Hello!

With technology changing so quickly and our acquisition of the latest and greatest electronic devices, as we wrap up 2011 in this month’s Item of Value you will find some great information on how to dispose of your old electronics, whether you’re looking to sell, donate or recycle.

As always, if we can be of any assistance in the coming year please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Holiday and a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year!

WASHINGTON – Dec. 12, 2011 – In many recent cases, new homes are being appraised for less than the cost of construction, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Builders are blaming flawed appraisals for holding back the housing market’s recovery, saying that new homes should not be compared to foreclosed homes that have sat vacant and are in disrepair.

“The inappropriate use of distressed and foreclosed sales as comparables in determining new home values is needlessly driving down home prices, killing home sales, causing more workers to lose their jobs and delaying a housing and economic recovery,” says NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen.

Sixty percent of builders say they’ve had problems with appraisals coming in below their contract sales price, according to a recent survey by NAHB. One out of three say they’ve had signed sales contracts canceled in the last six months because appraisals were less than the contract sales price.

In a separate study by the National Association of Realtors® from June, 16 percent of real estate professionals also reported an increase in deals being canceled mostly due to low appraisals.

“This is not only unfair and unreasonable, but it perpetuates the cycle of declining home values, drives more homeowners underwater, harms local economic activity and acts as an obstacle to the recovery of the housing market,” Nielsen said in a statement.

NAHB is calling on regulators to make major reforms to appraisal practices and oversight to prevent flawed appraisals from continuing to hamper a housing market recovery.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

Hello!

Hope this finds you well and enjoying the Holiday season.   Homeownership is a goal for many – whether it’s a first home, vacation home or investment property.  Whichever your goal, attached in this month’s Item of Value you will find great information that can help you along the way

Wishing you and your family a warm, wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!  As always, if we can be of any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact us.

With low home prices and ultra-low interest rates, the housing market offers "perhaps the best deals of a generation." Read more.

One dip or two? Freddie Mac calls a double-dip recession unlikely; housing should end 2011 up to 5% higher than 2010. Read more.

The average rate on the 30-year loan held steady at 4.5%, while the average on the 15-year FRM inched up to 3.69%. Read more.

Owners receive a letter saying their mortgage has been sold; but payments end up in scammers' pockets. Read more.

Hello!

We hope you are well and enjoying all of the fun and sun the Summer season offers!   With our continuing commitment to provide you with timely and useful information this month's Item of Value addresses what it takes to retire in today's economy.  As we look towards the future and the hope of enjoying the possibility of retirement, you will see some statistics and information on how to build up that nest egg.

SANTA ANA, Calif. - June 2, 2011 - CoreLogic released its April Home Price Index (HPI), which shows that home prices in the U.S. increased on a month-to-month basis by 0.7 percent between March and April, 2011 - the first such increase since the homebuyer tax credit expired in mid-2010.

However, national home prices - including distressed sales - declined by 7.5 percent in April 2011 compared to April 2010 after declining by 6.8 percent in March 2011 compared to March 2010. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.5 percent in April 2011 compared to April 2010 and by 1.6 percent in March 2011 compared to March 2010. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate-owned (REO) transactions.

"While the economic recovery is still fragile and one data point is not a trend, the month-over-month increase based on April sales activity is a positive sign," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "This is the first month-over-month increase in the HPI since government support for homebuying was removed, and it provides reason for cautious optimism.

Highlights of the April 2011 report:

· Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: North Dakota (+4.2 percent), Vermont (+3.4 percent), New York (+3.2 percent), The District of Columbia (+2.2 percent) and Mississippi (+1.4 percent).

· Including distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Idaho (-15.2 percent), Michigan (-13.2 percent), Arizona (-11.9 percent), Rhode Island (-11.6 percent) and Nevada (-11.4 percent).

· Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: West Virginia (+8.4 percent), South Carolina (+6.1 percent), Hawaii (+5.8 percent), Mississippi (+5.0 percent) and North Dakota (+4.5 percent).

· Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Nevada (-10.3 percent), Idaho (-9.5 percent), Arizona (-6.0 percent), South Dakota (-5.9 percent) and Minnesota (-5.6 percent).

· Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to April 2011) was -33.8 percent. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -21.9 percent.

· Of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, 92 are showing year-over-year declines in April, an increase over March when 91 of the top CBSAs show year-over-year declines.

Full-month April 2011 national, state-level and other data can be found here.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

Lenders out more than $22M - $125K per owner - to settle charges they foreclosed on 178 active-duty military personnel. Read more.