housing: LV existing home sales increase in March - 04/09/09 11:48 AM
The spring real estate season kicked off nicely last month, with resales again showing strong numbers. That has been the direction of this segment of the market for a good stretch now.  
All in all, 2,980 single-family houses were closed then that translates to a serious jump of 30% from February, as was reported by Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, or GLVAR. The figure is double of that from March of 2008. As has been the pattern recently, distressed sales dominated the statistics and most of them were in the lower end of the market where first-time buyers and … (4 comments)

housing: BPOs stoke controversy within the real estate industry - 04/03/09 06:28 AM
BPO, or broker price opinion, is a vehicle used by real estate agents to assess home values. Over the years it has become sort of a competitor to an official appraisal that mortgage lenders still rely on when underwriting loans. BPO can be a dependable gauge although it is less scientific than an appraisal. And it is much cheaper, costing around $50 each while a standard appraisal runs into the hundreds.  
With foreclosures and short sales playing now a large role in the housing market BPOs have become widely used. Mortgage lenders like them in these situations because they can … (15 comments)

housing: Jumbo mortgage making a meaningful comeback - 04/01/09 09:16 AM
The current home loan landscape has been largely very unkind to those who were out to purchase a house using a jumbo vehicle or to homeowners who wanted to refinance an expensive property. In simple terms, when the loan amount goes above the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming limit it becomes a jumbo because the mandate of the above two agencies bans them from buying these high-priced loans on the secondary market. Generally the limit varies between $417,000, for areas considered general, and goes all the way up to $729,750 for high-cost regions. Las Vegas cut-off point today is $417,000.
… (6 comments)

housing: Improving housing demand should remain top priority - 03/22/09 10:45 PM
Many different initiatives have been introduced over the past several months to revive the still-reeling real estate market, a key ingredient to our economy's well-being. Mortgage rates are near record lows thanks largely to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the government continuing to buy mortgage-backed securities on the secondary market. Home prices have come down to match those we had before the recent boom got going. But obviously more is needed.
One sector that would have a nice favorable impact on the demand side, without costing the taxpayer a dime, is the immigrants. For instance, every year 85,000 H1B visas are … (4 comments)

housing: LV resales a bright spot in February housing update - 03/10/09 10:20 AM
Despite the traditionally slow stretch of the real estate season Southern Nevada existing homes sales showed the same workmanlike consistency they have been doing for months. Namely that the statistics are way better from the same month one year ago, as was reported by GLVAR, or the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.2,288 homes were sold last month, which adds up to a 108% leap from February of 2008. And to stay on the positive track, it amounts to a 2.9% increase from January. These are the types of numbers that eventually will lift the housing market here in Las Vegas up from the dark … (4 comments)

housing: Real estate market perking up in troubled areas - 03/07/09 02:26 PM
Anyone can live with these types of headlines. The other kind - like those about mortgage approvals being hard to get, price declines, foreclosures - have been dominant for too long. Yes, the positive ones give consumers a dose of optimism that the housing market isn't dead after all. That it has the capacity to work thorough its imbalances and eventually start on the road to recovery.  
Let's throw in some interesting stats. First American CoreLogic put together a bunch of numbers on home sales at ZIP codes in metropolitan areas with at least 10,000 households. Each city only got one … (4 comments)

housing: Homeownership again making financial sense over renting - 02/26/09 11:13 AM
The recent real estate boom created quite a few imbalances in several marketplaces. One of them was the owning vs. renting question. When property values kept soaring to new heights, many would-be buyers simply couldn't qualify for a mortgage any more or just didn't want to pay for it even if they had the means. Renting had become so much less damaging to the budget that people chose to do that instead.
The red-hot housing market reached its peak around 2006 when after-tax home loan payments could go as high as 66% more than what rents were then, as was reported … (14 comments)

housing: Fannie Mae update to boost housing demand - 02/21/09 01:35 PM
That's good news. One of the main barriers to getting the residential real estate market to change direction is the lack of demand. Well, there is some demand, it's true, thanks to very low mortgage interest rates and affordable prices. But they alone won't cut it because the underwriting guidelines remain rather strict and keep many qualified borrowers from getting a home loan. And then there is the poor economy.
But help is on the way. A revised Fannie Mae policy is going to give the demand function a nice shot in the arm. The change involves how many mortgages the … (13 comments)

housing: Las Vegas headline prompts a second look - 02/14/09 12:14 PM
Can it be true? In this reeling housing market that makes mortgage approvals a major mental and physical exercise and closed real estate transactions an endurance test it was hard to believe what the Review-Journal headline actually said. But there it was, loud and clear. "Foreclosures in Las Vegas drop in January."
Southern Nevada residents are nowadays used to reading headlines that talk about how they are climbing, or surging, not dropping. Anything that suggests upward movement. The statement is accurate, though. Foreclosures.com is behind the statistic disclosing that LV numbers decreased about 20% in January from December, or from 3,283 … (5 comments)

housing: Zillow study reveals a more realistic homeowner - 02/12/09 01:15 PM
It has been long time coming. The present housing and mortgage convulsion has been tough on everybody, spare none. Mortgage borrowers find it hard to get approved, thanks to ever-tightening underwriting guidelines. Tenants living in rental homes are being evicted when the landlord gets foreclosed on. The most drama, though, has been endured by homeowners who have been watching helplessly as their property values are on a steady slide south. Some areas, like Las Vegas, numerous California communities and much of Florida, have been hammered while others have suffered smaller declines.
During the recent past many home sellers have been slow … (8 comments)

housing: Southern Nevada existing home sales still strong in January - 02/10/09 09:58 AM
The same pattern keeps more or less repeating itself when it comes to monthly Las Vegas real estate numbers. In essence, there are some good news and then some less than good news. One way of putting is that the market is simply trying to find its bearings.
As usual, GLVAR, or Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, is providing a detailed look at what happened in January in the local housing sector. Altogether 2,224 single-family houses were closed, amounting to a stellar 126% leap from the year ago figure. That trend has been evident for quite some time now and … (6 comments)

housing: Housing market needs more demand - 02/07/09 02:38 PM
It's pretty much basic economics that troubles the current real estate market. Too many homes for sale and not enough buyers approved for a mortgage chasing the inventory. Supply and demand are simply out of sync.
The still increasing weight of foreclosures is a big contributor to this imbalance. That is especially acute in states that have absorbed the heaviest damage from mortgages in default, namely Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada. All in all, it is now a nationwide phenomenon.
There are two distinct reasons to that. Banks, the term includes home loan servicers and investors who own mortgage-backed securities, have … (18 comments)

housing: Las Vegas still has it - 02/03/09 05:09 PM
It's nice to know that LV can also top lists that are complimentary. Good for the city's image. Some of the recent lists that have been less that desirable have generally been about the local real estate market and mortgage foreclosures tormenting valley citizens. This newest list is in one sense far removed from those, but also has some sort of a tie-in to the housing market here.
It's about new residents moving into Southern Nevada within certain parameters. Relocation.com conducted a study on long-distance, out-of-state moves people do to big cities. And when everything was tallied up it determined that … (12 comments)

housing: Freddie Mac offers more relief for homeowners and tenants in trouble - 01/31/09 11:55 AM
The agency is making life easier for mortgage borrowers and tenants facing foreclosure evictions. It has had its problems lately, including being taken over by the government last year because its portfolio of home loans was collapsing under failing mortgage paper, but is now making pro-active decisions to help out the severely challenged real estate market. They are pitching in. Looks like the new management team understands well what the word responsibility means.
The current eviction order suspension would expire today, January 31, 2009, but now it runs up to the end of February, 2009, as was announced by the agency. … (4 comments)

housing: Improving resales spur builders to offer discounted mortgages - 01/29/09 02:36 PM
Home builders have been absorbing severe body blows for a while with their over-priced product and too much supply. Using Las Vegas as an example, the scenario here easily applies to many areas of the country, the troubles really began gathering steam two-three years ago and haven't let up since. That seems like enough time to put together a new strategy to combat the obvious oversupply but they somehow have been slow in doing anything substantial. Besides cutting back production, not enough it seems, and reducing the average size, they are now trying something different; offer cut-rate mortgage financing.
Some of the … (10 comments)

housing: When Buffett speaks people listen - 01/27/09 07:47 AM
Warren Buffett rarely needs an introduction. By most standards he can be considered as popular as today's movie stars, music performers and sports heroes. As a savvy guru of the business world he has made a tidy sum of money as one of the most revered investors of the last several decades. Whatever his formula is, it works. Besides the record-breaking numbers on investment returns, he personally brings confidence and prestige to any process he is involved in.
Confidence in the U.S. economy is what's largely lacking right now. Actually, it all pretty much started with the subprime mortgage deterioration that … (2 comments)

housing: Mortgage loan modifications ought to have more bite - 01/22/09 01:22 PM
As foreclosure numbers keep growing nationwide lenders are facing more pressure to make home loan modifications, or workouts, more meaningful. Up to now their efforts have mostly been half measures from the borrower's perspective, backed by recent stats that around half of modified home loans re-default within six months. That surely isn't helping the pummeled real estate market to recover, something everyone ought to strive for, and thus help the entire economy get back on track.   
The entities operating between distressed homeowners and the investors who have bought their underlying mortgages usually are the servicing firms. They are the key … (6 comments)

housing: LV housing experts huddle and release their latest predictions - 01/17/09 10:25 AM
Forecasts of any activity are hard to be accurate about. That's why they are forecasts. Las Vegas Housing Outlook 2009 had attracted the cream of local real estate gurus to discuss the state of the market from here on out. The general feeling among those who stood at the podium and spoke into the microphone was that the road is going to be rocky for a few more years. Whether it has huge boulders on it or is merely covered with fist-sized rocks wasn't specified.   
One thing is clear that Southern Nevada is now part of the national economic rhythm … (2 comments)

housing: How did some predictions about 2008 turn out? You guessed it. - 01/13/09 09:19 AM
2008 is at last behind us and it was what it was. A thoroughly memorable year for the mortgage and real estate industries, and the entire U'S economy for that matter. As years go, a few in the recent history have had as many spectacular market events rumble through the landscape as this one, leaving charred and burnt wreckage smoldering behind.  
Some of the true visionaries inhabiting this land had a few encouraging words to pass on about how 2008 would shape up and now they ought to be spanked for ever opening their mouths. Consider this.
"I expect there will … (6 comments)

housing: Another mortgage relief effort about to become reality - 01/08/09 03:54 PM
This particular idea has been talked about in Washington for quite some time but has repeatedly failed to get the needed traction to get passed into law. The basic suggestion of it is that it would let judges alter mortgage terms for borrowers who are in bankruptcy court. The judges could tinker with the principal balance, the interest rate and the length of the loan, or any combination of the three. The major holdup has seemingly centered on the original "cramdown" provision that would allow the principal balance be brought down to the home's market value. That's what the financial community … (8 comments)