WASHINGTON – New home sales in June posted the fastest increase in more than eight years as buyers took advantage of bargain prices, low interest rates and a
Private Investors Dominate Foreclosure Market
Cities and municipalities are having trouble spending the money allotted by the controversial Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which was passed by Congress last year to acquire houses in blighted neighborhoods.
The goal was to buy vacant properties at 1 percent less than appraised value, rehab them, and either sell or rent the homes to low-income residents.
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Credit Reports Under Extra Scrutiny
Buyers who are under contract and hoping to close before Nov. 30 when the first-time home buyer credit expires should refrain from buying furniture and other things on credit.
Lenders are running credit checks prior to closing day and any increase in credit card or other debt can jeopardize the loan, says Lew Reich, an associate with Keller Williams Realty in Plano, Texas.
Analysis: Tax Credit Adds 357,000 Buyers
A study estimates that 357,000 buyers have been motivated so far by the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.
The study by Campbell Surveys, a division of Campbell Communications, calculated the figure by comparing the number of first-time homebuyers before and after the tax credit was instituted. The percentage of first-time buyers rose from 32 percent in January and February to 43 percent for the rest...
Federal Index Shows Home Prices Rising
U.S. home prices rose 0.3 percent in July compared to June, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday.
The index is 4.2 percent below what it was in 2008 and 10.5 percent off its peak in April 2007.
The index excludes most expensive homes from its calculations, so prices appear to have declined less than they have by other measures.
Unemployed Home Owners May Get Assistance
The Obama administration has opened a dialogue with major lenders, economists, and government officials over the possibility of extending a financial lifeline to home owners who no longer can afford their mortgages because of job losses.
Possible strategies range from encouraging loan servicers to allow unemployed borrowers to skip some payments to providing grants or loans to temporarily cover mor...
IHCDA Down Payment Assistance Has Been Increased Up To $7500
Indiana Housing Community Development Authority is excited to announce that effective Friday, September, 25th Our Single Family Program will be enhanced as follows:
· Down Payment Assistance (DPA) will be increased from our current 5% with a maximum of $5,000.00 to 6% not to exceed a maximum of $7,500.00. Any loans reserved 9/25/09 and after will be eligible for the new amount.
·&...
IHCDA Down Payment Assistance Has Been Increased Up To $7500
Indiana Housing Community Development Authority is excited to announce that effective Friday, September, 25th Our Single Family Program will be enhanced as follows:
· Down Payment Assistance (DPA) will be increased from our current 5% with a maximum of $5,000.00 to 6% not to exceed a maximum of $7,500.00. Any loans reserved 9/25/09 and after will be eligible for the new amount.
·&...
Mortgage Applications Rise as Rates Fall
Mortgage rates declined last week, triggering a dramatic jump in mortgage applications.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its weekly index of mortgage application volume rose 17 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 15.8 percent and was up a whopping 64.5 percent compared to the same week a year ago.
10 Housing Markets Likely to Rebound Soon
Real estate forecasting service Local Market Monitor, which predicts housing market trends for investors and banks, forecasts that housing prices will decline an average of 5 percent through 2010. This prediction includes double-digit decreases in Phoenix, Miami, and Las Vegas.
But then the worst could be over, says CEO Ingo Winzer. As the recession eases, “We’ll see good price increases in many markets,” he reports....
Home Buyer Tax Credit Countdown Begins
The first-time home buyers tax credit ends Nov. 30. Is it possible to buy in the next two weeks and still close in time to collect it?
Some professionals say yes. “It still can be done in six weeks," says Tony Wilson, local Hendricks County Realtor.
Economist Kevin Gillen of Econsult predicts a mad rush to close as the deadline nears.
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Top 10 Cities to Earn a Living
The best cities to earn a living are those that have plenty of companies doing business in high-paying, growth industries.
Combine that with a high-quality business environment, job growth, and a low cost of living and you get a select-few locations where the pay check is generous and the cost of necessities like food and housing is modest.
Here are the top 10 cities where Forbes magaz...
Traffic to Real Estate Web Sites Increase
Home sales rose over the last couple of months--and so did visits to real estate Web sites.
Nielsen Online reports that traffic to real estate Web sites rose 11 percent from 20.7 million visitors in June to 23.1 million in July. Year-over-year growth from July 2008 to July 2009 was 18 percent.
The most likely visitors were people living in two-person households. This demographic was 5...
Pending Home Sales on a Record Roll
Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
The Pending Hom...
More Sellers Turn to Rentals
More people are becoming landlords in an economy where selling a home can be challenging.
The nation’s second-largest home insurer, Allstate Corp., says the number of homeowners converting their homeowners insurance to landlord policies rose 27 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
Jim Bass of Jim Bass Real Estate Group in Frederick, Md., says he has begun offering property-manag...
Priciest ZIP Codes Down, Not Out
This year, home prices fell in the nation’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
In Alpine, N.J., which tops Forbes’ magazine’s list of America’s 500 Most Expensive ZIP Codes, home prices declined 23 percent in the last year.
Overall, asking prices in the ZIP codes on Forbes’ list dropped an average of 7 percent. Prices are only rising in a few areas. For instan...
Better Lives, One Home at a Time
The family of five had nearly exhausted all hope of moving back into their mold-infested home and was ready to walk away. “It was such a massive problem that we didn’t have the money to fix it, insurance would only pay $10,000, and no one would buy the house,” says Mandalina Groves, whose three boys each has a severe medical issue.
That’s when Groves contacted Greg Adamson, a sales associate with Prudential Utah Real...
Big Banks Get Bigger During Recession
Banks that were deemed “too big to fail” in the run up to the recent financial meltdown have gotten even larger as a result of assistance from the federal government.
The bailouts favored big banks, which can borrow money at a lower rate because of their perceived lower risk of failure. However, the imbalance could eventually weed out smaller outfits, with some senior government officials insisting that consumers already are seei...
Buying Your First Home
Finding the right first home starts with a price range and a short list of desirable neighborhoods. But there are many other factors you'll need to consider before investing in what may be your biggest asset.
Before You Start:
- Grab your current household budget so you can consider your financial situation and your ability to make mortgage payments.
- Ask family and friends if they can recommend e...
Fed Chair Says the Worst Is Over
Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke said on Friday that he was optimistic the economy is about to take off.
Bernanke acknowledged that credit is still tight, especially for businesses, but he told an audience of bankers, academics, and economists that the worst is over.
"Although we have avoided the worst, difficult challenges still lie ahead," Bernanke said. "We must wo...
10 Best Cities to Find a New Job
No U.S. cities have been untouched by the economic downturn, but some job markets have been better able to weather the storm.
U.S. News & World Report examined a variety of data to identify cities where it’s easier to find a job than in many other places.
The underlying strengths of the top cities vary considerably. Some of the stronger cities are state capitals and have lot...
Good Pictures Can Make a Sale
These days photographs that accompany online listings are a primary part of advertising. Poor quality photos that don’t flatter the property or fail to show most of it discourage potential buyers from taking a look.
Hiring a top-notch photographer can cost as much as $1,000, but a good amateur working slowly and thoughtfully can probably manage to do the job effectively.
Here are...
Now Is the Time to Buy in Real Estate
Investors are returning as the real estate market recovers.
BusinessWeek’s real estate guru Marc Roth points out these opportunities, which he says make sense if investors are willing to look over the property carefully and ask tough questions.
Options they might consider including:
- Buying a single-family house. This could be a first home...
Average Buyers Can Afford Most Homes
Housing is remarkably affordable these days.
A family earning the nation’s median income of $64,000 a year could afford to buy 72.3 percent of all homes sold in the United States during the second quarter of 2009, according to the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.
Sellers are the ones who are paying the price. More than 30 percent of all homes sold during the...
Buyers Rush to Beat The $8,000 Tax Credit Deadline
Real estate professionals report that first-time home buyers are flooding the sale market, pressed to finalize a deal before the federal government's $8,000 tax credit offer expires on Nov. 30.
Because mortgage approvals, residential inspections, and other steps in the buying process typically take about two months, buyers hoping to take advantage of the incentive will need to have a contract by the end of September.
<...
10 Cities Leading the Market Recovery
Here’s more evidence that housing is turning around. Forbes magazine identified 161 of the country’s largest metro areas where sales activity has increased compared to 2008, and where foreclosure sales as a percentage of total sales, are low.
The magazine considers these mark...
Fed: Recession Ending, Rates Left Alone
The Federal Reserve ended its policy-making meeting Wednesday with the declaration that the recession is ending and it would move toward more normal policies.
The Fed said, “Economic activity is leveling out.” It added that it expected inflation would remain “subdued for some time.”
The Fed said it will keep the short-term key interest rate near zero, but it wil...
Second Quarter Existing-Home Sales Rise
Existing-home sales in the second quarter showed healthy gains from the first quarter in the vast majority of states, and price declines have increased affordability in most metro areas, according to the latest survey by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
Basic Features Appeal to First-Time Buyers
First-time homebuyers are forcing home builders to think frugal by penny-pinching on upgrades.
Nearly 50 percent of new homes sold in the first six months of 2009 cost less than $200,000, the largest share for the first six months of a year in five years. The average size of new homes fell to 2,065 square feet, the smallest since 2000.
“The high end isn’t moving, so builder...
Foreclosure Bargains Are Disappearing
Buyers of foreclosure have to be quick these days. Some houses go under contract fewer than 90 minutes after they are put on the market, says Brad Geisen, founder of Foreclosure.com.
"For every listing that comes out, we have 10 buyers," says Cesar Dias, an associate with Approved Real Estate Group in Stockton, Calif.
Dias had 15 minutes of fame after introducing foreclosure ...
Pending Home Sales Continue to Climb
Pending home sales are up for the fifth consecutive month, the first time in six years for such a streak, according to NAR.
The Pending Home Sales Index, ...
6 Reasons Why Some Homes Sell
Why do some houses sell and others don’t?
There’s no ultimate answer to this question, but Tribune Media Services columnist Ilyce Glink has a theory.
Here are her six top reasons properties linger on the market:
- Lousy pictures on the Web.
Buyers Shouldn't Wait on Falling Prices
Fear of overpaying for property is common these days, especially in places like New York where prices continue to be unstable.
If you encounter potential buyers who are frozen because they are concerned that they will pay too much, here are some factors to point out:
- Waiting for the right time can be expensive. Some buyers would have more equity today, des...
Easy Ways to Improve Curb Appeal
Curb appeal can make or break a sale in today’s market.
If your sellers are willing to improve the outside of their homes, here are some low-cost ways to increase a home’s curb appeal.
- Clean up beds by weeding and pruning shrubs. Add mulch for a high-end look.
- Invest in pots. A couple...
Virtual Staging: Brilliant but Maybe Dangerous?
An emerging trend in real estate is the concept of "virtual staging," in which a sales associate e-mails photos of an empty house to a professional stager, who then digitally enhances the photos with artwork, furnishings, and other finishing touches to make the space seem more inviting.
There are several benefits to using this marketing tactic, including the money it saves sellers because they do not have to foot the bill for phys...
New Home Sales Rise
Sales of newly built single-family homes rose 11 percent in June to an annualized rate of 384,000, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Analysts called the report a good sign.
"That is really good news,” said Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland. “With all the foreclosure activity s...
Economists Optimistic That Market Is Upward Bound
Economic recovery is still a few months away, say economists surveyed by USA Today, but two-thirds of them think existing-home sales have bottomed out.
Both housing and automotive markets “have the potential to generate some quite large percentage increases,” says Bill Cheney, chief economist at MFC Global Investment.
Overall, economists say unemployment won’t peak u...
10 Most Undervalued U.S. Cities
Housing research organization IHS Global Insight estimates that the average U.S. home is undervalued by 12.2 percent, and many previously pricey communities are undervalued by considerably more.
A recent study released by IHS used home prices, interest
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