inspection, review the title reports and more.
Tags: Offers
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Mortgage Rates: Low Mortgage Rates Continue to be the Norm for Now
Posted on August 25th, 2011
Low mortgage rates continue to be the norm, at least for now, giving borrowers a good opportunity to save some money. As the economy remains sluggish with no clear direction of where it is heading, the flight to safe investments should keep mortgage rates at affordable levels.
Todays 30 year fixed mortgage rates are at 3.875%, 15 year fixed mortgage interest rates are at 3.250% and 5/1 ARM loan rates are at 2.625%. At historic lows below 4%, these conforming mortgage rates are available with 0.7 to 1% origination point to borrowers who have good credit. Borrowers should also expect to provide any documentation that is necessary to receive lender approval.
Tags: Mortgage Rates, Mortgage Rates Continue, Now, Rates Continue
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Mortgage Rates Bounce Off All-Time Lows; The Start Of A Trend?
Posted on August 25th, 2011
Low mortgage rates are terrific — if you can get them.
One week after posting its lowest mortgage rate in 50 years, Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose by an average of 7 basis points nationwide this week to 4.22%. To get the rate, you’ll pay an average of 0.7 “points”.
This week’s rise in the 30-year fixed rate mortgage pulled rates off their all-time lows so either you locked last week’s rock-bottom rates, or you missed it.
Mortgage rates are rising.
As a refinancing homeowner or home buyer in Woodstock , rising mortgage rates are something to watch. This is bec
Tags: Mortgage Rates, Rates
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