Free Republic

The Midwest and the Great Lakes regions will have some of the hottest housing markets in the U.S. this year, according to Zillow. The real estate marketplace predicted Buffalo, N.Y., to be the “nation’s hottest housing market in 2024,” with Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; and Providence, R.I., rounding out the top five. “These should stand out as strong in a housing market still buffeted by low inventory and relatively high mortgage rates and prices,” Zillow added in its report released last week. Other cities included in Zillow’s top 10 projected hottest housing markets for 2024 include Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Cleveland,...

There’s a flip side to the U.S. trade deficit that President Donald Trump rails against—the flow of capital from abroad that covers that gap. It leaves the U.S. vulnerable to other kinds of retaliation. As the world’s biggest debtor, the U.S. depends on investors abroad to continue to invest in America. And among the biggest investors is the country that Trump is targeting for its big bilateral surplus with the U.S. and its alleged unfair trade practices: China. As the largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities, China helps fund both legs of the so-called twin deficits—the budget shortfall as well...

National housing prices continued to slide last quarter, dropping an average of 1.5% over the year before, according to the latest report by the National Association of Realtors. But things are looking up for two-thirds of the country's big cities where median home sale prices rose. Leading the charge was Seattle, where prices increased 8.9%; in San Jose, Calif., they rose 8.8%; and in Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., prices jumped 8.3% and 8.4% respectively. Compare that to Detroit and Cleveland. In these metros, prices fell 7.1%. Skies aren't much sunnier in the West. Median home sale numbers in Sacramento, Calif.,...

Being a professional mortgage lender and broker, I like to believe that most of us in the business are honest, reliable and knowledgeable. While this is true to a large extent, the relatively few bad guys in this business make us all look bad. The housing market has cooled and interest rates are on the rise. What's a mortgage broker to do? Well, it's pretty clear that many of them are getting a bit more aggressive in their marketing techniques. Over the last few weeks, I decided to pay close attention to the myriad of mortgage advertisements that constantly bombarded...