Over the past year, mortgage interest rates have dropped more than 1 percentage point, creating a rush to refinance. But homeowners in some states are having better luck at refinancing their mortgage and locking in a lower monthly payment on their mortgage.
Overall, about 75% of mortgage refinance applications are approved nationally.
Home value appreciation and credit scores matter most when it comes to refinance approvals, researchers at LendingTree note. They analyzed more than 10 million mortgage refinance approvals by state and compared those rates to home-price appreciation and average credit scores.
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/12/04/these-states-have-the-lowest-mortgage-refinance-rates

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which capped federal deductions for state and local taxes at $10,000 a year and modified the mortgage interest deduction, has had a sweeping impact on real estate. How much so varies geographically, with owners in low-tax states feeling less financial pressure from the loss of deductions than those in counties with high taxes and home prices. Additionally, the increased standard deduction has lowered the number of households that can claim a tax incentive for owning or buying a home from about one in three to less than one in ten, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/12/02/how-has-the-2017-tax-overhaul-impacted-home-prices

More than 17,000 feet above sea level in the Peruvian Andes rises the mountain peak of Vinicunca. Until recently, when a road was built through this remote region of southeastern Peru, it took hikers six days to reach the mountain. Plenty made the trek despite the effort, and we can see the draw: Vinicunca is also known as ‘Rainbow Mountain’ for good reason. Weathered minerals of varying hues stripe the hillsides in wide brushstrokes. The slopes are painted in tones of red, yellow, green, and bright blue, with the colors changing intensity depending on the time of day or pattern of cloud cover.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=vinicunca+peru&FORM=wsbs01&filters=IsConversation:%22True%22+BTEPKey:%22Encyclo_WL_VinicuncaPitumarcaPeru%22&trivia=1

HEART MATTERS

More than a magazine: information, inspiration and support

HOW TO BEAT THE COLD

8 wise ways to keep the heat in

Follow these simple tips to keep warm and safe this winter.

1. Wrap up warm

Dress in layers and wear a hat, gloves and scarf. Clothes made from wool, cotton or fleecy fabrics are warmest. When you’re indoors, wear warm socks and slippers to keep your feet cosy.

2. Keep the cold out 

Close doors and use a keyhole cover to block draughts. Buy thermal linings for curtains to keep the heat in.

3. Don’t use alcohol to keep warm

Avoid drinking alcohol before going, or when, outside. It makes you feel warm because blood vessels in the skin expand, but this draws heat away from your vital organs.

• Read about the effects of alcohol on your heart

4. Check your heating

Have your heating system serviced regularly to make sure it works well.

5. Maintain the temperature

Keep your main living room at 18–21°C (64–70°F) and the rest of your house at 16°C (61°F) at least. If you can’t heat all the rooms you use, heat the living room during the day and the bedroom just before you go to sleep. In bed, use either a hot water bottle or an electric blanket.

6. Have warming food and drinks

Have regular hot drinks and food such as porridge, soups and stews. Visit our recipe finder to get more ideas for warming, healthy dishes.

• Try our 14 delicious heart-healthy porridge ideas 
• Read our 5 top tips for healthy eating this winter

7. Stay active

Keep as active as possible to boost your circulation. Move around at least once an hour and avoid sitting still for long periods. Even light exercise will help keep you warm. When you do sit down, put your feet up as it’s coldest nearest the ground.

• Read about how to get active indoors
• Try our rainy-day desk yoga

8. Check what support you can get 

Don’t miss out on benefits. Depending on your circumstances you may get the Winter Fuel or Cold Weather Payments automatically. If you don’t, visit gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment or call 03459 15 15 15 to see if you’re eligible.

You may also be entitled to claim an Affordable Warmth Grant, which could help with heating and insulation improvements. For more information, call the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234 or visit gov.uk/energy-company-obligation.

• Read more about how to beat the cold

Despite some economic headwinds, U.S. commercial real estate could be on track to have a stellar 2020, according to a new report from CBRE, a commercial real estate servicer and investment firm. CBRE predicts “one of the strongest years on record” for the commercial real estate industry.
The sector could see between $478 billion and $502 billion in investments in 2020. That would put it on par with the prior two years, outpacing previous years.
The prediction includes money that would go toward multifamily housing, retail, data centers, office space, industrial buildings, and more.
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/11/26/could-2020-be-record-breaking-year-for-commercial-real-estate

After years of escalating home prices, 81% of major U.S. metros have become more affordable this year, according to a new realtor.com® study. “Mortgage rates are much lower than they were, and incomes have actually grown this year for most Americans,” says George Ratiu, realtor.com®’s senior economist. “Those two things combined have led to an improvement in affordability for home buyers.”
Affordability is rising the most in mid-sized cities, particularly in the Midwest and South. The areas tend to have strong economies and job markets and a large supply of homes on the market, realtor.com® reports. Researchers evaluated home prices and local household income in the 100 largest metro areas for the third quarter of this year. They calculated an affordability score for each metro.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/11/25/study-most-cities-have-become-more-affordable-this-year

Generation Z, which comprises the youngest potential consumers in the housing market, is bullish on homeownership. Freddie Mac researchers conducted a survey of consumers ages 14 to 23 and found they tend to have more positive perceptions of what it means to be a homeowner than millennials did at that same age. Eighty-six percent of Gen Zers say they want to own a home someday.
They also hope to purchase sooner in their lives than millennials did. Gen Z survey respondents say they plan to own a home by the time they turn 30, which is three years younger than the current median age of first-time buyers. The homeownership desires of Gen Z center on having more privacy, control, and independence than renting offers, Freddie Mac’s research shows. They also feel like homeownership is a sign of success, something to be proud of, and provides stability as well as financial security, the survey shows.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/11/22/gen-z-may-value-ownership-more-than-millennials-do

Do you love Lake Vermilion and snowmobiling? Imagine owning your own piece of heaven on Niles Bay:
https://s.paragonrels.com/goto/PlTdV
Call Patti Stoddard 218-929-3214 for a private showing.

More new home construction may finally be coming. Housing permits, a gauge for future construction, climbed 5% in October, reaching the fastest rate of building permit authorizations since 2007, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Broken out, single-family permits increased 3.2% to a rate of 909,000, while multifamily permits rose 8.2% to a rate of 552,000. Permits rose in every region of the country last month and are 14.1% higher than a year ago.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS®, called the boost in housing permits “tremendously good news for the housing sector.”
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/11/20/housing-permits-surge-to-postrecession-high

Get over yourself, turkey. You’re not all that. (Thinkstock)November 27, 2013SIGN UP FOROur free email newsletters10 things you need to know todayToday’s best articlesToday’s top cartoonsThe good news newsletterThe week’s best photojournalismDaily business briefingDaily gossip newsletter

10. Turkey
Some people say turkey is delicious. These people are wrong.

We eat turkey at Thanksgiving not because it is the tastiest poultry or the easiest to cook, but because the bird’s large size allows us to feed many hungry people all at the same time.

In fact, baking a turkey is a labor-intensive exercise that requires time and practice to do well. Yet most American households only bake one turkey per year. This is why most Thanksgiving birds emerge dry and bland, often requiring the saving graces of gravy. If it weren’t for decades of tradition, you would be hard-pressed to find a household that wouldn’t mind skipping the messy process of prepping and baking a cumbersome turkey.

The exception to this rule is deep-fried turkey, which emerges from the backyard Lazarus pits coated in hot peanut oil a transformed and inarguably more delicious creature. The downside, of course, is that deep-frying a bird carries the risk of setting your home on fire. Such is the nature of turkey: The bad frequently outweighs the good.

9. Corn bread
Simply the best of the breads, all of which otherwise fail to crack the top 10. Corn bread strikes a harmonious balance between sweet and savory that can complement just about anything. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that rolls are an OK carbohydrate substitute. Don’t be fooled.

8. Green bean casserole
A relic of post-World War II efficiency, the humble green bean casserole was created in the mid-1950s by the Campbell Soup Company. It is a comfort food in the truest sense that accomplishes the improbable: It makes icky green beans palatable. Such innovation is why the casserole has carved out a place for itself in the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.

7. Mac and cheese
It has been brought to my attention by my colleagues here at The Week that many households do not indulge in the gooey, al dente perfection that is homemade mac and cheese. To which I say: Are you people insane?

I make mine with jalapenos and add pancetta, which anecdotal evidence suggests is always a worthy contribution. There are never leftovers.

6. Mashed potatoes
You can load them with garlic. Or infuse them with rosemary. If you’d like, you can fashion mashed potatoes into a bed for your turkey, or sculpt them into a concave vessel for gravy. Such versatility is truly American, and should be celebrated as such.

5. Ham
Ham is moist, flavorful, textured, and requires little work to do well. It is the inverse of turkey. Simply rub with brown sugar or bathe it in cola — preferably both. Ham is as underrated as its cousin bacon is overexposed.

4. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows
Fun fact: Sweet potatoes are a near-perfect health food. They are packed with Vitamin A, B6, and fiber — and can help you lose weight. Realistically speaking you probably won’t — especially with a fluffy bed of marshmallows layered on top. But it’s a comforting thought.

3. Gravy
The gravy boat is the most sought-after dish on the Thanksgiving table. A thick, hearty gravy can save even the blandest of meals. Think of it this way: Would you rather have a carving of turkey breast without gravy, or no turkey at all? The answer should be clear.

2. Stuffing
Turkey merely provides a cavity for stuffing, Thanksgiving’s true centerpiece. Stuffing is a reward, akin to delectable candy packed into a tasteless Butterball piñata. Stuffing is so good, in fact, that we willfully eat it out of the rear end of a dead animal.

1. Pie
Perhaps you are a pecan pie person. Or maybe pumpkin is more your thing. Sweet potato pie is sublime. All are excellent choices. Each slice is an edible, triangulated vessel for whipped cream, or, if you are ambitious, ice cream. Need to excuse yourself and change into sweatpants? Sure thing. Because pie.

Pie is the light at the end of the tunnel, the reason we push ourselves and “make room.” Each bit of flaky crust filled with nature’s caramelized sugar is a testament to human perseverance. Pie is a triumph.

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