Elena Zimina's Real Estate

Rising costs threaten millions with ‘housing instability,’ Harvard report says Source: The Orange County Register With incomes falling woefully behind galloping rents and home prices, more and more Americans are “cost burdened” — that is, paying more than the recommended 30 percent of their earnings on housing. Those were among the findings of a new Harvard report on the “State of the Nation’s Housing.” The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies released its 30th-anniversary edition Tuesday, June 19. Making sense of the story Almost a third of U.S. households — 38 million — were cost burdened in 2016, up from 31.5 million in 2001. And almost half of all renters — 21 million — were cost burdened in 2016. That’s a dramatic change from a half-century ago. In the 1960’s, 24 percent of renters were cost-burdened, vs. 48 percent in 2016. That’s because housing costs have soared, even after adjusting for inflation, while incomes failed to keep up.  The median U.S. rent ro

President Trump Signs Dodd-Frank Rollback  President Trump recently signed into law the  Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act , rolling back some provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. While many of the provisions are related to rolling back requirements for small and medium banks, some will have a more direct impact on REALTORS®. REALTORS® may find the following provisions of interest:  TRID Relief: The Act removes the three-day waiting period required under TILA-RESPA mortgage disclosure when the creditor extends a second offer of credit with a lower APR.   Mortgage Licensing: Registered/licensed loan originators are given temporary authority to act under the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act when changing employers.   Renters’ Protection: The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (sunset in 2014) is permanently restored.   PACE Loans: Real property retrofit (Property Assessed Clean Energy) (PACE) loans are now subject to consumer protections.   Servicemembe