Housing Market News With a Local Angle
Welcome to the Home Buying Institute. We provide “hyper local” housing market news for cities and metro areas across the United States. We do this by researching local real estate trends and also by soliciting input from local real estate professionals. In fact, the Home Buying Institute is currently building a nationwide team of housing reporters to cover trends and conditions at the local level.
We have been educating home buyers, sellers and mortgage shoppers for more than 10 years. We provide unbiased information that helps buyers and sellers make better-informed decisions. You can learn more about our company and our goals on this page.
Most Recent Stories
66-Page Handbook for Bay Area Home Buyers Available for Free
A new e-book published recently helps San Francisco Bay Area home buyers make informed decisions when buying a house in that red-hot real estate market. Bridgepoint Funding, a full-service mortgage company located in Walnut Creek, California, has published a 66-page handbook for Bay Area home buyers. The book can be downloaded in PDF format for […]
Dallas Housing Market Forecast 2017: Will It Continue to Outpace the Nation?
Economists are calling Dallas one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. Recent forecasts suggest the city could outpace the nation in 2017 as well, in terms of home-price gains. Here are the latest housing market trends, forecasts and predictions for Dallas, Texas. One of the Hottest Real Estate Markets in August In […]
Seattle Real Estate Market Forecast for 2017: Leading the Pack, Again?
Back in February, I wrote about Zillow’s prediction that Seattle, Washington would be one of the hottest housing markets in 2016. Turns out they were right. Seattle has generated a slew of headlines this year, mainly due to the rapidly rising home prices in the area. Well, here we go again. The city is now […]
Chicago Housing Market Forecast for 2017: More Appreciation Ahead?
Home prices in the Chicago metro area rose steadily over the last year or so. Additional, yet modest, gains are expected in 2017 as well. This is based on several forecasts and predictions for the Chicago real estate market in 2017. Current Trends Across the Metro Area Median home prices and sales activity both increased […]
Some Housing Markets Are Getting Too Expensive for FHA Loans
FHA loans are one of the most popular mortgage financing products for home buyers these days. They’re especially popular among first-time buyers, who often lack the funds for a large down payment. (FHA allows for a down payment as low as 3.5%.) But with home prices rising steadily across the country, some housing markets are […]
Denver Real Estate Market One of 10 Most Stable in U.S. in 2016
The Denver, Colorado real estate market is currently one of the most stable in the nation, according to a recent ranking by SmartAsset. Boulder and Fort Collins were ranked #1 and #6, respectively. We’ve written about the Denver housing market a lot in 2016, mainly for its inclusion in top-10 lists. For instance, back in […]
Austin, Texas Housing Market Named Second Most Stable in the U.S.
According to a recent analysis by the finance website SmartAsset, Austin, Texas is the second most stable housing market in the United States. Boulder, Colorado was ranked first. Home prices in Austin have risen more or less steadily for many years, while avoiding the extremes of other real estate markets across the country. Austin Housing […]
Wells Fargo 3% Down Payment Mortgage Gives FHA Run for Its Money
Not to be outdone by its competitor Bank of America, which announced a 3% down payment mortgage program earlier this year, Wells Fargo recently stated that it too would offer fixed-rate mortgages for first-time buyers with down payments as low as 3%. This is significant for two reasons: (1) Wells Fargo is the largest mortgage […]
Forecast for San Diego Housing Market: Strong Gains Through 2020?
Wondering what San Diego home prices will do over the next few years? If so, you’ll want to check out this market forecast from the economists at Moody’s Analytics. It shows their long-range expectations for house values in the metro area.
Trend Watch: Conventional Mortgage Loans With 3% Down Payment
In 2016, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be allowing conventional mortgage loans with down payments as low as 3%. Bank of America is also getting into the game.