Buyers Cry Uncle!
With prices rising every week, lenders as strict as ever, inventories at decade-low levels, interest rates starting to rise and competition for homes breaking their hearts, more and more buyers are reaching their frustration limits.
By: Steve Cook; Fri, May 24, 2013
Banks Seen Holding REOs for Higher Prices
Real estate agents report banks are keeping foreclosures off the market in hopes of higher prices, a practice that is temporarily reducing the percentage of distress sales but lengthening the foreclosure timeline.
By: Steve Cook; Thu, May 23, 2013
Luxury Prices Lag Lower Price Tiers
For nearly two months, through the heart of the spring buying season, the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s Market Action Index has stayed stuck at 29, one point below the official level designating a seller’s market.
By: editor; Tue, May 21, 2013
Ratio of Sold to List Prices Shows Inventory Shortages Driving Price Hikes
The Sold-to-List Price Ratio, one of the leading market indicators for predicting home prices, is helping analysts predict home prices in markets with varying economic condition, shortages of available housing inventory and its impact on home prices. Pro Teck Valuation Services’ May Home Value Forecast (HVF) Update analyzes the Honolulu, Tucson, San Francisco, and Chicago metro areas to determine how the indicator has been useful from a historical perspective and in current market conditions.
Foreclosures: It’s all Downhill From Here
The supply of foreclosed homes and REOs has been shrinking by 20 percent or more for the past few years and now a noted columnist covering mortgages reports foreclosures have probably already peaked and now are in decline.
By: editor; Mon, May 20, 2013
Flower Power Doesn’t Pay
The Appraisal Institute recently advised that landscaping can make a significant difference a home’s value.
By: Steve Cook; Fri, May 17, 2013
Hedge Funds Drive up Atlanta Prices
A new analysis of institutional investor purchases in Atlanta over the past year found that hedge funds are driving up prices and depleting inventories, yet they are still able to buy properties for less than the market rate.
RE/MAX: Monthly Inventory Rises for First Time in 33 Months
The number of homes for sale in April inched 1.6 percent higher than in March, the first month-over-month inventory increase since June 2010, according to the April RE/MAX National Housing Report.
By: Steve Cook; Wed, May 15, 2013
Lending Standards Loosen Up a Little
FICO scores for approved mortgage applications in April decreased slightly for the fifth consecutive month as lenders turned their attention to financing buyers during the spring buying season.
New Listings Cool California Hot Spots
In the several California markets that have seen soaring prices and historically low inventory levels during this spring buying season, a flood of new listings drove inventories up. The increasing inventories are helping to moderate price increases in the hot markets. In Sacramento, for example, list prices actually declined on a monthly basis.
Despite Sellers’ Markets, Seventy-one Percent Still Say it’s a Good Time to Buy
Home prices are rising at double digit rates. Inventories are at historic lows. Two out of five applicants for a purchase mortgage are rejected. Yet nearly three quarters of Americans say it’s a good time to buy a home.
By: Steve Cook; Thu, May 9, 2013
Tips for Finding Affordable Housing in Boston
No matter what neighborhood you reside in, Boston is an expensive city. With so many awesome things to offer, it makes sense that this city is one of the most expensive in the country to live in. Median rent in Boston in 2012 was $1,881 according to a Boston.com article. Finding affordable housing in Boston can be tough, but it’s far from impossible.
By: Steve Cook; Sun, Apr 14, 2013
How to Find Secret Homes for Sale
The number of homes listed for sale today is lower than it’s been in a decade. Home buyers are scouring Web sites for property listings and when they find a home they like, they often find themselves in an expensive, stressful bidding war. What they don’t know is that they’re not seeing as many as 15 to 20 percent of the homes for sale in their markets.
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Mar 27, 2013
Short Sales Are Growing Longer
Perhaps the greatest advantage of a short sale to beleaguered homeowner facing default and foreclosure is the opportunity to move on with life and put the bad debt behind them as quickly as possible. That advantage is shrinking as short sales take longer to sell than foreclosures.
By: editor; Tue, Mar 26, 2013
Foreign Investors Could Be Freed To Invest In US Real Estate
Obama’s budget could provide tax relief to investors from overseas who want to invest in American real estate. Obama has long discussed the need for investment in infrastructure from both the public and private sector, and he believes that inflows from overseas could bring in some of the capital he would like to see.
By: editor; Thu, Mar 14, 2013
Changes Underway in Reverse Mortgages
While reverse mortgages have helped thousands of homeowners, changes are in store as the result of losses suffered by the Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees most reverse mortgages. As a result, reverse mortgages are going to be less generous in years to come. FHA recently announced major changes to the popular loan program.
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Mar 13, 2013
Psychoanalyzing Sellers
How real estate has changed in just a few months! For six years, real estate professionals have struggled to get buyers back into the market with advertising campaigns, incentives, and the willingness to suffer social abuse for proclaiming the housing depression to be a great time to buy a home.
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Mar 13, 2013
Are Hedge Funds Blowing Bubbles?
Last month the New Republic published a provocative article on hedge funds and real estate investing (Your New Landlord Works on Wall Street) by former TV producer David Dayen. He said out loud what many people have been whispering.
By: David Lereah; Fri, Mar 8, 2013
Housing Recovery is Real but Risks Remain
The U.S. housing recovery is real and underway according to year-end numbers.
By: editor; Tue, Feb 26, 2013
Saving Money on Homeowners Insurance
Mortgage lenders require borrowers to carry homeowners insurance not because they are concerned about your home. They make you pay to protect the asset that guarantees your mortgage.
By: David Lereah; Fri, Feb 22, 2013
The Power of Publicity for Real Estate Agents
Have you ever wondered why some real estate agents seem to get in the local newspaper or on local TV more than others?
Get this widget See local rates - Rising Values Push Nearly One Million Homeowners Above Water
- Buyer Satisfaction with Real Estate Brokerages Hits All-Time Low
- Frozen Foreclosures Frustrate Buyers
- One Homeowner Out of Eight Undervalues Their Home
- Danielle: This is a truth many of us have been living for th...
- properties for sale: thanks a ton for the post..It is very useful to me...
- jp moses: hi, Steve -- yes, these institutional buyers are g...
- Arnold Rabin: I have been sell ing real estate here in Kona sinc...
- Buyers Cry Uncle!
- Mortgage Originations Fell 6.2 Percent in Q1
- Built-for-Rent now Five Percent of New Home Construction
- List Prices Flatten Despite Sinking Inventory
Written by: Steve Cook Sat, May 25, 2013
0 Comments