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Places of Interest—10 Hotspots for Million Dollar Homes

With housing prices continuing to climb, and the housing shortage steadily creeping forward, more metros are seeing a significant majority of their homes hit the million dollar mark. And while that doesn’t necessarily mean homebuyers get less for more, it does mean that “affordable” housing in certain highly desired areas of the country might come with an extra zero on its price tag. See what metros had the largest share of million dollar homes.

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Distressed Properties Contribute to Low Average Market Time

The May 2017 Existing Home Sales Index was released Tuesday, showing that even though inventory is slightly on the rise compared to April 2017, median home prices are still increasing as well. Existing, unsold properties are coming off the market at record times, and foreclosures and short sales are contributing factors. Some industry professionals, however, wonder how long this trend will last.

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Freddie Mac Announces Second Seasoned Loan Transaction

Freddie Mac announced Tuesday it has had its second Freddie Mac Seasoned Loan Transaction (SLST) via auction of 1,262 seasoned re-performing loans (RPL) and moderate delinquent loans serviced by Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. Through its advisors, Freddie Mac began marketing the transaction to potential bidders May 17, 2017, and is expected to settle in July 2017. The winning bidder, Towd Point Master Funding, LLC, was followed by a bid in the high $70s.

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High End Retail Locations Indicating Hot Markets

As real estate agents say, “location, location, location”—and that means if you’re located near a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, according to research. After studying the areas both before and after the stores were built, researchers found neighborhoods that previously were appreciating at normal or below normal levels started appreciating rapidly after opening. Either they know how to pick neighborhoods, or people truly love to live near Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

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Closing of Interracial Gaps in Education Could Increase Homeownership

There are many factors that have affected homeownership rates after the 2008 financial crisis— specifically in regards to young adult social norms and changes in the housing market. The homeownership rate among 25- to 44-year olds has dropped 10 percent in the last decade and recent research shows this could be increased with closing the interracial gap in education and wealth. This research falls in line with statistics on diversity found in the corporate world.

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Freddie Mac MSR Changes Hands; Fannie Mae to Follow?

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, PHH Mortgage Corporation has closed the sale of nearly its entire Freddie Mac portfolio of mortgage servicing rights (MSR) to New Residential Mortgage, LLC—about 81,500 loans. New Residential picked up the portfolio for approximately $110 million. Of that sum, $101.5 million was attributable to the purchase rights for the Freddie Mac MSR portfolio and $8.5 million was for related servicing advances.

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GSE Profit Allocation Decision Could Take a Total 10 Years

In a recent interview, a prominent hedge fund manager said the legal battle with the U.S. government regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s profits could last another five years. In 2012, investors sued Fannie and Freddie for agreeing to allocate the profit in a different way than what they thought they agreed to when investing in the GSEs, but recently it’s seemed the government is siding more with the Treasury and Federal Housing and Finance Agency than investors. If the Trump administration doesn’t stop the profit sweep, the fund manager said the Supreme Court could be the next step.

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Cost of Living Rises in Tandem with Home Prices

Cost of living is on the rise across the country, according to a report released on Monday that lists the top 10 cities in the country with the fastest rate of increase in the cost of living over a one year period between 2016 and 2017. The study used two main metrics to rank the cities: the increase in the cost of living index—food, rent, utilities, and transportation costs. It also measures the increase in the amount of income that was needed to “live comfortably,” which is defined by the amount of money a household has to make in a year to account for necessities, savings, and discretionary spending.

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Reconstruction Program Aims to Soften Fallout of Natural Disasters

A recent report examined the success of a Build it Back program, which restores homes destroyed by natural disasters. The program has been mostly successful, but some critics find it lacking in certain areas, such as build times and layout adherence. And even though nearly three-quarters of its docket has been completed, a high dropout rate is still a major struggle.

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Proceed With Caution: Existing Home Sales and Economic Growth

Monday, Fannie Mae reported that they expect a rebound in economic growth and consumer spending will resume its position as the biggest contributor. With labor and inventory shortages still prevalent, the housing market hasn’t changed very much and home prices are still on the rise. Based on their research, Fannie expects mortgage rates to remain supportive, but the outlook on existing home sales remains cautious.

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