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real estate market: Rate of Foreclosure Still High - 12/02/10 03:37 PM
The topic of foreclosure has been on the minds of many Americans as the market makes it way towards recovery.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the mortgage delinquency rate declined in the third quarter.
They report that in the United States, it "declined last quarter amid hints of improvement in the job market, but headwinds from defaults and a rising rate of new foreclosure applications keep the housing outlook muddied."
Still, some experts say the winter will continue to be cold for many fearing default.
Zillow.com reports that foreclosure liquidations have reached a new peak, with over 1.17 of … (3 comments)
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real estate market: Mortgage Rates Spike Quarter Percent - 12/02/10 03:30 PM
30 year fixed mortgage rates have risen a quarter point this week to 4.25% on plummeting mortgage-backed securities prices. MBS prices drive mortgage rates in the opposite direction. Conventional 15 year fixed interest rates are also up a quarter of a percent and are at 3.75% currently for well-qualified borrowers who pay a standard .07 to 1 point origination. Both fixed mortgage rates are up substantially from last week and at an immediate risk to rise further.
FHA loan rates move with conforming mortgage rates and are also up this week. Today's 30 year fixed FHA loan rate is at … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Establishing Daily Priorities - 12/02/10 03:22 PM
Establishing your daily priorities will help you make each day a "10”. I am giving you a tool that I created a few years ago that really enables you to get maximum value from your time. It is our Real Estate Champions Daily Priorities Tool.
Step #1: List the activities that need to be done for the day.
When you are listing activities on the right hand side of boxes, you are brainstorming to get your thoughts down on paper. Just focus on what needs to be done … all of it. Do not let your mind think about importance … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Real Estate Outlook: Growth Remains Sub-Par - 12/01/10 04:06 PM
The National Association of Business Economics' latest report has revealed that projections for GDP growth remains in the first quarter of 2001 remains "sub-par". Concern about federal debt, unemployment, and business regulation ruled the NABE panel, causing experts to forecast only moderate growth in 2011.
The NABE also reports that "consumer spending is expected to remain modest throughout the forecast horizon due to weak job gains, persistently high unemployment, and negligible growth in household net worth."
On the bright side -- the chances of the economy slipping back into recession are considered low.
The housing market, however, continues to struggle. The National Association … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Determining Factors of a Qualified Prospect - 12/01/10 03:39 PM
1. Strong motivation
Motivation is simply the desire to do something. The stronger the desires on the part of the Buyer, the easier it will be for you to satisfy or even exceed their expectations. The stronger the motivation, the lower the expectations they will have for a property or your service. A low motivation prospect is willing to look for extended periods of time until they find the perfect home. In essence, they are looking for something that doesn't exist in many cases.
Do they want it? Do they have to have it? Those are the key questions to … (0 comments)
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real estate market: It's a Good Time to Buy a Vacation Rental - 11/30/10 02:32 PM
Right now, the languishing housing market offers some lingering upsides for those who have a pot of investment dollars to burn.
Home prices are low, financing is cheap and inventories are bulging.
The planets have aligned over vacation rental acquisitions.
The road's been rocky for real estate in recent years, but that means it's a buyer's market and good time to grab a piece of the American Dream as a solid, long-term investment.
"Vacation homes are almost always a good investment," says vacation rental guru Christine Karpinski, director of Owner Community for HomeAway.com, the global leader in vacation rentals, hosting some 540,000 vacation … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Mortgage Rates Settling Above All Time Lows - 11/30/10 02:15 PM
30 year fixed mortgage rates are settling at levels significantly higher than all time lows set just weeks ago. Conforming 30 year fixed mortgage rates today are at 4.25% for well-qualified borrowers who pay a standard origination fee (points) of .07 to 1%. Current 15 year fixed mortgage rates today are at 3.75%.
FHA mortgage rates, which are driven by the same mortgage-backed securities prices as conforming fixed mortgage rates, are also up about a quarter percent higher than they were two weeks ago and are nearly identical to conforming mortgage rates today. Today's California 30 year fixed FHA loan rate is 4.125%. … (1 comments)
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real estate market: Active Adult Housing Sector is Stalled - 11/30/10 02:10 PM
Even as members of the baby boomer generation make their way into retirement, the active adult housing sector is stalled.
Builder confidence in the 55+ housing market has been tepid. The National Association of Home Builders studies this effect in the 55+ Housing Market Index, which evaluates markets based on a scale "50" or greater as "good confidence" and less than "50" indicating "poor confidence." Results for the third quarter 2010 weren't stellar, with the index basing its findings on current sales, prospective buyer traffic and anticipated six-month sales.
According to the National Association of Home Builders' Chief Economist, David Crowe, … (1 comments)
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real estate market: Fall May Bring Serious Buyers - 11/24/10 02:45 PM
As the year winds down, many homeowners fear that now could be a bad time to sell their home. While it’s true that the holidays can deter some folks from house hunting and making a major purchase—don’t give up.
If your house is on the market, step up the action plan to draw attention to it. Don’t let the holiday blues make you feel like there’s no hope. Homes are sold and bought this time of year. But the ones that get snatched up are the ones that are enticing to buyers.
Because this is a very busy time of … (2 comments)
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real estate market: Real Estate Outlook: Gloomy Numbers and Mixed Forecast - 11/24/10 02:31 PM
It's a mixed, and somewhat gloomy, forecast for the housing market this week.
Concerns over the Fed's announcement to buy up Treasury bonds had far reaching effects. According to The New York Times, "When the United States Federal Reserve announced last week that it would buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds to help bolster the economy, it quickly came under attack from Germany, Brazil and China, which said America was trying to devalue the dollar to the detriment of other nations’ exports." Others worry it may undermine the global economic recovery.
Analysts also contend that the Fed's actions could … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Equilibrium Communities Initiative: Your Start Point? - 11/23/10 01:53 PM
In 2009, housing activity, including new home construction, and the sale and renovation of existing homes, contributed C$307 billion to the economy. According to the 2010 Canadian Housing Observer, a publication released by the national housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), this housing activity was more than one-fifth of Canada's total gross domestic product.
Since housing represents such a significant segment of the national economy, the lack of a national housing policy seems strange, but through CMHC the federal government does keep itself associated with many community-based housing initiatives. By announcing CMHC's involvement in promoting these projects, the federal … (2 comments)
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real estate market: Extension of "Operation Home Relief" - 11/23/10 01:33 PM
The National Association of Realtors has extended its successful "Operation Home Relief" campaign, which is designed to give military service families a voice by contributing financial counseling and aid to help keep them in their homes. Though launched just last month, the NAR has already matched $20,000 in donations.
The NAR has used this Facebook campaign to promote USA Cares, an organization dedicated to providing aid to help post-9/11 veterans and active-duty military personnel avoid foreclosure.
Through the consumer website, HouseLogic.com, a free comprehensive website about homeownership for homeowners, Operation Home Relief aims to increase awareness, rally support and raise … (2 comments)
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real estate market: Mortgage Rates Spike Quarter Percent - 11/19/10 12:15 PM
30 year fixed mortgage rates have risen a quarter point this week to 4.25% on plummeting mortgage-backed securities prices. MBS prices drive mortgage rates in the opposite direction. Conventional 15 year fixed interest rates are also up a quarter of a percent and are at 3.75% currently for well-qualified borrowers who pay a standard .07 to 1 point origination. Both fixed mortgage rates are up substantially from last week and at an immediate risk to rise further.
FHA loan rates move with conforming mortgage rates and are also up this week. Today's 30 year fixed FHA loan rate is … (2 comments)
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real estate market: Mortgage Rates Up But Still Incredibly Low - 11/18/10 01:06 PM
McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), which found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate rose slightly for the second consecutive time in six weeks. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate also rose slightly while the 5-year ARM set another low, and the 1-year ARM tied last week's low.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.23 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending October 28, 2010, up from last week when it averaged 4.21 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.03 percent.
15-year FRM this week … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Buyers Interested in Walkability - 11/17/10 05:37 PM
Park the car and put on the walking shoes. Homebuyers are ranking a home's walking distance to schools, stores, neighborhood parks, and more as high on the list of influences to buy a home. Buyers are interested in purchasing a house that allows them to get around without the car.
According to one study of 90,000 homes in the U.S., being able to walk to nearby amenities can increase the value of the home by as much as $3,000 and if there is "location efficiency"—a calculation that measures transportation costs—the number of foreclosures in a neighborhood is impacted. "For a … (1 comments)
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real estate market: Four Questions Help Determine Improve vs. Move - 11/16/10 12:06 PM
The walls are closing in. Your teenagers are warring over closet space and you long to have a real office room instead of camping out at the kitchen table. What's the best solution? Should you improve the house or move to another?
The answers to four primary questions are a good place to start in the dilemma to improve the house or purchase another. Homeowners who are happy with their current neighborhood and school district (usually the top two owner' priorities) are wise to weigh answers to the following:
1. How long do you intend to keep the house?
This initial … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Real Estate Prices Fall, Will Sellers Take Note? - 11/12/10 02:19 PM
For the fourth consecutive month, price reductions have increased for home listings currently on the market in the United States. The reductions are now at an all-time high of 27 percent, according to Trulia.com
The record-high reductions amount to more than $30.7 billion nationwide. In a press release, Trulia concludes that there has been "a continual and dramatic price reduction increase in many cities that began in June 2010."
Anxious sellers, watching prices decrease, have gotten aggressive in their pricing. "We would normally expect to see a seasonal uptick in price reductions between June and October, as motivated sellers whose homes … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Coping With Real Estate Market Change - 11/11/10 01:52 PM
Like calling a nuclear-tipped missile the Peacemaker, real estate market buzz words "stabilizing market," "returning to normal" and "market softening" may send the wrong signal to consumers.
The housing market isn't likely to implode in a mushroom cloud, but words like "normal," "stable" and "soft" are more likely to produce complacent acquiescence when it's time for a more proactive approach to changes in the market.
Experts who have lived and worked through past market shifts take a decidedly more robust "cover your assets" approach to today's real estate market rather than trying to pigeon hole it as typical.
One of those … (0 comments)
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real estate market: Green-building Growing, More Jobs, More Buyer Interest - 11/11/10 01:42 PM
According to a new study from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Booz Allen Hamilton, construction in the green-building industry will support 7.9 million jobs over the next four years while pumping into the American economy $554 billion. Currently, 2 million American jobs are supported by the same industry and more than $100 billion in gross domestic product and wages is generated.
The USGBC writes on its Web site that "buildings in the United States are responsible for 39 percent of CO2 emissions, 40 percent of energy consumption, 13 percent water consumption and 15 percent of Gross Domestic Product … (0 comments)
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real estate market: The Federal Reserve on Homeownership - 11/11/10 01:27 PM
Homeownership has always been a hallmark of America life. In recent years, homeownership became more readily accessible. In fact, according to the Federal Reserve, "Tax incentives, mortgage insurance from the Federal Housing Administration, and other government policies all contributed to a long rise in the U.S. homeownership rate--from 45 percent in 1940 to a peak of 69 percent in 2004."
At first glance, this accessibility seemed like a positive step, since research has shown that high levels of homeownership can increase school and community involvement, lead to higher graduation rates, and of course neighborhood stability. But predatory lending … (0 comments)
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Miro Fitkova
Boston,
MA
More about me…
Fitkova Realty Group
Address: 1318 Beacon St., Suite 16, Brookline, MA, 02446
Office Phone: (617) 232-3220 x 101
Cell Phone: (617) 921-9952
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