It's very sad that almost every other property listed in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA it's a short sale property. I drive my client all day today to show him a properties in Vancouver, WA in the price range 180k-200k and we have seen almost 10 houses but we find a only two homes that is not a short sale property.

Today we write an offer on the property that was purchased in 2005 for 235k and today asking price is 194k hard to believe but this house is over 2000 sq ft 4 bedroom 2.1 bath and is very well take care of.

Where this market go, every time I enter a short sale property I think of the owner of the house, how disappointed is that American dream of owning home last very short a period of time a less then a 3 years. No equity in the property the only thinks most sellers looking for is to sell the property for what they owe on.

 Scare and very sad situation but I hope with all my heart that this will change one way or another.

 TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE IN SOME WAY IN REAL ESTATE MARKET HAPPY EASTER

 FOR BUYERS: I WISH YOU FIND YOUR DREAM HOME

 FOR SELLER: I WISH YOU SELL YOUR HOME FOR A TOP DOLLAR

 FOR AGENTS: I WISH YOU HAVE A LOT OF BUSINESS THIS SPRING HELPING YOUR CLIENTS FULFIL THEIR DREAM

 FOR MORTGAGE PROFESSION: I WISH THAT MORTGAGE BUSINESS IMPROVES

 FOR ALL WORLD: I WISH TAHT EVERYONE CELEBRATE EASTER AND SPRING TIME IN THE PECASE

 

GREAT VANCOUVER HOME FOR SALE**HUGE LOT**MOTIVATED SELLER 3 BEDROOM 2 BATH 2 CAR GARAGE A/C SPRINKLER HUGE LOT OWER 10,000 SQ FT NEW ROOF CUTE AND CHARMING QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD CALL AGENT TO FIND OUT MORE 503-250-1471 http://www.goodnameagent.com/

In last March isses of "realtor" magazine I find an article under Profiles in Real Estate Success is actualy on pg. 7. This article talking about Teaxs real estate agent who was a School Teacher before he decide to join a real estate world. In first 8 months he sold about a 6 homes and made less as a real estate agent than as a teacher. Soty goes on and on and then he join a Craig Proctor group and Quatum Leap System. Last year he did 113 transactions and his business booming every months.

Please share with me if you ever try this system and how is work for you.

Thanks for support.

 Most every day I received a phone call from some leads company and I am wondering it's is worthed to try. My biggest concern is high feess per lead and second is waisted money for a lead that are not "valid" lead. There is always a part of me that want to try to purchase a leads however second part of me screaming "don't, don't"

If you have any sugestion or you have some experience would you please share with me.

Thanks.

The FED cut their rate by .75 points yesterday. Their discount rate is now 2.5%. The markets wanted a 1% cut and the economists wanted only.50, so the FED split the middle.

 

The FED also opened up their window (teller window) to allow investment banks and other institutions to borrow using mortgages as collateral. It used to only be banks and no mortgages. This seems to have helped. Now banks can stay liquid as they try to sell mortgages off their lines and portfolios.

 

Another major move along the same lines is that Federal Regulators reduced the capital requirements for Freddie and Fannie. They used to have to have a 30% cushion in cash to offset any losses. Now that is reduced to 20%.

 

Both moves have increased the money supply without creating more money or weakening the dollar further. With this new cash we are hoping the lenders will loosen up a bit.

 

Rates have stayed about the same swinging around a lot but within a very short range. The hope is that as the changes sink in the rates will come back and as lenders loosen up the RE Market will start to improve.

 

RATES TODAY:

5.625%  30 year fixed

5%           15 year fixed

5.5%       FHA/VA  30 year fixed

 

Jumbos and 3, 5, and 7 year ARMS are still priced way high.

Most under-valued housing markets Where to find the best bargains City State Median home price % undervalued Houma LA $116.5 -31.2% Dallas TX $134.5 -30.0% Houston TX $119.3 -29.1% Shreveport LA $101.2 -28.6% Lafayette LA $128.8 -26.2% College Station TX $104.1 -25.8% Fort Worth TX $111.7 -24.9% Alexandria LA $93.3 -24.8% Monroe LA $93.4 -24.6% Lake Charles LA $99.9 -23.8% Source:National City Corp. and Global Insight

Special Report

New foreclosure rescue plan offers 'Help Now' Foreclosures up 60% in February The next shoe to drop in housing Mortgage application fees may rise on appraisal reform

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It may be the best time to buy a house in more than four years.

Home prices have dropped so quickly and so far that valuations - the difference between what a home should cost and its actual price - are the lowest they've been since 2004, according to a report.

The Cleveland-based bank National City Corp. (NCC, Fortune 500), together with financial analysis firm Global Insight, revealed Tuesday that more than 88% of the 330 housing markets surveyed showed price declines and improved affordability during the last three months of 2007.

"Housing valuations are almost back to long-term norms," said National City's chief economist, Richard DeKaser. He called current affordability "the best in the past four years."

But DeKaser cautioned that home prices could fall even further.

"This isn't to say home price declines are over," he said. "We could move below historic norms. By the end of 2008, housing markets could be broadly under valued."

Prices still improving

There are still 21 housing markets, or 6% of those surveyed, that are severely over valued, including Atlantic City and Madera, Calif. That's down from 56 overvalued markets at the peak of the housing bubble in 2006.

The report compares actual median home prices with what the authors determine are proper home values based on population density, relative income levels and interest rates, as well as historically observed market premiums or discounts, to determine whether markets are over or under valued.

The report also factors in market intangibles that make some areas more desirable places to live, and more expensive.

"Declines are no longer confined to once-frothy markets," said DeKaser.

The survey covered home valuations during the last three months of 2007, but DeKaser pointed out there's reason to believe that valuations are even more favorable for buyers today.

Price declines have continued into 2008 and interest rates, although they have inched up lately, have been steady or lower compared to late last year. There have even been wage gains; personal income rose 0.5% in December. Soaring foreclosure rates have added inventory to many housing markets, depressing home prices further.

The biggest gains in affordability occurred in California, Michigan and Florida, which are areas that have also been some of the hardest hit by foreclosures. Those states registered 43 of the 50 biggest price declines.

Bend, Ore. currently tops the overvaluation list. Home prices there were judged to be about 59% higher than their fair-market value. Miami, despite a median home price decline of 5.7% last year, is the most overvalued big city, by 44%.

All the best bargains were found in Louisiana and Texas. Houses in Houma, La. were under valued by 31.2%, according to the report. Dallas was the most undervalued big city, by 30%.

 

 Finaly someone take a positive approach of this market. Please enjoy reading this TIME Magazine article. I even forward this article to all my clients as a good references.

Famed Money Manager is perhaps best known for his timeless wisdom that you can beat the pros by focusing on stocks of companies where you either work or shop or have some other edge. But a more relevant Lynchism today is this gem: Ignore the headlines.

That's no easy thing. How do you tune out all the chatter and ink on recession, housing, subprime woes, the credit crunch, rogue traders, insolvent bond insurers, $100 oil and nukes in Iran? It's enough to make you sit on your thumbs and wait before making any big moves. But what, exactly, are you waiting for?

There has rarely been a moment in history when you couldn't scare yourself into doing nothing. And yet, as Lynch observed nearly 20 years ago, "in spite of all the great and minor calamities that have occurred ... all the thousands of reasons that the world might be coming to an end--owning stocks has continued to be twice as rewarding as owning bonds."

A top reason to not buy stocks, in Lynch's view, is if you don't already own a home--in which case, that should be your first investment, since an owner-occupied home is nearly always profitable. Through a spokesman, Lynch reaffirmed these views to me--housing debacle and all.

When prices are falling, few people have the discipline to buy stocks, a house, gold, art or any other asset. But those who do pull the trigger excel in the long run. As John D. Rockefeller famously said, "The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets."

And the streets are stained crimson. Start with stocks. They have been pummeled this year. GDP braked sharply last quarter, and there has been plenty of panic about a recession. The Federal Reserve is slashing short-term interest rates at the fastest clip in decades. But if you stick to your steady, diversified plan while everyone else is retreating, you will be happy years from now. For one thing, Fed rate cuts always lift the economy eventually, and the stock market typically starts responding just as headlines get gloomiest. Sure, the market could fall again before recovering. But the recession may be half over already--or we may avoid one altogether. You just never know.

As for housing, certainly some skepticism is in order. Formerly sizzling markets in Florida, Nevada, Arizona and California probably haven't seen the worst headlines just yet, though they may well be close. And "jumbo" mortgages, those more than $417,000, are likely to remain artificially high for a few more months while banks work through their credit issues.

But let's say you are emotionally ready to be a homeowner. You have good credit, plan to stay put for five years and have been waiting for the perfect entry point. It's time to get serious--before an inevitable rise in interest rates wipes out your advantage. "The thing that will make home prices stop falling is the very same thing that will push mortgage rates higher," says Jim Svinth, chief economist at mortgage firm Lending Tree. So anything you gain by a further drop in prices might be offset by rising financing costs.

Consider a typical home that sells for $218,900. You put down 20% and get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at today's rate of 5.5%. Monthly principal and interest come to $994.31. Let's say that 12 months from now the same house goes for 10% less, or $197,010. But by then the recession is history and the Fed is jacking up rates to stem inflation. If mortgage costs rise a point, to 6.5%, your monthly payment would be $994.94 and you'd have saved nothing. Meanwhile, home prices might steady and sellers might become less willing to negotiate. And you have spent a year living someplace you'd rather not be.

It's more complicated if you must sell before you can buy. But that logjam won't persist forever--and if it appears you'll be trapped for a few years, try to refinance at today's lower rates. Risks always seem most acute when the headlines give you ulcers. But that's exactly when you should think long term--and get off your thumbs.

Have to write a letter of recommendation for that fired Agent?


For the chronically absent:
"A man like him is hard to find."
"It seemed her career was just taking off."

For the office drunk:
"I feel his real talent is wasted here."
"We generally found him loaded with work to do."
"Every hour with him was a happy hour."

For an agent with no ambition:
"He could not care less about the number of hours he had to put in."
"You would indeed be fortunate to get this person to work for you."

For an agent who is so unproductive that the job is better left unfilled:
"I can assure you that no person would be better for the job."

For an agent who is not worth further consideration as a job candidate:
"I would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of
employment."
"All in all, I cannot say enough good things about this candidate or
recommend him too highly."

For a stupid agent:
"There is nothing you can teach a man like him."
"I most enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications
whatsoever."

For a dishonest agent:
"Her true ability was deceiving."
"He's an unbelievable worker."

A client bought a new home and the broker wanted to send flowers for the occasion.
They arrived at the home and the owner read the card; it said "Rest in Peace".

The owner was angry and called the florist to complain. After he had told the florist of the obvious mistake and how angry he was, the florist said. "Sir, I'm really sorry for the mistake, but rather than getting angry you should imagine this: somewhere there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying, "Congratulations on your new home".