in the news: Even Ed McMahon Falls Behind on House Payments - 06/05/08 06:08 AM
Here comes the repo man. While Ed McMahon is better known for his curtain call on "The Tonight Show," Johnny Carson's former late-night sidekick is among the latest celebs to get bit by the foreclosure bug. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that McMahon was $644,000 behind on a $4.8 million loan for a home in Beverly Hills.
                                            
Ed McMahon's Beverly Hills home facing foreclosure. Photo by:Frazar Harrison/Getty Images
According to the newspaper report, Recon Trust, a division of Countrywide Financial, filed a notice of default related to the loan of the home on Feb. 28. Earlier in the … (2 comments)

in the news: More Listings Means More Options for Consumers - 05/29/08 03:41 AM
Despite the sagging housing market, Internet-based agents got a dose of good news this week from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ announced on Tuesday that it had reached a proposed settlement with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) that requires NAR to allow Internet-based, residential real estate brokers to compete with traditional brokers. The settlement will enforce new industry policies to give online agents, who service their customers through virtual office Web sites (VOW), access to home listings they were previously denied.
In a press release, DOJ officials said, "The settlement will enhance competition in the real estate … (1 comments)

in the news: New Home Sales Rise Slightly - 05/28/08 09:41 AM
                                             
 Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 3.3 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. But don't pop open the bubbly just yet. The gains reflected downward revisions to sales numbers reported for each of the previous three months, including a particularly large revision for March.
"The fact that new-home sales are up slightly from a dismal beginning to the spring home buying season in March isn't much to celebrate," said Sandy Dunn, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in a recent press release. … (3 comments)

in the news: To Open House or Not to Open House - 05/21/08 01:39 AM
                                             
I recently came across an article in the Chicago Tribune that raised concerns about the effectiveness of open houses. The article cited a recent study from the National Association of Realtors 2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, which reported that only 7 percent of buyers visited open houses as a first step in their search for a home, and about 84 percent started on the Internet.
While I agree that more and more buyers today are starting their home search on the Internet, I think open houses continue to remain a vital tool in the marketing of homes. … (4 comments)

in the news: Like Everything in Texas, Development is Big - 05/19/08 03:59 AM
Last week I made my way down to Dallas for the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference. Between the seminars and panel discussions on the nation's housing market and real estate trends, I got the opportunity to tour, in a helicopter, new developments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Dallas, Fort Worth and other Texas towns are among the nation's leaders in job and population growth. Unlike much of the U.S., most Texas housing markets have lost little ground, if any. Commercial and residential real estate development is booming in and around metro areas, while downtown Dallas expects a population of more … (4 comments)

in the news: April Showers Bring Another Round of Foreclosures - 05/15/08 06:23 AM
Nevada, California and Arizona top state foreclosure rates, according to a foreclosure market report released by RealtyTrac this week. The report, which shows foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - were reported on 243,353 properties, a 4 percent increase from the previous month and a nearly 65 percent increase from April 2007. The data also shows one in every 519 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.
"The total number of U.S. properties with foreclosure activity in April was the highest monthly total we've seen since we began issuing the report in January 2005," … (0 comments)

in the news: FHA Loans: Your First Choice, Not Just Your Last - 05/14/08 02:51 AM
Last week I attended the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Dallas. While there was much discussion on what has been deemed "the worst housing crisis since the Depression," real estate and financial trade groups appeared to be optimistic about the fate of the market. It appears that all eyes are currently locked on the federal government to see how they will help soften the blow.
  FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery
Federal Housing Authority Commissioner Brian Montgomery, who spoke at the conference, gave a roaring endorsement for FHA modernization. He said there are affordable FHA-backed loans that are not … (3 comments)

in the news: Condo Market Cool Down - 05/06/08 07:38 AM
                                             
With more than 4,000 new condominium units expected to be completed in metro areas like Atlanta and Phoenix this year, cities across the country are bracing for a flood of new supplies. Many of these new units are a result of developments that were created during the height of the housing boom and are now coming to a completion. According toThe Wall Street Journal, developers in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, FL, "are readying nearly 10,000 total new units in a market already struggling with canyons of unsold condos." San Diego, another hard-hit region, will add 2,500 units, according to estimates … (0 comments)

in the news: Former Baseball Star Gets Home Foreclosed - 05/05/08 02:44 AM
                                               
Despite a lucrative book deal, millions in endorsements and a brief stint on a reality show, former major league baseball player Jose Canseco still couldn't save his home from a foreclosure strikeout. 
The 43-year-old Canseco retired from the major leagues in 2001, but in recent years has been at the forefront of a media frenzy with his tell-all-book on steroid abuse in the league. On Thursday, Canseco landed himself in the headlines again with another startling admission. The Associated Press reported that Canseco told the celebrity TV show, Inside Edition, "It didn't make financial sense for me to keep paying … (12 comments)

in the news: How Consumers are Incorporating the Internet in the Home Buying and Selling Process - 05/02/08 02:38 AM
                                             
We at Homescape decided to conduct a consumer survey to learn more about today's online users and better understand how they use the Internet for their home buying and selling needs. We posted the survey on our homepage during the first two weeks of April and had 744 respondents; 535 of them answered all of the questions. Inspired by the survey's successful response rate, we will continue to track the growing trends and improve our methods to help consumers and Realtors with their home selling and buying needs. Here are some of the survey highlights:
Background information
· 93.7% of respondents described themselves … (8 comments)

in the news: Home Prices in Top Metro Areas Continue Decline - 05/01/08 02:59 AM
For all of us still waiting to see the bottom fall out from the housing bust, the bad news keeps a coming. Home prices continue to fall in the country's top 20 metro markets, according to the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index released on Tuesday. The index, which tracks 20 of the largest housing markets, showed prices plummeting by 12.7 percent in the 12 months ending February. That's the biggest fall since the index began tracking prices eight years ago.
The hardest hit cities include the Las Vegas metro area, where prices plunged more than any other city, down 22.8 percent … (2 comments)

in the news: Open House: How to Throw a Party to Sell Homes - 04/30/08 06:30 AM
                                                
An Oscar-themed soiree with fancy cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and an open house featuring a worldly selection of wine and cheeses are giving a whole new meaning to today's dog-eat-dog home-selling market. I recently read an article in The Wall Street Journal on a growing trend among real estate professionals hosting swanky parties at listed properties to lure in prospective buyers. It's another creative way Realtors are showcasing their clients' homes.
Top chef In my former life, I worked as an event planner and catering manager. I regularly worked with Realtors to cater open houses. Although most of the homes … (42 comments)

in the news: Betting on Your Home Still a Safe Bet - 04/25/08 02:19 AM
                                                    
While some housing markets across the country are being hit hard with rising foreclosure rates and excess home inventory -Stockton, CA, and Las Vegas to name a few - Manhattan seems to be sitting pretty in its New York City bubble.
The average Manhattan home soared 41 percent in a year to $1.6 million in the first three months of 2008, according to a report by ResidentialNYC.com, a Web site managed by The Real Estate Board of New York.
NYC high rollers Compared to other New York boroughs, Manhattan's recent price surge is the exception. An average apartment in the … (4 comments)

in the news: One Man's Foreclosure is Another Person's Bus Tour - 04/24/08 02:29 AM
                                                      
The recent housing bust has churned out some pretty interesting news stories. After reading about abandoned pets in foreclosed homes and a Wisconsin man offering the title to his $500,000 life insurance plan to anyone willing to buy his home, I thought I had heard it all. That was until my friend sent me a CNNMoney.com article this morning about two real restate agents giving tours of foreclosed homes.
Bus Tour Instead of sitting on their rears complaining about the bad luck that's plagued their industry, Barbara and Marshall Zucker are taking their clients to see it firsthand. As they watched … (3 comments)

in the news: Home Owners Jump on Price Cut Bandwagon - 04/23/08 02:36 AM
                                                       
With friends and loved ones currently looking for new homes, I'm often asked, is it a good time to buy? If you live in a dual-income household and have a credit score at least 680 or above, the market couldn't be riper for you. The credit crunch and subprime fallout has created a shrinking pool of potential buyers and more sellers are lowering their prices tags to attract the fabulous few.
BusinessWeek magazine and with the help from Altos Research, a real-time housing research firm, ranked 14 of the country's largest cities based on how much sellers have cut listing … (12 comments)

in the news: Preparing for a Greener Housing Future - 04/22/08 02:07 AM
                                              
Every morning I usually create a to-do-list of things I have to accomplish for the day, and in celebration of Earth Day today, I've decided to add a couple of eco-friendly chores to my list. While tasks such as opening the windows instead of turning on the air conditioning or turning the lights off in rooms that aren't being occupied seems pretty minimal, I believe some action is better than no action.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to install a geothermal heat pump or a solar electric system in my home, but these energy-efficient gizmos come with a pretty … (3 comments)

in the news: Is it a Good Time to Buy? Depends on Who You're Asking - 04/15/08 02:30 AM
                                                       
It's no industry secret that the housing market isn't doing so hot, and according to a poll released on Monday by the Associated Press and AOL Money & Finance, consumers are reading the writing on the wall. The poll found that more people have become anxious about declining home values and have become more reluctant to sell during the current slump.
According to the poll, more than a quarter of homeowners worry their home will lose value over the next two years, and one in seven mortgage holders fear they won't be able to make their monthly payments on time over the … (0 comments)

in the news: Las Vegas Homes are Out of Style - 04/11/08 07:57 AM
Nearly 1,000 houses are listed for sale in Las Vegas for $1 million or more, and about 36 percent of them are sitting vacant, The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday. And according to industry observers, unless they've been constructed in the last year or two, they're going to be hard to sell.
Las Vegas is made up of a class of "new money," and residents moving there aren't looking for a historic Victorian home. These high rollers like their McMansions big, and they want them customized to match their lavish lifestyle. Like Louis Vuitton's Multicolore Heart purse, a home built four years ago … (1 comments)

in the news: Desperate Housing Market Calls for Depserate Gimmicks - 04/10/08 02:29 AM
Experts have predicted that home sales in early 2008 will be down more than 40 percent from their peak of a few years ago. And  recent market reports show that some of the country's major metro areas will see home prices plummet by 15 percent or more during this painful downturn. For obvious reasons, it's probably not a good time to sell your house if you don't have to. But what if you're faced with pressing circumstances that are forcing you to sell your home? Whether it is the need to relocate for a new job or to fit a growing … (2 comments)

in the news: Mortgage Fraud Cases Up - 04/09/08 02:31 AM
                                                  
Following an increase in suspicious activity report (SAR) filings from banks and financial institutions with mortgage loan fraud, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a report in November 2006 describing trends and patterns with suspected fraud cases filed between April 1, 1996 and March 31, 2006. FinCEN has continued to monitor these findings, and their latest report shows the number of fraud cases across the country increased 42 percent in 2007 over the year before.
In 2007, financial institutions filed 52,868 SARs, citing suspected mortgage loan fraud, compared to 37,313 in 2006. FinCEN says that one reason for this increase … (1 comments)