housing: Freddie Mac launches sales promotion of homes it owns - 07/27/09 12:07 PM
HomeSteps, the real estate sales arm of Freddie Mac, just introduced a new program in an attempt to thin its inventory of agency-owned homes, in other words homes it has foreclosed on. In this demanding housing environment it predictably has quite a few of them available for purchase and has decided to do something meaningful about it.
HomeSteps has dubbed the campaign SmartBuy. Someone at Freddie Mac must be really good at coming up with catchy names. Anyhow, it runs from July 17 to October 31, 2009, unless extended. It's good for single-family homes only from HomeSteps inventory and it must … (4 comments)

housing: Homebuyer tax credit may be expanded - 07/24/09 04:43 PM
Las Vegas housing market alone would be a big beneficiary if it did happen. Southern Nevada has already seen solid gains this year in sales thanks in large part to the first-time buyer tax credit of $8,000. This incentive is set to come to an end December 1.
NAR, or National Association of Realtors, and the mortgage industry are currently working on Congress to keep it going well into 2010. It has such a good track record, so why not. They have two other worthwhile ideas in mind as well.
The tax credit ceiling ought to be hiked to $15,000 is … (6 comments)

housing: Southern Nevada existing home sales jump in June - 07/10/09 02:32 PM
Las Vegas housing market is gradually changing for the better. The key word is gradually. There have been subtle hints about it in the past few months and more are trickling in.   
As stated by GLVAR, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, a total of 3,785 single-family homes were closed in June, climbing a respectable 16.3% from May. What's even better is that this is a 70% improvement from the same month last year. REOs still dominate but it doesn't matter as long as the market remains active. Strict conventional mortgage guidelines kept these numbers from going even higher, … (2 comments)

housing: HVCC appraisal regimen drawing missile strikes - 07/04/09 01:48 PM
Complaints against it are growing. Known as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, or HVCC, it is only some two months old and is now being attacked from several directions. It is the required appraisal system for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant government-sponsored mortgage investors. Just about everybody is upset about it - home builders, mortgage lenders, real estate agents and even consumers - because of low appraisals it is producing are killing deals. 
Under the new setup, designed to keep the process more honest and accurate, so-called appraisal-management companies are now sending their experts out to do the … (17 comments)

housing: Refinancing upside down mortgages under HARP could get wider range - 06/30/09 03:00 PM
Discussions are underway as we speak. The Federal Housing Finance Authority, or FHFA, is tossing the idea around since the original intent of HARP, or Home Affordable Refinance Program, isn't doing much good at all. Currently it can only refinance loans up to an LTV, or loan-to-value, of 105%.  In the areas that were mauled the worst during this housing nosedive, like Las Vegas and large regions in Arizona, California, Florida, that limit is far too strict, helping only a few borrowers. By the way, FHFA is overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
FHFA is actually toying with an LTV of … (2 comments)

housing: Housing demand poised to return on account of echo boomers - 06/23/09 04:51 PM
Even though it looks like the slumping real estate market is showing some signs of improvement, like here in Las Vegas bank REOs in the lower half of the marketplace are selling briskly, there remain steep hurdles to overcome before it can be declared healthy again. Mortgage funding is hard to come by, many homeowners are upside down and unemployment is high, just to mention some of the obvious problems.
But if the focus is shifted over into the near future, then there is some reason to be optimistic about what's to come. Here is why. Harvard University's Joint Center for … (8 comments)

housing: Upper half of the housing market feeling the heat now - 06/19/09 03:20 PM
Early on in this real estate meltdown the subprime mortgage drew all the attention with its high foreclosure rates. As the default numbers mercilessly accelerated in the lower half of the market the prices in this category headed in the other direction, at an increasing pace. To many optimistic housing observers, including yours truly, the overall damage would largely be contained in the lower end. The argument went that prime borrowers knew how to budget better, that they had other investments to rely on in case of trouble, that they already were familiar with what home ownership entailed, and so on.
(12 comments)

housing: Southern Nevada resale housing inventory falls in May - 06/09/09 03:31 PM
Another whiff of optimism over the local real estate market blew into the Las Vegas valley this week. Any small improvement anywhere in the industry stats is nowadays welcomed with wide-open arms. So, let's take it.
In the latest statistical report on the housing market here just released, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, or GLVAR, discloses that the inventory of homes fell by 9.3% from the same time last year. Moreover, there were 21,181 units in it in May, about 1,000 less than in April when the number stood at 22,112. This statistic has remained alarmingly high despite the … (2 comments)

housing: Las Vegas near the top for most undervalued housing markets - 06/04/09 02:56 PM
Let's go right to it. In the 10 Most Undervalued cities Las Vegas placed third, according to IHS Global Insight. The firm put the report together by analyzing household incomes, historical prices and housing densities and then arrived at statistically normal home prices which were subsequently weighed against actual values of a city. The difference either placed the area in the overvalued or undervalued category.
In this study, Las Vegas median home price was determined to be $140,000, meaning it is 40.9% undervalued. That is a high number.
It's hard to say if this is good news or the other kind … (4 comments)

housing: Mortgage approval requirements getting tougher, the Fed asserts - 05/12/09 08:39 AM
Washington has been super busy for months in trying to shore up the ailing financial sector, hoping to keep it from being swallowed into an abyss by the real estate market meltdown. It has used rented front loaders to distribute cash to banks weighed down by nearly-worthless mortgage paper. In addition, the Fed's key short-term lending rate has been butchered down to almost zero. All this frantic activity has given the country some sense of comfort that the dire problem is getting the attention it needs.
Perhaps that's not quite enough, though. The Federal Reserve, or Fed, just published a quarterly … (16 comments)

housing: Southern Nevada resales up in April - 05/09/09 11:09 AM
There is some optimism in the dry desert air that the Las Vegas real estate market is hitting bottom. At long last. Perhaps. It's still too early, though, to go into any definitive announcements about that. The patient's vital signs do remain quite mixed, that's why.In any case, 3,198 single-family homes were closed in April, as was reported by GLVAR, or Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. In the year-to-year comparison that adds up to a big leap of over 78% and on a month-to-month basis it translates into a solid 7% gain from March. These numbers warm a lot of hearts in … (6 comments)

housing: More Las Vegas homes go underwater - 05/07/09 11:30 AM
Home values are still falling nationally. More in some areas and less in others, but they still seem to be in retreat. People who bought property in the last five years or so are in real danger of being underwater. Or upside down. That's when the balance on the underlying mortgage is higher than the home's value. Those who put nothing or very little down are most vulnerable.
Zillow.com, a prominent real estate website, just released a report on the first quarter of 2009 according to which 21.9% of all homeowners nationwide are now taking a bath. It was 17.6% in … (2 comments)

housing: Short sale can bite the borrower later on - 05/05/09 08:57 AM
They have become one way out of an untenable jam for many homeowners who can't make their mortgage payments in this tough real estate market. In a short sale a lender will allow the homeowner to sell the property for less than what the loan balance is. It often means the matter is over and done with, once the sale is closed. At least that's what the borrower is aiming at.
Mortgage lenders can go after the now former homeowner later for the unpaid portion if they choose to, as long as the loan documents and state laws support that. Frequently … (8 comments)

housing: MGM Mirage's CityCenter project gets new life - 04/30/09 11:41 AM
It has been a tough few months for the Las Vegas casino operator. It has been using all its creative means to stay out of the clutches of bankruptcy. The economy has been very unkind to it, and the rest of the Southern Nevada's gaming firms. Not only that, but the slumping real estate market here has weakened the city's overall viability. To top it all off, it was recently sued by Dubai World, the 50-50 joint venture partner on CityCenter, for alleged project mismanagement.
A new page was just turned on the development, however. MGM Mirage and Dubai World have … (4 comments)

housing: The Conference Board says consumers more confident - 04/28/09 11:32 AM
That's music to a lot of ears. The widely-known index that measures consumer attitudes and buying intentions jumped 12.3 points in April, representing the best showing for it since November. Despite that, it would be premature to pop any corks yet and let it flow. The banking sector continues to wallow in deep trouble and the job market has seen much better days.
Still, it is a sign that sun is beginning to shine through gaps in the dark clouds overhead. The mood from the steady drumbeat of mortgage foreclosures to layoffs to corporate trouble is seemingly shifting, although cautiously, toward … (8 comments)

housing: Another mortgage regulatory agency in the works in Washington? - 04/25/09 03:47 PM
It just might happen. Both the House and Senate presented bills in March that would set up a brand new agency responsible for keeping a keen eye on all sorts of consumer credit, including home loans. It would ensure everyday financial products would be safe for consumers to use, as a broad term. If such an outfit is created sometime down the road it would be called Financial Products Safety Commission.
It is understandable that policy makers in Washington are highly concerned about soaring mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures and sinking real estate values. The housing industry, after all, is a key … (4 comments)

housing: Vegas housing market getting demand help, from vulture funds - 04/21/09 09:42 AM
The numbers are still too high. Southern Nevada existing home inventory, according to the local MLS, continues to hover up there where no one wants to see it. It has been over 20,000 for months. Much of it has to do with the high mortgage foreclosure rates here that seem to be marching along unabated, month after month.
Bottom line is, demand is still too weak. Low home loan interest rates have been a big help and the various government incentives are also weighing positively in. But that's not enough. To change the real estate market dynamics in Las Vegas more qualified … (8 comments)

housing: Summerlin luxury condominium development back on track - 04/18/09 10:55 AM
These types of news items are rare today. Las Vegas real estate has been wallowing in a slump for a while, longer than many would like to admit. Lately, though, it has shown some encouraging signs that it still does have a pulse. Record-low mortgage rates have kept it in the game, as have steadily declining home values. The best action right now is in the lower end of the market segment where many first-time buyers and smart investors are having a field day.
And then there is a surprise announcement that a mid-rise luxury condo project in Summerlin is back … (2 comments)

housing: Home builders more confident about housing - 04/16/09 10:33 AM
After having endured a long stretch of dismal news, home builders are now feeling more optimistic about the state of the real estate market. The National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB, and Wells Fargo together periodically compile an industry survey called The Housing Market Index. It's based on how builders feel about single-family home sales, their outlook for sales six months out and the number of prospective buyers.
Looking at the latest index in April from purely numbers point of view, it jumped over 50%, climbing to 14 from a meager 9, the old mark. When the survey was started … (10 comments)

housing: Las Vegas near top of list for bargain properties - 04/14/09 02:25 PM
It's not easy but Sin City is doing all it can to turn the tide on the bad hand it has been dealt over the past few years regarding the housing market. It has steadily occupied high rankings on many mortgage- and real estate-related lists that no one really wants to be on. But now Vegas is on one that is going make it look a little better. And give everyone in the valley real hope as far as the future of the housing market goes.
The Top 10 Bargain Markets list is out and Las Vegas is third on it. FHFA, … (10 comments)