nar: Home affordability varies greatly across the country - 10/20/12 06:21 AM

The housing bust rearranged residential real estate values downward by percentages not seen since who knows when. On average prices plummeted 30% from the highs reached in 2006. One of the effects of that major shift would logically be that now homes were going to be more affordable, especially in the severely abused cities. Many would-be homeowners are salivating at the concept of being able to qualify for today’s inexpensive mortgages and then push over low-ball purchase offers to grab a home from foreclosure, short sale or even from a regular seller willing to compromise on price.
 
The reality … (2 comments)

nar: Mortgage financing within reach for many based on median income - 05/16/12 09:18 AM
NAR – the National Association of Realtors – recently put together a report that should spread some cheer on faces of everyone who is planning on purchasing a home. Actually, it also should quicken the heartbeat in the mortgage loan industry and among real estate agents. And the home building sector, too. And, for that matter, help stabilize the entire economy.
 
According to NAR, the national median income in the first quarter stood at $61,000, fair enough. So, if a mortgage applicant wanted to buy a property mirroring the national median price, the income to get the home loan approved … (0 comments)

nar: Mortgage fraud on the rise despite new HVCC rules - Nevada way down sin list - 05/04/10 02:51 PM
When the real estate chaos engulfed the nation one of the alleged causes to it was how mortgage brokers were pushing appraisers around to "hit the number." Home loan professionals were smooth-talking them - in some cases supposedly being even rather loud about it - to value a property at what their contract said it should be. In those go-go years it commonly meant many appraisals came in high. This practice, in some shape or form fraud, had to be put under a large microscope the big mortgage banks were telling everybody who would listen and eventually were able to convince … (10 comments)

nar: Las Vegas real estate may not be as affordable today as it seems - 04/20/10 01:58 PM
The housing market bust in Southern Nevada - home to communities like Summerlin, Silverstone Ranch, Henderson, Mountains Edge, North Las Vegas and Rhodes Ranch - has taken down with it homeowners, mortgage lenders, real estate agents and builders, and a host of others closely tied to the industry. It has been as brutal a segment collapse as any in history. One of the most plundered victims has been the price. Homes in some of the newer subdivisions have lost as much as 60% of their value in just a few years.
To scores of once-happy and optimistic homeowners the word underwater … (4 comments)

nar: Real estate transactions may be burdened by private transfer fees - 03/08/10 07:05 AM
The present housing and mortgage overload is by some estimates only halfway through its painful cycle, still desperately looking for traction to solve high mortgage foreclosure numbers, underwater homeowners by the millions, home loan providers with books still loaded with toxic paper and persistent oversupply. The complexity and severity of the collapse is testing the skills, creativity and persistence of the public and private sectors alike. Progress has been made on many fronts, but a lot more needs to be done.
While the focus now is largely on turning the pummeled housing and mortgage markets around, a new fee is quietly … (8 comments)

nar: MBA, NAR and NAHB push hard for tax credit expansion, yes expansion - 10/13/09 09:56 AM
Affordable mortgage money and in many areas really mouth-watering prices are helping the real estate market out, but it needs much more than that in this frustrating economic environment. The famous up to $8,000 tax credit, it is due to expire at the end of November, for first-time home buyers did boost sales a degree or two. Still, the housing sector keeps on drifting along without too much purpose.  
Mortgage Bankers Association, or MBA, National Association of Realtors, or NAR, and National Home Builders Association, or NAHB, are the heavy hitters on the real estate scene who now are twisting … (10 comments)

nar: International real estate buyers shying away from U.S. - 09/17/09 03:09 PM
When mortgage financing was still widely available here a few years ago and housing prices kept on racking up steady gains year after year, the foreign purchaser often thought he'd found the ultimate in property ownership. Heck, many Americans thought so, too. Then things on Wall Street and in Washington got out of control and the word meltdown was fast becoming a popular way to describe what happened. Not only to the real estate market but the entire economy. It got ugly.
International real estate buyers learned their lesson pretty quick and have scaled back their enthusiasm toward our product - … (10 comments)

nar: Homebuyer tax credit may be expanded - 07/24/09 04:43 PM
Las Vegas housing market alone would be a big beneficiary if it did happen. Southern Nevada has already seen solid gains this year in sales thanks in large part to the first-time buyer tax credit of $8,000. This incentive is set to come to an end December 1.
NAR, or National Association of Realtors, and the mortgage industry are currently working on Congress to keep it going well into 2010. It has such a good track record, so why not. They have two other worthwhile ideas in mind as well.
The tax credit ceiling ought to be hiked to $15,000 is … (6 comments)

nar: Las Vegas real estate market ready for a recovery? - 02/24/09 01:03 PM
That would be nice. But will it actually happen any time soon? Hard to say.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association for Realtors, or NAR, thinks it is just around the corner. In his opinion it could kick off in the latter half of this year. He was in town to speak to the group's Rocky Mountain Regional Conference and said that Southern Nevada will be in the forefront of the upcoming turnaround.
Prices here have plunged to levels that make home buying very affordable again, like it was early in the decade. Mortgage interest rates remain low, … (4 comments)

nar: How did some predictions about 2008 turn out? You guessed it. - 01/13/09 09:19 AM
2008 is at last behind us and it was what it was. A thoroughly memorable year for the mortgage and real estate industries, and the entire U'S economy for that matter. As years go, a few in the recent history have had as many spectacular market events rumble through the landscape as this one, leaving charred and burnt wreckage smoldering behind.  
Some of the true visionaries inhabiting this land had a few encouraging words to pass on about how 2008 would shape up and now they ought to be spanked for ever opening their mouths. Consider this.
"I expect there will … (6 comments)

nar: Foreign real estate buyers more prudent now - 08/16/08 02:37 PM
Now is a good time to buy residential real estate in the U.S. as prices are softening nicely in many regions and there is plenty of inventory to choose from. Mortgage money still remains affordable, although several loan products have been tossed and underwriting guidelines have become tougher. This development has been also noticed abroad and those aspiring to own property here have made a serious move to get something.
According to a NAR, or National Association of Realtors, study in which it surveyed 4,000 agents 26% of them had a minimum of one foreign customer and roughly a half of … (8 comments)

nar: Real estate market to improve next year? - 11/14/07 06:20 AM
The residential real estate experts continuously evaluate data that flows across their computer screens and try to decipher what it all means. There is so much to consider, though, that it's impossible to reach a consensus on when to expect a market turnaround. Besides, the soft market has shaken really hard only a few states, notably California, Florida and Nevada. Some states have been moderately affected and then there those that have largely escaped any harm, like most of the South and Utah. In light of that, reading the tea leaves is even more challenging.
Some of the economic fundamentals point toward … (14 comments)

nar: Mortgage interest write-off and carbon tax revisited - 10/19/07 03:55 PM
 
A few weeks ago a House committee leader in Washington floated a draft on taking away mortgage interest deduction on houses over 3,000 sq.ft. in order to make housing more energy-efficient. His proposal at that time met with a mixed reaction from just about all sides.  
If you recall, it was only the first draft. Since then arguments have gone back and forth on the issue and new ideas have gained traction to a point that the flavor of the original proposal has changed somewhat. And it has become a little more detailed. For instance, a house from 3,000 to 3,199 … (10 comments)

nar: Mortgage interest deduction in some danger - 08/26/07 08:33 AM
While the mortgage and real estate industries are trying to find solid footing in this soft market, Capitol Hill in Washington is getting ready to unveil this fall wide-ranging legislation that would address climate change, more specifically the reduction of carbon emissions. The goal is a cutback of 60 to 80% by the year 2050, an ambitious endeavor. It is to be achieved by raising taxes on gasoline and eliminating the mortgage interest deduction on homes over 3,000 sq. ft. The so-called McMansions.
Everybody is aware about cars and the pollution they produce, but houses, too, are large greenhouse-gas emitters. It … (43 comments)

nar: U.S. real estate attracts foreign buyers - 08/03/07 11:43 AM
 
Our housing market is soft, everyone agrees with that statement. There are a couple of pockets that are still doing well, like New York, Seattle and Salt Lake City, but the rest of the large metro areas have turned into nice buyer's markets. Some a little more so than others. This downturn has also been noticed abroad and that spurred the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, to conduct a study on the scale of foreign involvement in our real estate.
What the research discovered was that roughly one in five U.S. agents sold a second home to a purchaser from abroad. So, … (4 comments)

nar: Home prices in U.S. higher than a year ago? - 06/05/07 12:16 PM
 
 
They might be. The numbers for the nation as a whole that we have seen in the last several months point down, though. Some areas are harder hit than others and some have just leveled off and are holding on, like Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. A few pockets are still robust, thank heavens, and have seen value increases. For the most part, however, the real estate news have been dismal, an indication of a soft market. 
Enter OFHEO, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, and you're treated to a rosier picture than before. To its credit it has kept an eye on … (2 comments)

nar: Vacation home sales up - 05/01/07 10:33 AM
There has to be good news somewhere in the real estate galaxy if you look hard enough. Finally we found some. Vacation home sales moved up 4.7% in 2006, as reported by NAR. The sector now consists of 14% of all home sales, improving from 12% in 2005.
The nation's demographics are driving the market. The buyer usually is in his mid 40s or over, with a median household income a little better than $100,000. This is generally considered the prime buying age. Besides using the property as a vacation home, there were other practical reasons to the acquisition. Some 28% said they would use it … (3 comments)