Many people are surprised to learn how many homes in this country are purchased by buyers in other countries. Foreign buyers purchased $102.6 billion of residential property from April 2015-March 2016, a decrease from $103.9 billion in the previous 12-month period.

To be more specific, foreign buyers purchased 214,885 residential properties, an approximately three percent increase from 208,947 in the previous 12-month period, it was revealed in an in-depth study by the National Association of Realtors.

It's also interesting to note that foreign buyers typically purchase more expensive properties. Therefore, the majority of their purchases are in states most likely to offer high-end homes, as noted in part of the NAR report:

"Although foreigners purchased property nationwide, five states accounted for 51 percent of total residential property purchases: Florida (22 percent), California (15 percent), Texas (10 percent), Arizona (four percent), and New York (four percent)."

Q: What is the new law about condos about?

A: The new law, recently passed by the Senate, is H.R. 3700 — the "Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act."

This legislation includes reforms to current Federal Housing Administration restrictions on condominium financing, among other provisions. It was noted in a report from the National Association of Realtors:

"Changes include efforts to make FHA's recertification process "substantially less burdensome," while lowering FHA's current owner-occupancy requirement from 50 percent to 35 percent. The bill also requires FHA to replace existing policy on transfer fees with the less-restrictive model already in place at the Federal Housing Finance Agency."

Q: How much of my income should I budget for housing?

A: Here's an interesting report from Zillow Real Estate:

"People with low incomes spend nearly 23 percent of their income on monthly mortgage payments, compared to high-income earners, who spend 11.5 percent of their income on monthly house payments, according to a new Zillow Real Estate report.

` "Compared to the past, mortgage payments are very affordable for the average American because of persistently low mortgage rates. But that doesn't tell the whole story.

"To see how different groups are faring in terms of housing affordability, Zillow divided income earners and homes into three tiers, assuming that low-income earners buy less expensive homes, median earners buy median homes, and high-income earners buy more expensive homes in the top third of the market."

Q: Are mortgage applications still dropping?

A: No, not according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Here's a portion of their recent news release:

"The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 7.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 14 percent compared with the previous week.

"The Refinance Index increased 11 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was unchanged from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 20 percent compared with the previous week and was 5 percent lower than the same week one year ago. Last year, the Fourth of July fell on the prior week.

"The FHA share of total applications increased to 10.0 percent from 9.5 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 12.1 percent from 12.8 percent the week prior. "

Q: How are REITs doing on the stock exchange?

A: A recent news release from the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts tells the story:

"Stock exchange-listed U.S. REITs further extended their lead in total returns over the broader equity market in June and the first half of 2016, they reported. According to NAREIT, REITs, delivered a total return of 6.68 percent in June and 13.65 percent in the first six months of 2016."

Q: Why is the cost of title insurance so high?

A: That question has long puzzled me. With the continuing development of computer technology capabilities, the process of searching for and discovering title defects has been substantially simplified. Yet prices continue to rise.

One state — Iowa — has a law that prohibits the sale of title insurance within its borders. It has another system that is more effective and less expensive, they say.

To find out more about Jim Woodard and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. Jim Woodard's email: [email protected]. COPYRIGHT 2016 CREATORS.COM.