Find a Real Estate Professional
Weekly News
Home »News Articles
Oct
24
2011
President Obama will announce changes in the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) on Monday, making it easier for homeowners to capitalize on current low-interest rates by refinancing their old, high-interest mortgages.
More than 890,000 Americans have already utilized the HARP program to reduce monthly mortgage payments but many more have not. One reason: The current rules do not permit severely underwater borrowers to participate.
The new r
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Sep
27
2011
Home prices in July climbed for the fourth month in a row, but are still down from a year ago.
According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 120 major cities, prices rose 0.9% in July compared with June, but they're still 4.1% lower than 12 months ago.
"We are far from a sustained recovery" said S&P spokesman David Blitzer. "Continued increases in home prices through the end of the year . . . must ma
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Sep
22
2011
Although the U.S. housing market continues to struggle, many local markets are doing significantly better than the country as a whole, with some places virtually missing the housing bust altogether.
While shifts in home values are important in any market, it's important for sellers to determine the length of time a property can expect to be on the market before it will be sold. The faster that homes sell, the faster an inventory backlog can be cleared, suggesting
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Sep
21
2011
Home buyers are starting to creep back into the housing market, lured by rock-bottom prices.
Sales of existing homes rose 7.7% last month to an annual rate of 5.03 million homes, from 4.67 million homes in July, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Economists had expected August sales to come in at a rate of 4.7 million homes, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.
Home prices have cratered since t
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Aug
12
2011
1. Naples, Florida
Expected price drop: -16.6%
Median family income: $62,800 (137th highest)
Unemployment rate: 10.5%
Median home price: $225,000 (40th highest)
Projected to hit lowest level: Q4 2012
Like much of southwest Florida, Naples was one of the fastest-growing communities in the country as it prepared for the millions of baby boomers on the cusp of retirement. When the housing bubble burst, however, the thousands of construction projects
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Aug
11
2011
Foreclosure filings dropped once again in July, hitting their lowest level since November 2007, as processing delays and foreclosure prevention measures enabled a larger number of delinquent borrowers to remain in their homes.
Filings were down 4% compared to June and were 35% lower than July 2010, marking the tenth straight month of year-over-year declines, according to RealtyTrac, a leading online marketer of foreclosed properties.
RealtyTrac reported that 212,764 U.S. homes
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jul
26
2011
The housing market showed signs of life again in May. Home prices rose for the second consecutive month following an eight-month slide.Prices for an index of 20 major metro areas increased 1% compared with April, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. The 10-city index rose 1.1% month-over-month.David Blitzer, a spokesman for S&P, was cautious in detailing the index gains."While the monthly data were encouraging, most [metro areas] and both composites fared poorly in annual
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jul
21
2011
New home construction ticked higher in June, the government said Tuesday, as two key measures topped expectations.
Housing starts, the number of new homes being built, rose 14.6% in June to an annual rate of 629,000 units, up from a revised 549,000 in May, the Commerce Department said.
That's the highest level since January, when 636,000 housing starts were reported. Economists had expected an annual rate of 570,000 units, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.
&n
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jul
20
2011
How low can the market go? For real estate, some economists say, an end to the seemingly endless decline in housing values might be in sight.Not immediately. At the moment, prices are still dropping. In 20 large cities, prices fell 0.8 percent in March from the previous month, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday. That pushed the closely watched index below its level of two years ago to a new post-bubble low, and put it 33.1 percent und
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jun
28
2011
The downward cycle in home prices broke in April after eight consecutive months of decline, according to a survey released Tuesday.
According to the S&P/Case Shiller 20-city index, prices rose 0.7% compared with March, although they fell 0.1% when adjusted for the strong spring selling season. Prices were down 4% year-over-year.
In a welcome shift from recent months, this month is better than last -- April's numbers beat March, said David Blitzer, S&P's spokesman, in a
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
May
31
2011
For the first time in years, buying a home may beat renting.
Two factors are at play, according to researchers who recently crunched the numbers, Ken Johnson of Florida International University and Eli Beracha of East Carolina University for a paper to be published in Real Estate Economics.
First, rents, though mostly stagnant the past few years, are expected to head higher as more people bitten by the housing bust turn to renting. Rents could rise 7% in each of the next two y
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
May
12
2011
The number of foreclosure filings issued in April plunged 34% from a year ago -- the seventh straight month of declines.
And there were just 69,532 homes repossessed last month, a 32% fall from the peak last September just before the eruption of the robo-signing scandal, in which banks were found to be mishandling the foreclosure process.
Will the seeming good news continue? No way, said Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac, which issued the latest monthly figures on Thursday.
&nbs
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Apr
28
2011
To rent or to buy: what used to be a given – that you would buy a home as soon as you could afford to – has become an agonizing conundrum for many a would-be homebuyer, in the face of the housing market’s big bust and super-slow recovery. Low prices seem to create a wide-open window of opportunity, but they also create the concern that prices will keep falling after closing. And that Catch-22 has hundreds of thousands of buyers-to-be stuck on the fence.
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Apr
26
2011
Home prices in February sank 3.3% to just above the post-crisis lows reached in April 2009. It was the seventh straight month of declines.
Home values are down 32% from their peak set in May of 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities.
There is very little, if any, good news about housing said David Blitzer, spokesman for S&P. Prices continue to weaken, trends in sales and construction are disappointing.
The drop has come
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Apr
13
2011
We never hesitate to complain of a court decision that doesn't square with our notions of fairness and/or common sense. We ought, then, to give credit when it is due and to acknowledge decisions that might be seen as striking a blow for common sense in a world gone overboard with self-proclaimed victims who persistently seek to blame others for the consequences of their own bad judgment.
A toast, then, to California's First Appellate District Court of Appeal and the decision rendered in the cas
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Apr
05
2011
Mortgage shoppers should have some understanding of the major steps involved in obtaining a loan, which have been impacted by several recent developments.
The process begins with an initial contact with a lender and ends with a closed loan. While there are many differences in the ways that lenders operate, they must comply with the same or very similar laws and regulations, they use the same or very similar technology, and they sell their loans in the same secondary ma
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Mar
23
2011
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- New home sales fell 16.9% in February, to the lowest level since the government began keeping records in 1963, as the reeling housing market failed to generate any momentum.
Sales fell to an annual rate of 250,000 from the revised 301,000 in January, according to the Census Bureau's monthly report released Wednesday. The rate was down a whopping 28% from the 347,000 of February 2010.
"We've been running at a very low level," said John Canally, an economist with LPL Finan
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Mar
10
2011
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Is our long national foreclosure nightmare ending?
The number of foreclosure notices filed in February dropped 14% compared with a month earlier and 27% compared with a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac.
That was the biggest year-over-year decline the company has ever recorded. But the improvement may be exaggerated, according to RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio, who traced some of the decline to the fallout over robo-signing issues.
"Allegations of improper foreclosur
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Mar
04
2011
How might home buying change if the federal government shuts down the housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan, the steady favorite of American borrowers since the 1950s, could become a luxury product, housing experts on both sides of the political aisle say.
Interest rates would rise for most borrowers, but urban and rural residents could see sharper increases than the coveted customers in the suburbs.
Lenders could charge fees for popular featu
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Feb
16
2011
More choose ARMs
While the volume of adjustable-rate mortgages originated has decreased in recent years, the share of ARMs is slowly rising.
ARMs finance 7% of new home-purchase loans today, down from a peak share of 40% of the market, Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac said in a news release in January that detailed the results of Freddie's annual ARM survey. But today's share of ARMs are up from the 3% share reported in early 2009, he said.
"We are expecting AR
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jan
26
2011
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- New home sales climbed 17.5% in December to the highest level in eight months, the government reported Wednesday.
Sales of newly built single-family homes rose to an annual rate of 329,000 units last month, from a revised 280,000 units the month before, the Commerce Department said. That was the highest level since April. But compared with 2009, sales are down 7.6%.
The monthly sales figure was higher than the annual rate of 300,000 analysts surveyed by Briefing.com had
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jan
25
2011
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- November home prices continued their latest slump, falling 1% compared with October, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 20 metro markets.
San Diego was the only market that didn't slip, posting a slight gain of 0.1%. The overall index fell for the fifth straight month and prices are at about the same level they were in mid-2003.
"With these numbers, more analysts will be calling for a double-dip in home prices," said David Blitzer, spokesman
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jan
19
2011
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Permits for housing construction soared in December, while initial construction of homes declined, the government reported Wednesday.
"Last month didn't look so hot for construction, but the future looks a lot better," said Mike Larson, a housing industry analyst for Weiss Research.
The number of permits for future housing construction surged to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 635,000 last month, up 16.7% from the revised rate of 544,000 in November, the Commerce De
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jan
18
2011
The single biggest problem in the U.S. real estate market is simple: There are very few homebuyers.
That seems obvious, but the "buyers' strike" has caused house prices to drop, along with an epidemic of foreclosures. What's worse, the long depression in real estate is probably not over. S&P has forecast that home prices will drop by 7% to 10% this year. The S&P Case-Shiller Index has dropped for most of the 20 largest real estate markets over the last several months. RealtyTrac recentl
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Dec
28
2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home prices took a shockingly steep plunge on a monthly basis, an indication that the housing market could be on the verge of -- if it's not already in -- a double-dip slump.
Prices in 20 key cities fell 1.3% in October from a month earlier, an annualized decline of 15%, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday. Prices were down 0.8% from 12 months earlier.
Month-over-month prices dropped in all 20 metro areas covered by the index. Six markets rea
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Dec
22
2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Existing home sales picked up steam in November, though they are still down nearly 30% from this time last year.
Sales of previously-owned homes jumped 5.6% in November to an annual rate of 4.68 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The rate was down 27.9% from 12 months earlier, when a homebuyer tax credit helped lift sales to a two-year high of 6.49 million.
The report came in slightly better than expected. A consensus of experts surveye
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Dec
22
2010
Two erroneous $11 doctor bills stopped Jeanne White from refinancing her home.
The 49-year-old resident of Colleyville, Texas, says she was shocked to learn in October that the two medical bills, which had been turned over to a collection agency, had caused her credit score to fall to 680 from 757 — making refinancing far too expensive.
"I was told I'd have to pay $14,000 in closing costs to get a 5.5% interest rate," Ms. White says, substantially more than she would have paid with a hig
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Dec
14
2010
Chicago resident Joe Walsh got married in 2001. Later that year he and his wife packed their belongings and moved 15 miles to the suburb of Niles, Ill., to start a family. The village, noted for having an old water tower that now stands as a half-size replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, has nice parks. "But the biggest thing was that we could afford a house," says Walsh, now the father of children aged six and two.
In the years since Walsh bought his Niles home, lifestyle expectations
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Dec
02
2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Don't even think of touching the mortgage interest tax deduction in the midst of a fragile housing market.
That was the immediate response of the housing industry, which has come out with guns blazing against the presidential deficit commission's proposal to overhaul the coveted tax provision.
"We will fight this proposal," said Joe Stanton, chief lobbyist for the National Association of Home Builders. "From everything we've read, it will end up being a tax hike."
C
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Dec
02
2010
Homes in foreclosure sold for 32% less than homes not in foreclosure during the third quarter, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac. The biggest average discount for any state was in Ohio, where foreclosures went for 45% below non-foreclosure sales.
That was, according to company CEO James Saccacio, the biggest disparity since late 2005.
"With foreclosure sales, you have highly motivated sellers," said Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for RealtyTrac.
The deals were even better fo
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Nov
08
2010
A funny thing about the digital age - the more information we have access to, the more misinformation we get hit with. In the not-so-long ago days when the Internet was mainly for e-mail and facebooks were made of paper, homes were mostly advertised through newspaper ads. As long as you understood that TLC meant you needed to be handy with a hammer and an "efficiency kitchen" meant you'd better like take-out, you could avoid getting suckered.
Anyone gearing up to buy or sell a house this spring
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Nov
01
2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The robo-signing controversy is just another issue that the already sluggish housing market didn't need -- but most analysts do not think it will have far-reaching impact.Nevertheless, the housing market still faces many problems: a weak economy, sluggish hiring, tight mortgage underwriting, falling home prices, and slowing sales.Then there's the potentially disastrous number of foreclosures that may occur over the coming years."The market faces much bigger problems th
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Oct
29
2010
Scam artists are nothing new, but there are plenty of reasons to predict there will even more of them due to tough economic times. While they tend to prey on the elderly, anyone who is not cautious and informed is a potential victim. Your best defense is a skeptical mind and knowing what to look out for when you hear that offer that's "too good to refuse." Here are some of the most popular, and costly, home improvement scams. 1. One-Time SpecialIt's a very rare business that's had only one
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Aug
10
2010
While you may receive solicitations from attorneys and lawyers to assist you in a loan modification, you don\'t need to hire one to apply. The Obama Making Home Affordable Plan that includes the Home Affordable Modification does not have any requirement for you to hire anybody to help you out in obtaining a loan modification. An attorney can help explain information to you and make sure that have completed the proper forms, but most banks will tell you if you have failed to deliver the for
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Aug
09
2010
Real estate closings bring all interested parties together. They involve the execution and delivery of all necessary documents simultaneously with the payment of the purchase price and the settlement costs of the transaction. While this may seem like a simple process, conducting a real estate closing is a complicated matter and requires a thorough knowledge of the law. Accordingly, sellers and purchasers often turn to lawyers.Closing involves a series of complex phases: examination of the title,
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Aug
06
2010
A real estate ”Closing” is the procedure by which the title to the property is transferred from the seller to the purchaser. If the purchaser has obtained a loan, the lender's required documents are signed and executed at this time.
Georgia is an “Attorney State”. Which means the closing must take place under the direction of an attorney who represents the lender. The closing attorney's role at closing is to represent the lender's interest and the closing attorney is not
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Aug
05
2010
If you have a property settlement, how can you ensure that your wishes are carried out after you die? The answer- it depends on the conditions of the settlement. If you are in any agreement, it is always a good idea to know the conditions of it very well to avoid any confusion that may occur in the future.rnReal Estate Title: What to Do with House after Occupant's Death:rnQ: I have a property settlement with my ex-partner which splits mortgage payments, maintenance, and insurance expenses
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Aug
03
2010
What’s the difference between a real estate lawyer and a closing attorney? A closing attorney is a real estate lawyer who specializes in closing a property transaction. Closing attorneys examine the title to a property and resolve any issues before the close. The closing attorney will review and explain all the documents that you will be signing at the closing and make sure they are accurate. Real estate closings bring all interested parties together. While this may seem
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jul
17
2010
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, otherwise known as Financial Regulatory Reform, will soon be signed into law by President Obama. The bill is 2,319 pages long -- there's no single article that can fully explain every way in which this sweeping legislation will ultimately impact your life, but it's important to understand at least the basics.Let's take a look at exactly how this reform bill will impact your life in the coming months and years.Mortgage LendingThe chan
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jun
15
2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As the nation struggles to shrug off the worst housing crash since the Great Depression, it may be hard to believe a housing shortage could be on its way.
The nation is simply not building enough homes to keep up with potential demand. Just 672,000 new homes were started in April, an annualized rate and less than half the long-term run rate needed to meet the nation's natural population growth.
"It is ironic, but there is a growing consensus that there may be a new h
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Jun
08
2010
Conventional fixed mortgage rates touched a new all time record low Friday. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate available to well-qualified consumers at 1 point origination dropped to 4.375%, from 4.5%. The 15-year fixed-rate also declined, from 4% to 3.875%. Mortgage rates have never been this low.The decline in mortgage rates stemmed from a big increase in mortgage-backed securities prices Friday. MBS prices, which drive mortgage rates in the opposite direction, gained +21/32 (FNMA 30-yr 4.5 at 10
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
May
24
2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Existing home sales soared in April as home buyers scrambled to claim the tax credit that expired at the end of the month, according to a real estate industry report released Monday. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales jumped 7.6% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million units, up from the upwardly revised rate of 5.36 million in March. Sales year-over-year were up 22.8%. The gain was widely anticipated, but sti
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
May
10
2010
Despite today’s tight economy, many areas of the country have not seen a significant drop in their high cost of living. To help meet this critical need for more affordable housing for low- to moderate-income working families, the National Association of Realtors® has awarded more than $3.4 million through the Ira Gribin Workforce Housing Grants program.
Teachers, firefighters, police officers, and restaurant and retail workers provide vital community services –however, they ofte
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Apr
23
2010
Sales of new homes shot through the roof last month at the fastest single-month rate in nearly 50 years as buyers snatched up properties before the expiration of an $8,000 tax credit.
New-home sales soared 26.9% in March, snapping a four-month streak of declines, the Census Bureau said.
And on a year-over-year basis, sales jumped 23.8% from March 2009.
New-home sales rose in every region of the U.S. The South saw the biggest jump - up 43.5%, while the Northeast saw sales climb 35.7%. The We
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
Apr
22
2010
Buyers responding to the homebuyer tax credit and favorable affordability conditions boosted existing-home sales in March, marking the beginning of an expected spring surge, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units in March from 5.01 million in February, and are 16.1 percent above the 4.6
Read the rest of this entry >>
Read the rest of this entry >>
