Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

U.S. home loan mortgage applications rose last week, with home loan purchase applications hitting the third straight high point on the year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported December 12, 2012.

Both single-family and condominium pending home sales in Massachusetts increased in November compared to November 2011, marking the 19th straight month that pending home sales increased, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) reported December 11, 2012. 

According to some political commentators speaking last month at the 2012 Realtors Conference & Expo, the mortgage interest deduction (MID), though not specifically targeted so to speak, will likely emerge altered from the deficit talks in the nation's capital, Realtor Magazine reported November 12, 2012.

The number of Massachusetts homeowners who faced foreclosure increased 22 percent in October, the highest number of foreclosure petitions filed since October 2009, the Boston Business Journal reported December 3, 2012.

Will home warranty companies top the list of companies that receive the worst grades on Angie's List for a seventh straight year? Home warranty companies consistently perform poorly, according to Angie's List members.

Buyers Brokers Only, LLC again will be collecting unwrapped toys this holiday season for the annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program.  Toys can be dropped off at Buyers Brokers Only, LLC's Haverhill, MA office located at 200 Merrimack Street, Suite 301, on the following dates:

U.S. home prices rose in September for the sixth straight month, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home-price Index report released November 27, 2012. The report states that the data signals that the U.S. housing market is "in the midst of a recovery."

A federal fund used to support the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) single-family mortgage and reverse mortgage insurance programs ended fiscal year 2012 with a $16.3 billion deficit, according to an annual report submitted to the United States Congress this month, Inman News reported November 16, 2012.

Massachusetts home sales continued to perform strong in 2012, with October single-family home sales increasing 21 percent compared to October 2011, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported November 27, 2012.

New Hampshire home sales in October increased 26.3 percent compared to October 2011, SeacoastOnline reported November 24, 2012.

Saving money is never easy. After paying the mortgage, bills and having a little fun there isn't always a lot of money left over, but making a commitment to build an emergency fund is important for homeowners, and potential home buyers too, for a number of reasons.

The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate tracker and publisher of Banker & Tradesman, acknowledged that its September foreclosure report contained errors, the Boston Business Journal reported November 12, 2012.