real estate: Rate of Foreclosure Still High
- 12/02/10 07:37 AM
The topic of foreclosure has been on the minds of many Americans as the market makes it way towards recovery. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the mortgage delinquency rate declined in the third quarter. They report that in the United States, it "declined last quarter amid hints of improvement in the job market, but headwinds from defaults and a rising rate of new foreclosure applications keep the housing outlook muddied." Still, some experts say the winter will continue to be cold for many fearing default. Zillow.com reports that foreclosure liquidations have reached a new peak, with over 1.17 of … (3 comments)
real estate: Mortgage Rates Spike Quarter Percent
- 12/02/10 07:30 AM
30 year fixed mortgage rates have risen a quarter point this week to 4.25% on plummeting mortgage-backed securities prices. MBS prices drive mortgage rates in the opposite direction. Conventional 15 year fixed interest rates are also up a quarter of a percent and are at 3.75% currently for well-qualified borrowers who pay a standard .07 to 1 point origination. Both fixed mortgage rates are up substantially from last week and at an immediate risk to rise further. FHA loan rates move with conforming mortgage rates and are also up this week. Today's 30 year fixed FHA loan rate is at … (0 comments)
real estate: Establishing Daily Priorities
- 12/02/10 07:22 AM
Establishing your daily priorities will help you make each day a "10”. I am giving you a tool that I created a few years ago that really enables you to get maximum value from your time. It is our Real Estate Champions Daily Priorities Tool. Step #1: List the activities that need to be done for the day. When you are listing activities on the right hand side of boxes, you are brainstorming to get your thoughts down on paper. Just focus on what needs to be done … all of it. Do not let your mind think about importance … (0 comments)
real estate: Real Estate Outlook: Growth Remains Sub-Par
- 12/01/10 08:06 AM
The National Association of Business Economics' latest report has revealed that projections for GDP growth remains in the first quarter of 2001 remains "sub-par". Concern about federal debt, unemployment, and business regulation ruled the NABE panel, causing experts to forecast only moderate growth in 2011. The NABE also reports that "consumer spending is expected to remain modest throughout the forecast horizon due to weak job gains, persistently high unemployment, and negligible growth in household net worth." On the bright side -- the chances of the economy slipping back into recession are considered low. The housing market, however, continues to struggle. The National Association … (0 comments)
real estate: Determining Factors of a Qualified Prospect
- 12/01/10 07:39 AM
1. Strong motivation Motivation is simply the desire to do something. The stronger the desires on the part of the Buyer, the easier it will be for you to satisfy or even exceed their expectations. The stronger the motivation, the lower the expectations they will have for a property or your service. A low motivation prospect is willing to look for extended periods of time until they find the perfect home. In essence, they are looking for something that doesn't exist in many cases. Do they want it? Do they have to have it? Those are the key questions to … (0 comments)
real estate: It's a Good Time to Buy a Vacation Rental
- 11/30/10 06:32 AM
Right now, the languishing housing market offers some lingering upsides for those who have a pot of investment dollars to burn. Home prices are low, financing is cheap and inventories are bulging. The planets have aligned over vacation rental acquisitions. The road's been rocky for real estate in recent years, but that means it's a buyer's market and good time to grab a piece of the American Dream as a solid, long-term investment. "Vacation homes are almost always a good investment," says vacation rental guru Christine Karpinski, director of Owner Community for HomeAway.com, the global leader in vacation rentals, hosting some 540,000 vacation … (0 comments)
real estate: Mortgage Rates Settling Above All Time Lows
- 11/30/10 06:15 AM
30 year fixed mortgage rates are settling at levels significantly higher than all time lows set just weeks ago. Conforming 30 year fixed mortgage rates today are at 4.25% for well-qualified borrowers who pay a standard origination fee (points) of .07 to 1%. Current 15 year fixed mortgage rates today are at 3.75%. FHA mortgage rates, which are driven by the same mortgage-backed securities prices as conforming fixed mortgage rates, are also up about a quarter percent higher than they were two weeks ago and are nearly identical to conforming mortgage rates today. Today's California 30 year fixed FHA loan rate is 4.125%. … (1 comments)
real estate: Active Adult Housing Sector is Stalled
- 11/30/10 06:10 AM
Even as members of the baby boomer generation make their way into retirement, the active adult housing sector is stalled. Builder confidence in the 55+ housing market has been tepid. The National Association of Home Builders studies this effect in the 55+ Housing Market Index, which evaluates markets based on a scale "50" or greater as "good confidence" and less than "50" indicating "poor confidence." Results for the third quarter 2010 weren't stellar, with the index basing its findings on current sales, prospective buyer traffic and anticipated six-month sales. According to the National Association of Home Builders' Chief Economist, David Crowe, … (1 comments)
Keeping track of Canada's volatile housing market hasn't been easy during the last several years. After almost a decade of extremely strong growth, the market took a dive during the recession. In 2009 it roared back and made up everything it had lost, catching most observers by surprise. Then 2010 was a tale of two markets – busy and active during the first half, then dropping into a stable, calmer state in the second half of the year. Adding to the confusion is that everyone in the housing industry issues monthly reports and forecasts – the local, provincial and … (0 comments)
Suppose you had a listing and that, because of some fact about either the seller(s) or the property, you believed that any transaction would stand a greater than normal chance of failing to close. (Yes, I've had one of those too.) Would you have a duty to disclose those circumstances to a prospective buyer even before they entered into contract? Apparently, "yes", if you do business in California's 4th Appellate District. A very recent appellate decision (Holmes v. Summer) raises troublesome questions for real estate agents and brokers. Even if one agrees with the outcome in this particular case, … (1 comments)
It's all about choices when you decide to build your next home. From craftsman to colonial, what you choose for your home says a lot about you. As energy prices rise and concern over the environment touches home for many Americans, one choice is gaining popularity. And that is passive solar homes. They do not require any fancy photovoltaic panels, inverters, or batteries. It is simply the design of your home that will bring you energy savings. Passive solar homes harness the power of the sun. They are designed to collect, store, and distribute solar energy. And they do … (0 comments)
real estate: Fall May Bring Serious Buyers
- 11/24/10 06:45 AM
As the year winds down, many homeowners fear that now could be a bad time to sell their home. While it’s true that the holidays can deter some folks from house hunting and making a major purchase—don’t give up. If your house is on the market, step up the action plan to draw attention to it. Don’t let the holiday blues make you feel like there’s no hope. Homes are sold and bought this time of year. But the ones that get snatched up are the ones that are enticing to buyers. Because this is a very busy time of … (2 comments)
It's a mixed, and somewhat gloomy, forecast for the housing market this week. Concerns over the Fed's announcement to buy up Treasury bonds had far reaching effects. According to The New York Times, "When the United States Federal Reserve announced last week that it would buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds to help bolster the economy, it quickly came under attack from Germany, Brazil and China, which said America was trying to devalue the dollar to the detriment of other nations’ exports." Others worry it may undermine the global economic recovery. Analysts also contend that the Fed's actions could … (0 comments)
Tolling the death knell for the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), the Federal Reserve Board recently announced final regulatory orders for real estate appraisers. The interim final rule for appraisers, part of the massive federal regulatory overhaul known as "Wall Street Reform" (officially, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act), is designed to keep appraisers independent, free from third party pressure, honest and compensated fairly. We'll see. The Fed's interim final rule: • Prohibits coercion and other similar actions designed to cause appraisers to base the appraised value of properties on factors other than their independent judgment. • … (0 comments)
In 2009, housing activity, including new home construction, and the sale and renovation of existing homes, contributed C$307 billion to the economy. According to the 2010 Canadian Housing Observer, a publication released by the national housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), this housing activity was more than one-fifth of Canada's total gross domestic product. Since housing represents such a significant segment of the national economy, the lack of a national housing policy seems strange, but through CMHC the federal government does keep itself associated with many community-based housing initiatives. By announcing CMHC's involvement in promoting these projects, the federal … (0 comments)
real estate: Guarantors of Another's Debt Need to be Very Careful
- 11/23/10 05:41 AM
Loan guarantees are likely to be sought in an economy like this one. While the good news is that interest rates on mortgages and many other loans are at all-time lows, the not-so-good news is that credit has been extremely tight and loans are hard to come by. In many markets – certainly the local one here – it has become more difficult to obtain an extension of credit even in such a commonplace matter as a residential lease. Landlords want to see FICO scores; they don't like short sales or foreclosures in an applicant's history; they even want their tenants … (1 comments)
real estate: Extension of "Operation Home Relief"
- 11/23/10 05:33 AM
The National Association of Realtors has extended its successful "Operation Home Relief" campaign, which is designed to give military service families a voice by contributing financial counseling and aid to help keep them in their homes. Though launched just last month, the NAR has already matched $20,000 in donations. The NAR has used this Facebook campaign to promote USA Cares, an organization dedicated to providing aid to help post-9/11 veterans and active-duty military personnel avoid foreclosure. Through the consumer website, HouseLogic.com, a free comprehensive website about homeownership for homeowners, Operation Home Relief aims to increase awareness, rally support and raise … (0 comments)
real estate: Turning A Tract Home Into a Custom Home
- 11/22/10 09:19 AM
For many, building their own home is just a dream. Financing the construction, buying the land, and overseeing the project are too overwhelming. So instead, many buyers purchase tract housing. Making that tract house look like a custom home is easier than you might think. Debbie Kaplan loves her remodeled tract house. When you step inside it, you immediately feel like you're in a custom home. Amenities such as a smart coffeemaker that is plumbed so you never have to fill it, heated floors, a built-in trash compactor, a pantry, an over-the-stove pot filler, and a surround sound audio system … (0 comments)
real estate: Green Living: Water Purification
- 11/22/10 06:57 AM
The safety of water in the developed world has grown by leaps and bounds over the last century. And while many countries, unfortunately, still deal daily with issues of water contamination, most Americans have access to clean water. This luxury, however, may have caused some level of complacency concerning what goes into our water and thus into our bodies. The copious amount of prescription drugs, bacteria, and hazardous chemicals (detergents, bleaches, etc) that are dumped into the water supply each day increases exponentially as our population grows. If the system works correctly, these chemicals are identified and processed out before water … (3 comments)
There is an old saying that goes "change is inevitable except from a vending machine." But when it comes to renovation projects, homeowner associations should be wary of "change orders". Change orders are a sneaky way for contractors to jack up the price of a project they've won with a low bid. But change orders are sometimes necessary since it’s impossible to identify all of the underlying conditions in a building or predict every potential problem before a project begins. Therefore, the key questions are: What are legitimate change orders and how much should be allotted for them? … (0 comments)
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