A Homes True Value, Happiness and Satisfaction - 02/28/12 07:05 AM
I recently gave a presentation about the current real estate market to a group of home sellers in a city in the Northeast.  That night, I explained to them that home values in their area were about to be negatively impacted by a surge of distressed properties entering their region over the next year. As I have often found to be the case, the homeowners were very receptive; many felt that they now had the information they needed to make a good decision with regard to pricing their home to sell in this market.
After the class that night, several of … (2 comments)

Sellers Best Opportunity May Be Now. - 02/27/12 07:21 AM
There have been conflicting opinions as to where housing prices are headed. We want to give our opinion on this subject for the short term. We believe sellers have a window of opportunity for the next 90-120 days in most parts of the country in which to sell their homes for maximum price. We believe there will be increased downward pressure on home prices throughout the rest of the year.
Why renewed downward pressure?
Any item’s price is determined by ‘supply and demand’. In many parts of the country, existing housing inventory has dropped to historic norms in the last few months. … (1 comments)

Serenity Prayer in Real Estate - 02/25/12 10:25 AM
You may believe that selling your home is impossible in today’s market. You may feel powerless to the process. What could YOU possibly do to turn this housing market around? There is no doubt that today’s real estate market is extremely difficult to navigate. However, we want you to know that thousands of homes sold yesterday, thousands will sell today and thousands will sell each and every day from now until the end of the year.
It is totally within your power to guarantee that your house will sell even in the current market.
How you ask? Let’s look at the simplicity … (0 comments)

National Foreclosures in Process - 02/24/12 07:20 AM






Methodology as per CoreLogic: The foreclosure inventory represents the number and ratio of homes that have been placed into the process of foreclosure by the mortgage servicer. Mortgage servicers start the foreclosure process when the mortgage reaches a specific level of serious delinquency as dictated by the investor for the mortgage loan … The foreclosure inventory is measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes with no mortgage liens can never be in foreclosure and are therefore excluded from the analysis.
For further information, go to www.corelogic.com
Compliments of the KCM blog.
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Home Sales Tax in Health Care Bill? - 02/23/12 07:34 AM
We have received many questions about a possible 3.8% tax which will be put on home sales beginning in 2013. We want to do our best to clarify this situation for everyone. We are not accountants and give you this information just as a simple answer to the misconception. Understand that, when it comes to IRS regulations, you should check with your accountant for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
A little history on the confusion
Fact Check.org explains it this way:
The truth is that only a tiny percentage of home sellers will pay the tax. First of all, only those with incomes over … (0 comments)

Mortgage Debt Relief Act - 02/21/12 01:42 PM
Many of our readers have asked whether we believe the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 will be extended past its current expiration scheduled for the end of the year. As a reminder, the legislation ensures that homeowners who received principal reductions or other forms of debt forgiveness on their primary residences do not have to pay taxes on the amount forgiven.
The reason this act is important in today’s housing market is that, without the act, debt reduced through mortgage modifications or short sales qualifies as income to the borrower and is taxable. If the legislation is not extended, then it … (1 comments)

Mortgage Settlement, What's Next? - 02/20/12 08:02 AM
Last week, we explained that the National Mortgage Settlement gave banks a roadmap showing them how to proceed with the backlog of foreclosures (known as shadow inventory) that has been hanging over the housing market for more than a year. We believe that understanding this dynamic is crucial in determining home prices as we go through the year. We believe the number of houses sold will grow somewhat dramatically in 2012. However, the increase in demand will be offset by an increase in supply of distressed properties that sell at a discount.
Others also feel there will be an increase in … (0 comments)

Hidden Charges? What Do You Think? - 02/16/12 10:21 AM
Before the end of the year, Congress and the President agreed to extend the payroll tax cut. In that bill, there were two items of interest for those involved in real estate.
1.) The hike in the Guarantee Fees charged by the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The 10 basis point increase in the fees has translated to a .375% to .5% increase in mortgage rates for conventional loans. Many customers who started their loans a couple of months ago are being “surprised” with higher than expected rates. Heck, everything you read in the papers says rates are at historic lows … (1 comments)

Mortgage Settlement Foreclosure Information - 02/14/12 11:06 AM
There has been much written on the recently negotiatedNational Mortgage Settlement. Most of the reporting has revolved around the $25 billion that will be issued to consumers and states that have been impacted by the robo-signing scandal of 2010. We want to talk about a different issue addressed by the settlement.
Foreclosures have been slowed to a snail’s pace since the third quarter of 2010. Banks were concerned about the penalties that would be imposed by the settlement and decided to delay the actual seizure of foreclosed properties until the settlement was reached. This group of properties is known as the ‘shadow inventory’ … (1 comments)

National Mortgage Settlement Information - 02/13/12 11:48 AM
Last week, the Federal government and 49 state governments (Oklahoma being the exception) agreed to a $25 billion settlement regarding robo-signing and the challenges it created in the foreclosure process. We want to give a synopsis of the settlement and some perspective on what effect it will have on the housing market in 2012.
The Basics The $25 billion in funds will be dispersed as follows:
$17 Billion National Commitment to Foreclosure Relief EffortsThe servicers collectively agree to commit a minimum of $17 billion directly to borrowers through foreclosure relief effort options, including principal reduction for qualifying borrowers, short sales, anti-blight measures, … (0 comments)

Home Price Changes by State - 02/10/12 09:56 AM

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Where Are Rents Heading? - 02/09/12 03:30 PM
People are delaying the decision to buy a home because they are not sure where prices are headed. If they buy and prices continue to soften, they feel that they will not have purchased at the optimal moment. They reason that, if they sit and wait, they can’t be hurt. This thinking assumes that a non-decision comes without consequence.
The normal retort to this thinking by people bullish on real estate is that prices may soon turn to the positive or that interest rates will start heading upward. Buy now before the cost of buying increases! Today, we want to look at this … (0 comments)

Distressed Properties used as Comps? - 02/07/12 05:13 PM
Many of our readers ask us if appraisers use distressed properties (short sales and foreclosures) as comparables when doing an appraisal on non-distressed properties. We have posted on this issue on several occasions (examples: here and here). Last month, the Appraisal Institute issued a paper on the subject. In the paper,  the Institute explained that:
“Foreclosures and short sales can provide important information for appraisers, who develop valuations based on market data and market forces.”
On whether an appraiser should use distressed properties as comparables, the Institute was very direct (all items in bold were shown as bold in the original paper):
“An appraiser should not ignore foreclosure sales and short … (2 comments)

States with the Highest Loan Balances - 02/03/12 11:21 AM

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A good time for families to buy a home? - 02/02/12 01:24 PM
 
We have  reported that almost six million adults between the ages of 25 to 34 are currently living with their parents. That number reflects an almost 50% increase since 2003. These young adults are now being advised to jump into homeownership.
Who are the people selling them on the American Dream? Their parents! It seems that parents of some adult children are strongly suggesting that their children take advantage of the low cost of homeownership available today. Some moms and dads are helping financially and are even co-signing for the mortgage. Middle age parents who have owned a home understand its true … (0 comments)

 
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GREG SAFFELL REAL ESTATE BROKER SEATTLE AREA SELLERS & BUYERS

Kent, WA

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