Study: Buying Trumps Renting in Most Places

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2014

Buying is still more affordable than renting in the majority of U.S. housing markets, according to a new analysis. A study conducted by RealtyTrac factored in 2015 fair market rental data recently released by the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development for three-bedroom properties in 543 counties nationwide with populations of at least 100,000. Buying a median-priced home was found to be more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property in 68 percent of the counties tracked.

Overall, in 473 of the counties tracked, the fair market rent for a three-bedroom property in 2015 will require 27…

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buying a house

 

Summer may be real estate’s busy season, but winter offers great opportunities for buying a house, especially for renters looking to become homeowners, growing families trading up to larger houses and baby boomers seeking homes to fit their evolving lifestyles.

Generally speaking, your housing choices during the late fall are still healthy. October and November are great months to go house hunting. December is usually sparse, market-wise, but if that fits your timeline, you could luck out.

The benefits to buying a house at the end of the year include the following:

1. Tax savings

If you close by December 31, you can deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, points on your loan and interest costs. These deductions are…

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10-Year Review: How’s Housing Really Doing?

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 03, 2014

The housing market has made some strides in recent months, but how has it performed compared to 10 years ago? Has the real estate market really dug itself out of the housing crisis?

The National Association of REALTORS® on its Economists’ Outlook blog recently used the latest October housing data to compare existing home sales, median sales prices, and inventory figures to those from 10 years ago. Researchers used the 10-year October average, an average of the data from the past 10 Octobers, to gauge how current market conditions stack up.

Home sales

Leader: October 2014

The number of homes sold was higher in October 2014 than the…

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